When we have an article about a medical phenomenon, one thing that we can usually count on is an active comments section, full of personal stories and experiences. Billy Brennan’s story on “terminal lucidity” — unexpected moments of clarity and awareness in people with Alzheimer’s or dementia who may be close to death — was no exception. In today’s newsletter, we wanted to share some of the stories from the comments of Billy’s article, which illustrate several examples of terminal lucidity.
THE INTERVIEW Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York City is riding high. In an era when the public is sour on politics, recent polls show him actually becoming more popular among New Yorkers. As his star rises, Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, has also been flexing his political power in new ways — his endorsement of three progressive candidates for the House of Representatives gave them the edge against establishment-backed incumbents and contenders and cemented his role as a kingmaker in the Democratic Party. I sat down with Mamdani to talk about what has turned out to be a fascinating and controversial experiment in what Democratic Socialist governance can do in America’s most important capitalist city. Read, listen or watch my interview with Mamdani here.
MORE FROM THE MAGAZINE
ON THE COVER
FROM THE ARCHIVES Getting the Gang Back TogetherThis week, we published a story that falls into a long tradition of true-crime narratives: the heist. Nathaniel Rich’s article about professional thieves who robbed a data center in London has references to crime classics like “Ocean’s Eleven” and “Sexy Beast” and is full of the signature elements of a good caper: the once-in-a-lifetime job, the assembly of a crack team of experts, shadowy tips from an inside source, the attempted escape when the cops are on their trail. So as a treat, here are some other stories about heists and robberies published in the magazine. “What Is the Value of Stolen Art?” by Ed Caesar (2013)When a couple of men wearing hoods broke into the Kunsthal museum in Rotterdam at 3:16 a.m. on Oct. 16 last year and stole two drawings by Monet and one painting each by Gauguin, Picasso, Matisse, Lucian Freud and Jacob Meyer de Haan, it wasn’t immediately obvious which camp they fell into. There was something businesslike about the burglary itself, which took about two minutes and prompted experienced detectives to suspect an expert crew was responsible. A little more than a year after the heist, however — with the principals having confessed their guilt and the artworks most likely destroyed — we know for sure: They were knuckleheads. “To Sketch a Thief,” by Tom Mueller (2006)In a more contemporary approach to the criminal mind, [Noah] Charney wants to apply to art thefts the techniques of criminal profiling that forensic psychologists use to help solve serial rapes and murders. To supply the necessary raw materials for this analysis, he has begun to compile a database of art thefts that records salient details: the way the work was stolen, for instance, along with biographical information about everyone involved, including thieves, fences and the collectors who eventually bought the purloined artwork. “Sapphire Ring — 95% Off,” by John Tierney (1995)Shortly after midnight last Labor Day, you may recall, robbers left Tiffany with $1.9 million worth of jewelry. It was the most daring and costly theft ever carried out at the store, but what followed was even more remarkable. If the heist was the Midnight Snack at Tiffany, what happened two days later was the Miracle on 44th Street. That Wednesday [Theodore] Johnson took some of the loot to 44th Street and Third Avenue, where he pulled out four gold rings studded with emeralds, sapphires, and diamonds. And then, for one brief, shining moment, there was an unprecedented sight in Midtown Manhattan: a man on a sidewalk peddling new brand-name jewelry that was not fake. He couldn’t find any buyers, of course. Real jewelry at a 95 percent discount? Who would fall for a deal like that? “The Disappearing Duchess,” by Ben Macintyre (1994)Pinkerton’s detective agency later describes Adam Worth as “the most remarkable, most successful and most dangerous professional criminal known to modern times.” By 1876, Worth has settled in palatial apartments in London’s Piccadilly, an upright American banker to all appearances but in reality the coordinator of a vast criminal network extending from Constantinople to Cape Town. A veritable Victorian Gatsby, he forges a life of outward respectability and conspicuous wealth, complete with racing stables and a 110-foot yacht. He eventually attains immortality as the model for Prof. James Moriarty, the criminal mastermind and art connoisseur in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Around midnight on May 25, 1876, Worth sets out for [William] Agnew’s gallery with his bodyguard and butler, Jack (Junka) Phillips, a huge, vastly stupid English criminal who will serve as a ladder. Climbing on Junka’s shoulders, Worth clambers into the upstairs gallery, carefully cuts the painting from its frame and shins back down the uncomplaining Junka. “Going Undercover for Art’s Sake,” by Roberto Suro (1987)In the back of the room, a tall, black-haired carabinieri detective pushed the sleeves of his silk sport coat up to his elbows, just enough to be perfectly fashionable. A thin gold bracelet hung loosely around his wrist. He made the stars of “Miami Vice” look like mongrels. When the Mayor of Alanno boasted that his Madonna was probably from the school of Pinturicchio, an early-Renaissance painter, the detective took a long draw on his cigarette and whispered, ‘’Pinturicchio? Let’s not kid ourselves. Look at the background landscape — it’s mediocre stuff.’‘ COMMENT OF THE WEEK Grandma’s BoyA comment on this week’s World Cup diary from Sam Anderson: As an American grandmother recently pulled into World Cup madness, I can only rank players subjectively based on who I find most handsome. So I am a Jude Bellingham fan. But I have begun to understand the phenomenological cosmology that is Messi. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
