Earlier this fall José Andrés, the chef and founder of World Central Kitchen, interviewed his friend Arnold Schwarzenegger, the actor and former governor of California, for Town & Country’s 2023 philanthropy issue. They spoke via Zoom, but the video call began with a hiccup. Andrés was late, and when he finally appeared on the screen he was walking down a hallway, tablet in hand, frantically looking for a place to sit. He was in Kyiv, he explained, and just out of a meeting with the first lady of Ukraine that had unfortunately run long. An aide found Andrés a quiet corner, and he and Schwarzenegger, who was at home in Los Angeles, began a far-ranging conversation about their shared passion for getting boots on the ground (especially their own) to help others.
Since leaving office, Schwarzenegger has championed a number of causes, including combating climate change, ensuring fair voting practices, supporting veterans, funding youth sports programs, and inspiring healthy living. Many of these efforts are conducted through the Schwarzenegger Institute at the University of Southern California, as well as via direct donations and his podcast and newsletter, Arnold’s Pump Club. Andrés founded World Central Kitchen, which provides meals to communities in distress around the world, after he and his wife Patricia Fernández de la Cruz traveled to Haiti in 2010 to help after a devastating earthquake hit the country. World Central Kitchen has since expanded to promote clean cooking and culinary training initiatives, as well as programs to help vulnerable communities prepare for disasters.
Andrés and Schwarzenegger spoke for the better part of two hours, pausing briefly when air raid sirens could be heard in the background in Kyiv and then jumping right back into their discussion.
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Esta historia es de la edición November 2023 de Town & Country US.
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Come On A My Palazzo - Marcantonio Brandolini grew up within these historic walls, skateboarding through his family's 15th-century Gothic home. Now, from ground floor offices that are more Venice Beach than Doge's Palace, he leads an artisanal incubator that may just save the lagoon from oblivion.
A few years ago, when I was writing a novel about reckless young men in Venice, I stumbled upon a photo online that conjured the spirit of my characters. In it, a scruffy-haired twentysomething sits precariously on the edge of a palazzo rooftop, staring out over the city as if he owns the place. Later I discovered that the young man in that photo wasn’t a random backpacker but Marcantonio Brandolini d’Adda, descendant of one of Venice’s most noble and socially well-connected families. The rooftop on which he’s perched is his family’s majestic 15th-century Gothic palazzo on the Grand Canal. By most definitions, the handsome young man in the photo really does own the place.
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Best Friends Forever...and Ever, and Ever, and Ever - From celebs to finance bros, everyone suddenly seems to think an NAD+ drip is the secret to eternal youth. Could they be right?
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The Etiquette of Dissent - What happens if your candidate loses the election? Fortunately, examples of civilized-and productiveways to handle it abound.
The etiquette of living in dissent thereafter, especially if it goes on for a long time, is another matter. In theory, we are supposed to learn how to be good losers as kids. Athletic leagues give out sportsmanship awards, and institutions like the Scouts try to coach their members toward grace in defeat. Both aim to teach us how to live on the outs, perhaps drawing upon the British public school attitude of let’s-all-pull-together-for-the-empire. (The out-of-power party in the UK is even known as “His Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition.”) In the American ideal, we metaphorically line up and shake hands after the softball game, and then square off again on another day. In practice, what some people do is accuse the other team of cheating and try to get the umpire fired.
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