Melissa Kirsch

New York

Deputy Editor, Culture and Lifestyle at The New York Times

Culture & lifestyle editor at The New York Times. I write The Morning on Saturdays☀️.

Articles

Breaking Through

3 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Melissa Kirsch

In a meeting at work last week, my colleague told the story of how she recently took her son, age 17, to his first concert, Kim Deal at the Brooklyn Paramount. She was so excited to blow his mind, to introduce him to the magic of live music that she'd discovered at 15 when she first went to a rock show herself.
Spring Awakening

1 month ago | flipboard.com | Melissa Kirsch

12 hours agoHave you ever wondered how some people get to be so successful? It may appear that their road was easy or they got a lucky break. However, if you take the time to understand all of the pitfalls and trials that many go through before reaching their goals, you will learn that it takes lots of work …
Spring Awakening

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Melissa Kirsch

One afternoon last week, I convinced a friend to accompany me to a restaurant in Brooklyn to learn how to play Hong Kong-style mahjong. I'd always been intrigued by mahjong's colorful bakelite tiles, the satisfying clacking sound they make as they're shuffled. My mother plays the American version twice a week with the same groups of friends, a clubby ritual that makes me a little jealous: Why don't I have a regular game of something going? We were a group of 15 or so students, all new to the game.
Social Distance – The New York Times - Business And America

1 month ago | businessandamerica.com | Melissa Kirsch

Where were you in March of 2020? When did you realize Covid was a thing that was going to disrupt life as you knew it? I was hiking in Joshua Tree, spending my days delirious at the natural beauty of the desert, unsure if I should return to New York. Each time I refreshed The Times’s coverage, it seemed more and more evident that going home would mean staying indoors for the foreseeable future. I came back.
Social Distance

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Melissa Kirsch

Where were you in March of 2020? When did you realize Covid was a thing that was going to disrupt life as you knew it? I was hiking in Joshua Tree, spending my days delirious at the natural beauty of the desert, unsure if I should return to New York. Each time I refreshed The Times's coverage, it seemed more and more evident that going home would mean staying indoors for the foreseeable future. I came back.
Lightening Up

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Melissa Kirsch

Daylight is adding up, about three minutes more each day as March progresses, give or take. Tomorrow, we bank a full hour at once: Change your clocks, change your smoke detector batteries, start planning menus around tender lettuces. Spring hasn't arrived yet, but her plane's definitely left the ground. I call this time of year The Great Thaw, or sometimes The Great Unclenching.
Who Will (and Should) Win?

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Alex Barron |Kate LoPresti |Tina Antolini |Wendy Dorr |Carole Sabouraud |Melissa Kirsch | +2 more

The 97th Academy Awards are on Sunday, bringing an end to an awards season that has been full of twists and turns. After some nominees picked up unexpected wins at previous ceremonies and others became ensnarled in online controversies, many races are still up in the air.
Lost Causes | Flipboard

2 months ago | flipboard.com | Melissa Kirsch

1 hour agoCutting through the marketing noise and TikTok trends, these shows deliver unbiased, straightforward tips on everything from serums to supplements. The beauty industry has seen exponential growth over the past few years, driven in part by a growing interest in preventative skin care among Gen Z and …
How 'Babygirl' Flips the Script on Middle-Aged Sex

2 months ago | nytimes.com | Kate LoPresti |Frannie Carr Toth |Sonia Herrero |Elisheba Ittoop |Dan Powell |Melissa Kirsch | +2 more

Women in midlife are having a moment in popular culture - a steamy one. Recently, there has been a swell of books, celebrity-endorsed wellness products, and movies that center on the sexual lives of perimenopausal and menopausal women. One of those films is "Babygirl," written and directed by Halina Reijn and starring Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson. The age-gap romance has ignited a feverish conversation about the intricacies of women's sexual power and desire.
Changing Tunes

2 months ago | nytimes.com | Melissa Kirsch

I loved reading about the 27-year-old French pianist Alexandre Kantorow, a rising star in the classical world who's won major awards, played in the rain in the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics and is set to make his debut at the Los Angeles Philharmonic on Friday. What struck me about Kantorow is his commitment to keeping his life and his working practices the same, even as he seems destined for fame, even as fans crowd outside his performances holding signs begging for seats.