When's the last time you took a long lunch? Really spread out and said to hell with the afternoon, then ordered a glass of wine or even a martini. I don't know about you, but I eat too many lunches at my desk. Based on recent chatter, the midday meal seems to be an endangered thing. We must protect it at all cost. Read about the general concern over lunch—and why you might need a long one in your future—below. – Michael Sebastian, editor-in-chief Plus: |
|
|
A proper midday meal—especially on a workday—is a small yet necessary act of rebellion in these times. |
Every year or two, the weekday business lunch—sometimes called the power lunch, in which businessmen and businesswomen break bread, often with alcohol—is declared either dead or back. It came up last week, when one of the most popular writers on Substack, Emily Sundberg, author of the "Feed Me" newsletter, suggested lunch was waning. Nobody eats anymore, she said (I suspect that's a reference to the prevalence of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic), and our phones are always getting in the way. The newsletter item was part of a bigger conversation happening this year: We are very worried about the state of lunch. Few observers are declaring the meal dead; instead they seem to think it's in a precarious place. |
|
|
The tank top is a tricky one. You're walking around in what is, traditionally, an undergarment or a piece of sportswear in the old-timey sense. It can make you feel vulnerable—even a little inappropriate, maybe. Wearing one, in my book, is more daring than going fully topless to collect as much vitamin D as possible. It's a move, is what I'm saying, and it's not an easy one.
But I also believe wearing a tank top can look incredibly cool when done correctly. A lot of "doing it correctly" comes down to confidence, panache, or just acceptance and love of your body—and those are three things I think every guy needs to have. So in a weird, roundabout way, I am very much a fan of the tank top and what it can do for a guy. |
|
|
When my colleague Josh Rosenberg and I updated this list in the spring, we couldn't shut up about how floored we were by 2025's initial TV efforts. Right off the bat, the small screen smothered us with future Emmy contenders: The Pitt, Paradise, The Studio, The Last of Us, The White Lotus, and Severance. Insane, right? In 2024, I would've been entirely satisfied if those were the only top-tier shows we saw all year.
Turns out, it was time for a heat check. As soon as we published our update in April, the TV calendar slowed down to a screeching halt. Save for a few (also exceptional) shows that you'll see below—Andor, The Rehearsal, and The Bear, mainly—it's been a quiet summer for TV fans. Thankfully, we're staring down a loaded fall TV season, which will include another Pennsylvania-set throwdown from the Mare of Eastown creator (Task), the prestige sci-fi series we've been waiting for (Alien: Earth), and a long-awaited spin-off of The Office (The Paper).
But let's not get too ahead of ourselves. For now, here are the best TV shows of the year so far. |
|
|
 It's hot out there today. The RealFeel in New York is Questioning All My Life Choices. For most of us, the heat can turn choosing what to wear into a challenge. You want something that won't be oppressive but will also look good. Today we have a solution to that problem—an Esquire editor's favorite shirt for a scorching summer day. Take a look below. – Michael Sebastian, editor-in-chief Plus: |
|
|
A Ben Davis half-zip looks good, wears hard, and excels during any warm-weather activity. |
I've got no problem with summer. By and large, the three hottest months of the year are my favorite because I spend as much of it as I can next to, or in, a body of water. My issue with summer comes down to clothes. In New York, where I live now, I feel the need to be in a suit, but linen can only do so much and too much of it makes you look like a wannabe Neapolitan. I love a Lacoste polo shirt when it gets hot, but it doesn't make up for the pocket situation that comes with a loss of a jacket—I need somewhere to store sunglasses, a lighter, and tobacco products. And most of the time it's too hot to wear anything more than swim trunks. So, my checklist for a summer shirt has always been: good looking, hard-wearing (for beach days and frequent washes), semi-breathable, and at least one pocket. My go-to has always been, and will always be, a Ben Davis half-zip. |
|
|
My vision was simple: A mini version of my wife who would hold my hand while asking me to sit and do crafts with her. Reality would prove much more difficult. This conversation sent us on a yearslong journey that included multiple miscarriages, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and all its glorious side effects, and tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills. And it revealed that even in 2025, when so much is possible in the fields of gene optimization and medical science, there is only the illusion of control. Creating life cannot be optimized; it remains messy and stressful. Which is to say, my wife and I are now the proud parents of three sons. |
|
|
Not since the halcyon days of the Attitude Era—when the then-named World Wrestling Federation employed generational badasses like Steve Austin and The Rock and produced edgy TV that took cues from Jerry Springer and South Park—has pro wrestling been this big. The WWE (formerly WWF) is still the premier league of professional wrestling. Following its 2023 merger with UFC to form the joint venture TKO, WWE saw a revenue of $1.3 billion in 2024 and a splashy Netflix deal that has migrated its flagship show Monday Night RAW from cable to streaming. But with audiences now reinvested in WWE's sandbox, and in great numbers, what does it take to keep their shrinking attention spans? Ironically, it might be the death of kayfabe itself. Amidst WWE's booming presence on Netflix is the new docu-series WWE: Unreal, which takes cameras deep into the locker rooms and writers' rooms (yes, WWE employs narrative writers) to reveal how the in-ring sausage is made. The first season chronicles the months and weeks leading up to WrestleMania 41, held in Las Vegas last April. It "pulls back the curtain," so stated in the series by WWE's chief content officer and de-facto showrunner Paul Levesque, himself a multi-time champion by the name Triple H. WWE: Unreal stands at the intersection of the sacrilegious and the sublime, with the industry's old guard reacting exactly as you'd expect. |
|
|
|
|
|
