“Babies show up in our lives like a popular girl transferring into school in the middle of the semester,” writes Allison P. Davis (@babymeatballs). “Their sudden presence, though considered a blessing to their parents, throws the social order into disarray. In 2017, the journal Demographic Research published a study that looked at how the age at which parents had a baby impacted their personal relationships. Researchers concluded that across the board, the strength and quality of friendships “typically decreases after people become parents” and that most of the quality degradation occurs around when the child is 3, during the years that kids’ needs are most demanding of their parents’ time and energy. Friends might drift away during this era, but friendships come back. It might take six months or three years or a decade, but babies eventually become kids, and parents stumble out of those dark days with a restored freedom to commit to their social lives. The dilemma facing friends with kids and friends without them isn’t so much if they’ll ever have the time to meet up at a bar for happy hour; it’s whether all those years of being busy and disconnected have messed up their friendships so much that nobody will want to go.” Read our latest cover story from @babymeatballs at the link in bio.

🌟 PEAK BADU 🌟 @erykahbadu is our Fall Fashion Issue cover star, and she has a lot to talk about. “I’m confident that my truth is relevant, so I go ahead and say it.” Come join a four-hour phone call with the icon at the link in bio, and pick up a copy of the issue IN PRINT, out today. Photography by @zhonglin_ Styling by @jessswill and @erykahbadu Written by @caseygerald Makeup by @patmcgrathreal Set Design by Jay Evers @onsetmanagement Manicure by @taliysha_ Tailoring by Andrew Bayer @janicesdaddy Production by @kindlyproductions The Cut, Editor-in-Chief @lrpeoples The Cut, Photo Director @nono_elle_ The Cut, Deputy Style Editor @joannanikasnyc On the cover: @balenciaga V-neck Pleated Dress, @luar Feathered Shiesty Headpiece

New York is not an injera town, which @tammieeverytime knows because she grew up in Injeratown, USA, also known as Washington, DC. There, countless corner stores and restaurants well into the Maryland and Virginia suburbs offer the brown flatbread, sometimes so fresh it’s still warm, thanks to the area’s large diaspora of Ethiopian and Eritrean immigrants. But as soon as she saw the injera platter at Bersi (@bersi_ethiopian_restaurant) — a vegan Ethiopian restaurant that opened in Greenpoint this summer — she knew that it was the good stuff. “It has the deep umber shade that speaks to a high percentage of teff; its height was slightly thick from adequate leavening, which was also evident in the pattern of fine (but not too fine) bubbles across the top, referred to as ‘eyes’ in Amharic,’ she writes. “Picking it up to unravel a roll, I noted the soft, supple elasticity — evidence it had been made that afternoon.” Head to the link in our bio for more on the injera platter – including the smooth chip shiro sauce it comes with – at Bersi. Photo: @_hugoyu

"I published my first cookbook in 1972. I was 24, dirt-poor, and living in a fifth-floor walk-up loft on the very ungentrified Lower East Side. We built our kitchen table from wooden pallets scavenged on the street, and my rolling pin was a wine bottle. Although I went on to become editor in chief of Gourmet magazine, I have never cooked more delicious food than during those years when all I had was a couple of battered pots and a single knife." At the link in our bio, @ruth.reichl shares 11 kitchen tools that have stood the test of time — from a versatile paring knife to the couscoussier she received as a wedding present in 1970. Photo: @ruth.reichl

A decade ago, country music of the ’90s was treated like a novelty from a bygone era. More recently, tongue-and-cheek references have given way to a full-on revival. Some of the friskiest country tracks of the past few years have echoed the guitar-powered, line-dance-friendly drive that Nashville perfected in the ’90s. There’s a greater appreciation for robust vocals, too; singers with lustier instruments and hard country accents like Lainey Wilson and Luke Combs are beginning to break through again. Whether overtly or subtly, today’s artists are making clear how heavily indebted they are to the acts that came to fame alongside "Daria" and dial-up internet. Swipe through and tap the link in bio for the 25 modern songs that sound like '90s country. Illustration: @mariajesuscontreras

