Gear Patrol

The most important excerpt from this week’s Briefings, which we ask that you read if you have time for nothing else: “Perhaps more importantly, did you know that the 18th century Hungarian engineer, Wolfgang von Kempelen, made a phony mechanical chess master to woo Empress Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina of Austria?” But you can’t…

We hope savvy travelers have finished trekking their way through 150 Weekends in the USA & Canada ($25), because more trips are on the way with The New York Times, 36 Hours: 125 Weekends in Europe ($26). As you’d suspect, this follow-up compiles the same excellent “36 Hour Departure” travel articles as its predecessor —…

Inevitably, in the wake of big events with major accomplishments, the instinct of writers and reporters is to look for the hidden stories, the secrets of the trade, the explanations for The Way Things Work. Our Briefings this week is roughly about that, both in the Olympics and in things and events more generally. Sometimes…

Maybe next year one of us will run with the bulls in Pamplona. (Any takers, guys?) Until then, we’ve got more accounts from the festival, plus a battery of other man-related things: a debate about manliness, Carl Sagan’s reading list, Elon Musk’s latest venture, and a shop in Maine where you can get cool vintage…

The internet is a great place to wander around and read stories about guys like Charlie Wittmack, who conquer imagine impossible physical and mental challenges and then conquer them. It’s a good place to watch documentaries about the ’92 Dream Team and to read great poetry. It’s also a good place to incubate your depression,…

This week we’re reporting from Edinburgh, UK, and seeing things through the traveler’s lens (more on Edinburgh in the coming weeks). In that spirit, this week’s picks are all about seeing familiar things from a different perspective. We’ve also got two recipes that celebrate the changing of the seasons, which is exactly what happened this…

When go-to resources like Travelzoo and Jetsetter are just a click away, it’s tough not to let wanderlust get the better of you and your real world budget. Thankfully, there’s plenty of gems right in our own 9,400,000 sq mi backyard — and the Grey Lady can prove it. Filled with photography and gorgeous illustrations,…

Cookbooks may not be the first thing you’re looking to whip out your wallet for, but having few around is certainly something we’d recommend. Especially if you hope to pull off a home-cooked meal at some point to prove your not completely worthless. Luckily, New York Times food columnist Amanda Hesser has put together a…