The Weekender: Meghan’s kitchen, a social quiz and new Springsteen
Plus: “The White Lotus” ooh-loo-loo-loo drama.
The Weekender

April 5, 2025

Welcome back to The Weekender, where you’ll find a batch of the week’s top stories about culture and the way we live today.

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, discussed her rebranding from recovering royal to domestic goddess. An anxious American went to Helsinki to test Finland’s claim that it can make tourists happier. And, in advance of tomorrow night’s “The White Lotus” finale, Cristóbal Tapia de Veer, who composed all of the show’s music, revealed that he had ooh’ed his last loo-loo. He had a lot to say about why he won’t return for Season 4.

In a movie still, Val Kilmer wears sunglasses and a white military uniform as he leans toward an unidentified woman.

Paramount Pictures, via Everett Collection

AN APPRAISAL

Revisit the wonderfully weird sensibility Val Kilmer brought to every role. →

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AN UNEXPECTED LIFE

A farmhouse refuge from a Nazi blitz became one man’s forever home. →

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Adam Amengual for The New York Times

BEHIND THE SCENES

Go inside Meghan’s real kitchen, away from the cameras. →

An illustration of people socializing around and on a plant with colorful blossoms.

Oyow

RELATIONSHIPS

How healthy is your “social biome”? Take the quiz. →

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Todd Anderson for The New York Times

LIVING UP TO THE HYPE

Take a sneak peek at Epic Universe, the first major new theme park to open in Orlando in 26 years. →

MUSIC TO OUR EARS

A woman with graying dreads sits in a field of yellow flowers, smiling and clapping her hands together while wearing a light button-up shirt, jeans and a dark blazer.

Nicholas Albrecht for The New York Times

BREAKING HER SILENCE

In a rare interview, Tracy Chapman spoke about the 35th anniversary reissue of her self-titled album and the power of “Fast Car.” →

Bruce Springsteen, onstage wearing black, plays an acoustic guitar and sings into a microphone, his eyes scrunched closed in concentration.

Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

BRUCEOLOGY

Bruce Springsteen will release seven “Lost Albums” in June. Get the details. →

Five hotel staff members stand barefoot in the sand, mountain peaks and a lapping sea visible in the distance behind them.

Fabio Lovino/HBO

OOOH-LOO-LOO-LOO

The composer of “The White Lotus” theme song told us why he won’t return for Season 4. →

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Loren Elliott for The New York Times

TECH SUPPORT

Here comes the invasion of home humanoid robots. →

An illustration of a woman wearing a red shirt and loose beige pants wheeling a rolling suitcase down a path with dark blue skyscrapers and evergreen trees to the left, a shimmering blue body of water ahead of her and purple flowers to her right. The sun is shining in a partly cloudy sky.

Rune Fisker

DESTINATION HAPPINESS

Finland says it can teach tourists to be happy. An anxious American visited to see if it was true. →

An angled image showing pieces of a caramelized brown cake.

Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne.

SWEET AND SIMPLE

A chef’s favorite cake is also the easiest to make. →

This is the cover of “Flesh,” by David Szalay.

WHAT TO READ

Here are seven new books our critics and editors recommended this week. →

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This edition of The Weekender was edited by Farah Miller and Kellina Moore.

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