It’s one of many surprises in “Nine Lives, No Wives, and 69 Concubines,” the comedian’s new memoir, and a testimonial to the power of reading.

It’s hard to work up outrage when someone else’s adult exploits wind up in the tabloids.

Working with Mr. Lawson, reporters said, was like taking a master class in writing: “He was a throwback to the old style of editing.”

The Philadelphia Historical Commission unanimously voted to add "We the Youth" mural to the city's Register of Historic Places. Not everyone is pleased.

The president’s allies have sought to prove a “grand conspiracy” through a sprawling Justice Department inquiry. It has buckled under staffing shake-ups, internal disputes and trouble finding evidence...

Hundreds of new A.I.-generated findings moved the frontiers of higher math in a single day — dispelling any doubt that the field is forever changed.

A new book celebrates the federal bureaucrats who were quietly doing their jobs when the Department of Government Efficiency started squeezing them out last year.

In her new memoir, Meghan O’Gieblyn plumbs the philosophical implications of twin longings: for spiritual fulfillment and for drink.

New Voices is a new competition for aspiring music critics being launched by The Wire

Drugs, drink and dancing made Bez famous. Thirty-five years on, has he really swapped it all for filtered water, intermittent fasting and walks with the dogs?

Even Will Shortz has no trouble admitting that it’s a doozy.

The comedian and filmmaker on what real friendship looks like, what keeps him up at night and his new movie, “Misty Green.”

We asked dozens of them about America’s libraries — what they provide, what they need to survive. Here’s what they told us.

A new biography of the late novelist details his youthful escapades, messy relationships and intense commitment to his craft.

The singer-songwriter owes a lot to Georgie Fame and likes the romantic side of Jimi Hendrix – but which ringtone song can put him in a bad mood?

The pop star emerges as a great unifier in this in-depth yet heartfelt portrait of an Aussie icon

Michael Douglas and Sylvester Stallone are among the tough (and tough-ish) guys getting personal in memoirs this fall.

Free Jazz Collective, reviews of avant garde and free jazz music and media

A greatly underappreciated virtue of other presidents was that you could forget about them for weeks at a time.

“Otherwhere,” a collection of new and selected poems, shows that Forché has been using verse to bear witness for half a century.

It started as an internet outpost for die-hard music fans. Then came success. Then came corporate ownership.

The musician and comedian get on the phone to swap notes on retirement plans, religious upbringings, and getting off their phones.

In a year full of historical reflections for America's 250th anniversary, the time is ripe to consider an iconic Philadelphia soup that has nearly disappeared — and attempt to revive it.

Her Troubles-set debut became a hit TV series starring Gillian Anderson. Now the novelist has returned to her teen years for a follow-up. She talks about her journey from chef to author, and how her c...

Trump tries to dominate at the UN as his approval ratings plummet and even some Republicans distance themselves from him

In our field of applied mathematics, the long, human process of trial and error — not just the solutions themselves — is often what has led to progress.

Two career-spanning essay collections, from Nik Cohn and Jerry Stahl, revel in life’s margins and recapture auras past.

The domestic goddess is about to be let loose in the Bake Off tent. Nigella Lawson and Paul Hollywood spill the beans about bonding over dirty martinis, ‘Professor Precision’ – and why they call thems...

The term has lately become synonymous with sonic serenity (and chic merch). But the saxophone great challenged listeners with radical honesty.

But the comedian isn’t naïve when he makes selections for his popular book club: “Most importantly, they’re short.”

In “End Times Fascism,” Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor argue that apocalyptic ideology has taken hold over American elites.

The way I’ve talked about these records is about moments and how it’s all tied together. I don’t know enough about jazz to talk about it properly. I just think it sounds fucking amazing and I love it....

The president’s former press secretary has learned all the right lessons, but how come it took him so long?

The sax star turned his back on fame to embrace free jazz. Caught on a tape machine hidden in an overcoat, newly revealed recordings show how he did it

“I haven’t finished it yet,” she says of the 20-volume gift from her husband. A new book, “Otherwhere,” collects 50 years of her poetry.

Schuylkill County is the new face of Trump’s mass deportation, as local cops, lured by federal cash, bust scores of migrants.

The company’s announcement is the most dramatic sign yet that artificial intelligence is fundamentally transforming the field of higher mathematics.

With signs reading “Save Our Saurs,” and “Drexel Destroys Dinos?,” an intergenerational crowd. “It’s horrendous that our city would lose this,” an attendee said.

Barbara Kingsolver remembers the man she counted among her most important literary mentors.