Welcome to the first Schneier newsletter. I’m Matthew Schneier, a features writer at New York Magazine and The Cut (if you got this looking for other Schneiers, my apologies). Thanks for signing up for a work-in-progress – I promise, at least, that I won’t spam you. Think of this as a probably very occasional digest of my stories and updates from the field. For now, as the year draws to a close, a look back at my 2020 in review.
What a year. The world churned. I covered:
The rise of the New York Times podcast The Daily, and the rebirth of its host Michael Barbaro as the mm-hmm’ing voice of a generation;
Debut novelist Douglas Stuart’s long road from Banana Republic to the Booker Prize;
Ina Garten in high-end, home-cooked quarantine;
Les Assouline, the First Family of the travertine coffee table, publishers of books to be seen and occasionally read;
Following last year’s series of features, updates on the arrest, indictment, and trial of Ghislaine Maxwell;
The coronavirus crisis: how poetry helped weather my father’s critical illness; panic stockpiling, and boom times for weed dealers and bean dealers; arts institutions and nonprofits trembling without the gala season fundraising they need to stay afloat; a night in jail with New York’s first drag queen city council candidate; the shit-surfing beetle, mascot of our dark year;
Bitter days, sour dough;
The death of Century 21, New York’s discount dowager, and the lamentations of those who loved her;
The death of Larry Kramer, our irascible saint and necessary asshole;
An art world enfant terrible growing up on his own Green Acres;
and the long, sweet suffering of Hugh, David Sedaris’ partner and designated straight man.
Need more? Outside of my main home at New York (and its digital verticals, The Cut, Vulture, and Intelligencer), I also reviewed Andrew Martin’s Cool for America for the New York Times Book Review, and dialed into How Long Gone, the bro-cast the media is obsessed with (because the bro-cast is obsessed with the media).
Thanks for reading, following, and the occasional compliment or complaint (I appreciate them—the complaints, too). See you in 2021.