Welcome to Scam World
To own a computer or smartphone — indeed, to engage with the digital world to any degree — is to be a mark. You can try to block, encrypt and unsubscribe your way out of it, but you may not succeed.
By Steven Kurutz
I have a special interest in stories of people who may live outside big cities or come from unorthodox backgrounds but who are doing interesting things and shaping the culture.
I was born and raised in rural Pennsylvania and moved to New York in 1999. I began my journalism career at Entertainment Weekly, and was also formerly a staff reporter at The Wall Street Journal. I started writing for The New York Times in 2001, for the late, great City Weekly section, and joined The Times full-time in 2011 as a reporter for the Home section. In 2015, I came to the Styles desk. My longform essay “Fruitland,” about the music of Donnie and Joe Emerson, was adapted for the feature film “Dreamin’ Wild.” I am also the author of “American Flannel,” a book about the challenges of manufacturing clothing in America. The book grew out of my reporting for The Times, specifically a profile of Bayard Winthrop, an entrepreneur determined to make that most American of garments, the flannel shirt.
All Times journalists are committed to upholding the standards of integrity outlined in our Ethical Journalism Handbook. I do not accept gifts, trips or other forms of currency in exchange for coverage, nor do I cover people or companies I have personal connections to. I take seriously the responsibility that comes with being a New York Times reporter.
Email: steven.kurutz@nytimes.com
X: @skurutz
LinkedIn: Steven Kurutz
To own a computer or smartphone — indeed, to engage with the digital world to any degree — is to be a mark. You can try to block, encrypt and unsubscribe your way out of it, but you may not succeed.
By Steven Kurutz
Rusty Foster could never live in New York. But his hit newsletter, Today in Tabs, is an enduring obsession of the city’s media class.
By Steven Kurutz
From the mid-1990s onward he was one of the biggest names in fashion, with stores around the world and celebrity admirers like Lenny Kravitz and Cindy Crawford.
By Steven Kurutz
Those who appreciate “something as basic as a stick” are sharing their enthusiasm through a newly popular Instagram account.
By Steven Kurutz
When the writer built a dream home for his family, he forgot to include one important thing: a place to write. So he found an unconventional solution.
By Steven Kurutz
Prince William’s decision to bow out of a planned appearance this week, citing an undisclosed personal matter, fueled feverish speculation about his wife’s health online.
By Steven Kurutz
Champions of Feb. 29, a mind-bending wrinkle in time, are trying to get some recognition for “a day that doesn’t exist.”
By Steven Kurutz
Tribeca Pediatrics made the unglamorous job of caring for kids into a replicable, exportable aesthetic — to the tune of millions.
By Steven Kurutz
A four-decade timeline of total transformation in Brooklyn.
By Steven Kurutz, Ruru Kuo, Karen Hanley and Rebecca Suner
The natural foods entrepreneur hit upon a distinctively American style that matched the homey packaging of his products.
By Steven Kurutz