Friday, 11 September 2026

LINKED UP 135

Underground chemists are now producing the notorious party drug after a Scorsese film sparked renewed interest. (The Guardian)

Kleptos at Claridge’s: What’s OK to Steal From the World’s Best Hotels? 
Some guests walk away with more than just memories – a lot more. But what’s permissible to pinch and what’s a five-star felony? We investigate. (Town & Country)

Down With the Breakfast Meeting
Will Hosie has been a breakfast refusenik since he first learnt the joy of lying in. As Londoners flock to breakfast meetings, can he bring himself to join in the fun? (Country Life)

The rise of “luxury” grocery stores feels deeply sinister. (Eater)

Civilisations can carry a surprising number of parasites and live. But there’s a line – Rome crossed it, the Gilded Age toed it, and for the first time in history, we can measure it. (The Grim Historian)

A Print Magazine for Teens? In This Economy?
Sara Moonves managed to save and expand W, a fashion and culture magazine. Her next bet is on WYouth. (NYT)

Kirsty Godso, Hailey Bieber’s Trainer, Talks Pain, Positivity and Perfect Abs
Meet the fitness guru who gets the A-list into shape. (FT)

François Halard Talks Taste
The French photographer loves tantric art, ’90s garage and his Glengarry cashmere beanie. (FT)

Chris Black Can’t Slow Down
The How Long Gone co-host and founder of Hanover opens up about everything. (SSENSE)

Jerry Hsu’s Empty Space
The skateboarder and photographer opens up about his new photobook How About Never, his creative process, and living alone for the first time in years. (SSENSE)

Flow State Style
From skate parks to tennis courts, Palmes Society’s Nikolaj Hansson will forever be in love with lived-in style. (BAGEL)

How Terminal Skateshop Became an Uptown Skate Destination From a Sixth-Floor Walk-Up
For over 20 years, Eugene Kang’s skateshop has served the community – from the sixth-floor of his walk-up apartment building. (V Magazine)

Carpet Company Is Playing the Long Game
Despite a new flagship store and a slew of high-profile collabs, the Baltimore skate brand’s founders are committed to keeping things DIY. (GQ)

Can a 125-Year-Old Prep Institution Become a $100 Million Menswear Giant?
Led by creative director Jack Carlson, J. Press has an ambitious plan to bring its old-school Ivy style to the masses. “$100 million is not a massive company,” Carlson tells GQ. “That’s where we probably should be.” (GQ)

Emma Cline on Switzy – “How Would You Survive Those Days, Knowing What’s Coming?”
The American novelist’s Booker-longlisted new novel follows a man with Alzheimer’s on his final journey to an assisted-dying clinic in Zurich. (FT)

Matthew Schnipper on Grief, Art, and Learning (Not) to Be Like Henry Rollins
“It’s better to be connected than isolated.” (Futurism Restated)

Lucien Smith, Whose Meteoric Rise Presaged a Diverse Second Act, Dies at 37
Originally known for his contributions to the abstract painting boom of the 2010s, Smith shifted to channel his talents into art-adjacent efforts such as a nonprofit online registry for unsigned artists (Serving the People) and a revival of Food, the renowned restaurant-cum-art project that fed SoHo’s artists in the 1970s. (Artforum)

Jay Maisel, Photographer of Miles Davis and Much More, Dies at 95
His moody portrait became the album cover for Kind of Blue. Mr. Maisel lived and worked in an old bank that he bought for $102,000 and sold for $55 million. (NYT)

The Day After 9/11 Through the Lens of Skate Photographer Mike O’Meally 
“The streets were so empty. People were kinda waving us on, it was a weird optimistic outlook.” (Jenkem)

Revisiting Dipset’s Complicated and Provocative Relationship With 9/11
The 9/11 terrorist attacks were a unifying moment for the US. Hip-hop had a more complicated relationship: part patriotic, part provocative. No act better exemplified this than Dipset. (okayplayer)