My Brother Wants Me Out of His Life. Can I Change His Mind?
The New York Times
A reader seeks advice on defusing sibling tension.
One of my brothers — the sibling I’ve always felt closest to — recently told me that he will no longer speak to me. He claims I am self-righteous, judgmental and sarcastic, and he said he’s felt this way for a long time. (I will admit to being opinionated.) I am not entirely shocked; we’ve had bouts of tension before. But I am surprised by how well and for how long he kept his strong feelings to himself. He lives in a distant city and delivered his news over the phone. At the end of the call, it was clear he was severing ties with me indefinitely. Can I reach out to him to try to repair the damage?
ROSS
The one thing I’m pretty sure of here is that reaching out to your brother is not the best first step. Your letter suggests that your go-to move may be to quibble with his assessment of your behavior: “I’m not judgmental, I’m just opinionated.” And that would be a surefire loser.
In the months leading up to the election, Donald J. Trump sat for a slew of casual and unconventional conversations with podcasters and streamers. We watched them all.
In the last year, museums, book festivals, arts journals and other organizations have experienced bitter discord over what qualifies as tolerable speech about the conflict and its combatants.
John Krasinski may not have the raw energy of Glen Powell, but a collaboration with the stylist Ilaria Urbinati has paid huge dividends.
The star of Jacques Audiard’s showy new musical about a trans Mexican crime boss, Karla Sofía Gascón, adds soul to the melodrama. Zoe Saldaña also shines.
The powerhouse soprano, already a company stalwart at 37, still seems to be figuring out a character whose moods change on a dime.
The artist’s works are the subject of two New York shows, at the Metropolitan Museum and the Jack Shainman Gallery.
The YouTube star has a coffee company, a podcast and a new collaboration with Warby Parker. One thing she isn’t doing much? Posting.
The FX series strives to capture the complexity of its subject: the long sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles.
Nora Holt was a pioneer of Chicago’s Black classical music scene. A friend of Josephine Baker, she later became a blues singer in Parisian nightclubs.
In the film “Conclave,” the costume designer Lisy Christl clothed an army of catty cardinals, from their miters down to their quirky glasses.
The sprawling PST festival of more than 70 exhibitions doesn’t quite live up to its theme of art and science colliding. But there is a handful of impressive entries.