By Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke 9/20/12 1:24pm

Cash Money

Harper's Magazine October

Harper’s Hires an ‘Anti-Economist’

Harper’s basically hasn’t changed since 1984. But next month’s issue of the highbrow magazine will feature a shake up that Harper’s readers may notice. For the first time in the magazine’s 165 years, there will be a business commentary column.

Jeff Madrick, who has written about business and economics for a variety of publications including a five-year stint as a columnist at The New York Times, will debut “The Anti-Economist” column in the October issue of the magazine.

“These days, reporting on and demystifying economic news is one of the most important responsibilities journalists have to their readers,” said Harper’s editor Ellen Rosenbush, in a statement. “Jeff’s sharp eye and informed voice will make his column the perfect companion to Thomas Frank’s Easy Chair at the front of the magazine.” Read More

By Nate Freeman 12:26am

The Wee Hours

Whirlpool at Kenmare

Oh, hon, you look so cold,” Megan Ronney told The Observer outside of Kenmare, where she works the notoriously tight door. We offered a quick nod—we were cold, and so were the 10 others forced to brave the wind instead of the endless line of drinks and glamorous patrons that surely lay beneath this Nolita Read More

By Nate Freeman 1/19/11 12:34am

The Wee Hours

Chloë in the Early Morning

Chloë Sevigny was standing a few feet from the DJ booth, swaying in a polka-dot dress and a black beret. Sometime around midnight she had started drinking Patrón against her will.

“It’s not my favorite,” she told The Observer Saturday night, talking not two centimeters from our nose. The Human League was wailing on the Read More

By Nate Freeman 1/12/11 12:52am

The Wee Hours

80-Proof Walk-Up: What's Barramundi Hiding?

Barramundi, with its specials scrawled on a chalkboard and its waterlogged-wood exterior, is practically indistinguishable from the other haunts that line its Clinton Street block on the Lower East Side. But buried within is something of a hidden gem. Since early November what appeared to be an innocuous apartment above the restaurant has been candle-lit Read More