Few things cement a famous person’s celebrity status like throwing out the first pitch at a Major League Baseball game. And because it’s not a red carpet but a sartorially casual event, it’s also a chance to get to know more about the said famous person’s personal style. In this case, actress and writer Ayo Edebiri has shown us an extremely good and easy-to-replicate way to make jeans and sneakers look special. When @lizalizo saw the photos of Edebiri standing on the pitcher’s mound at Boston’s Fenway Park, those dark-wash wide-leg jeans immediately stood out. Our writer set out to find the exact pair — tap the link in our bio to read. Photo: Winslow Townson/Getty Images

"The question “Has the Sexual Revolution Failed” contains within itself a number of other questions (failed at what? Failed whom? Why are we talking about this?), precisely none of which were answered Wednesday night at the Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, where 1,600 plaid-skirted e-girls and be- khakied normies and the aspiring canceled paid as much as $165 a seat to hear a British ideologue, a deft Dimes Square shape-shifter, an ex-Muslim podcaster, and Techno Mechanicus’s mother debate the resolution. You can’t really fault the organizer, even if the organizer was Bari Weiss. It ought to have worked. An ill-defined proposition, half of Red Scare, a random British lady very upset about BDSM, and Grimes? No notes." Read more from @kerryhowley about how the big debate went down at the link in bio. Photo: Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂 🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰🎂 Head to the link in our bio for why these are the best cake shops in New York City. Illustration by @petey_royale

April 8, 1968, and much more / To mark the release of ‘Radical Wolfe,’ the new documentary about Tom Wolfe, we’ve made available online a big swath of his writing for New York magazine, including this great essay about New York accents that appeared in our first two issues. Read it all at nymag.com/author/tom-wolfe.

One year has passed since protests first broke out across Iran following the killing of a young woman named Mahsa Zhina Amini on September 16, after she was detained by the morality police. Beginning in her hometown in Iranian Kurdistan and spreading to every corner of the country, thousands of Iranians marched demanding justice, supporting women’s rights, and calling for an end to the dictatorship under the current political system, under the banner of “Woman, Life, Freedom.” The government responded with severe repression, beating and arresting protestors, and shutting down the internet to prevent activists from organizing further. Last fall, we spoke to six protestors about what kept them in the streets. At the link in bio, we reinterviewed the same people to understand how the movement has evolved. Iran’s government remains in power, the protests have largely quieted down, and many have tempered their hopes for the future. Last year, the morality police were disbanded; then this summer, the government announced they had resumed patrol, though the situation can vary depending on where you live. Those we spoke to in Iran weighed the wisdom of joining demonstrations to mark the one-year anniversary of the uprising. They reflected on the role of the Iranian diaspora on the movement, and what global allies might do differently. Whatever happens in the coming days, millions of Iranians — especially women and young people — continue to live their lives in open defiance of the government in ways previously unthinkable. Photo: @ahmad.halabisaz

Eric Ulrich adjusted his pocket square and looked straight ahead for the cameras. As a public official — first as a city councilmember, then as a senior adviser to Mayor Eric Adams, and finally as commissioner of the Department of Buildings — he knew all about photo ops, ever ready to deliver a sharp sound bite in his dry Queens accent. But on Wednesday, inside Manhattan criminal court, he uttered just two words: “Not guilty.” Ulrich, 38, was arraigned on charges brought by District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office that he accepted $150,000 worth of bribes. It was the result of a yearslong investigation into organized crime, including an underground casino where Ulrich gambled with several co-defendants. Ulrich is accused of using his position as a top aide to Adams to pull strings for his friends, who allegedly paid him with thousands in cash, Mets tickets, a discounted seaside apartment, and more. “Eric Ulrich monetized each elected and appointed role that he held in New York government,” Bragg said at a press conference. “Rather than serving the public, he used his roles to benefit himself and his friends.” Read more about the slew of bribery charges Ulrich is facing from his time in the Adams administration at the link in bio. Photo: Mark Peterson (@markpetersonpixs)

This summer, Scarr Pimentel moved @scarrspizza to a bigger location across the street. He told us he’d be hanging on to the original space, but all he’d say was that his plans involved “omakase.” Now, we know what he meant: Sushi Oku will open at 22 Orchard Street this weekend. Head to the link in our bio for everything you need to know, including pricing and how to snag a reservation — although, if you’re reading this, it may already be too late to grab one of the spot’s eight seats. Photo: @_hugoyu