The Best of VANITY FAIR
10+ most popular VANITY FAIR articles, as voted by our community.
Vanitas vanitatum.
Expect paywall
VANITY FAIR on Blogging
We’re at Peak Newsletter, and I Feel Fine
In the age of ceaseless content, everyone seems to have a TinyLetter or a Substack, and the personal-newsletter backlash is predictably here—but it might be misguided.
VANITY FAIR on Business
“You Don’t Bring Bad News to the Cult Leader”: Inside the Fall of WeWork
Adam Neumann reimagined the millennial workplace as a capitalist kibbutz, and so dazzled Wall Street that his company was valued at $47 billion. He spent lavishly, and pressed forward even as “the…
Inside the Merger That Could Have Ended HBO as We Know It
When telecom giant AT&T inherited the most prestigious brand in American TV in 2018, all eyes were on two men: HBO CEO Richard Plepler and his new boss, consummate company man John Stankey. As Felix…
VANITY FAIR on Dating
Tinder and the Dawn of the “Dating Apocalypse”
As romance gets swiped from the screen, some twentysomethings aren’t liking what they see.
VANITY FAIR on Gig Economy
“What Have We Done?”: Silicon Valley Engineers Fear They've Created a Monster
Gig-economy companies like Uber and Instacart are on the verge of overtaking the traditional economy. And the only people who understand the threat are the ones enabling it.
VANITY FAIR on Painting
Did Paying a Ransom for a Stolen Magritte Painting Inadvertently Fund Terrorism?
The theft of a deeply personal painting by the Belgian artist was a national tragedy. Now an investigation points to a tragedy greater still.
VANITY FAIR on Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel’s Dinners Are the Hottest Ticket in L.A. So What’s His Endgame?
Undeniably curious, ecumenical in his taste in people, scourge of Gawker, the tech billionaire has captivated some of his ideological opponents with a series of TED Talk–like dinners. In the Los…
VANITY FAIR on Quiet Quitting
The Professional Try-Hard Is Dead, But You Still Need to Return to the Office
In the era of the Great Resignation, remote work, and “quiet quitting,” general disillusionment with white-collar striving has gone mainstream. The managerial set has yet to be CC’d.
VANITY FAIR on Silicon Valley
“Oh My God, This Is So F---ed Up”: Inside Silicon Valley’s Dark Side
Not far from Sand Hill Road exists a private world of wild sex parties and “cuddle puddles.” As one male investor put it, “You could say it’s disgusting but not illegal—it just perpetuates a culture that keeps women down.”
VANITY FAIR on Steve Jobs
“I Have a Secret. My Father Is Steve Jobs”: Lisa Brennan-Jobs Recalls Memories of Her Famous Father
In an excerpt from her memoir, Small Fry, the author reflects on Jobs’s privacy, his temper, and watching a legend grow before her eyes.
“We Could Say Anything to Each Other”: Bob Iger Remembers Steve Jobs
As he exits Apple’s board, the Disney chief reminisces about his relationship with its mercurial founder—and how their radical visions aligned to save two companies.
VANITY FAIR on TV
“The Minions Do the Actual Writing”: The Ugly Truth of How Movie Scores Are Made
The streaming revolution is changing the way film composers get paid and exposing the flaws of a system where big names farm their scores out to uncredited “ghost composers.” Now, the artists actually…
The Netflix Nightmare: What Happens When an Industry Becomes a Squid Game
Desperate for subscriber eyeballs, streamers are pulling back on edgy content—and acting more like the networks they trounced in the revolution.
Popular
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“I Was Devastated”: The Man Who Created the World Wide Web Has Some Regrets
Tim Berners-Lee has seen his creation debased by everything from fake news to mass surveillance. But he’s got a plan to fix it.
Elon Musk’s Billion-Dollar Crusade to Stop the A.I. Apocalypse
Elon Musk is famous for his futuristic gambles, but Silicon Valley’s latest rush to embrace artificial intelligence scares him. And he thinks you should be frightened too.
On Witness and Respair: A Personal Tragedy Followed by Pandemic
The acclaimed novelist lost her beloved husband—the father of her children—as COVID-19 swept across the country. She writes through their story, and her grief.
Rudy Giuliani Is My Father. Please, Everyone, Vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
I may not be able to change my father’s mind, but together, we can vote this toxic administration out of office.
Jason Brassard Spent His Lifetime Collecting the Rarest Video Games. Until the Heist.
The porn trilogy for Nintendos. Atari games from the 1980s. Pristine nostalgia, potentially worth millions, gone in a night.
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