Exclusive ‘Wicked: For Good’ First Look; Why Elon’s “Butthurt”; the High-Tech, High-Testosterone Eden

Plus: The Obama Who Dropped Her Last Name

View in browser | Update preferences SUBSCRIBE FOR FULL ACCESS MATTHEW LYNCH, EXECUTIVE EDITOR Given the state of things, you could be forgiven for dedicating a sliver of your daily daydream bandwidth to building your own little kingdom where all would be right and nothing out of place. Dryden Brown has made a career—and raised half a billion dollars in capital—out of this sort of vision. VF contributor Zoë Bernard today checks in on Brown, not yet 30 and the CEO of an outfit named Praxis, which hopes to one day build its own "neo–Gilded Age" metropolis. The city-state tech-utopia idea has bounced around with Silicon Valley types for a while, but when Bernard and Brown met he'd homed in on a location: a 100,000-acre Space Force base north of Santa Barbara. What will he build there, given the chance? "It is a revival of the aesthetic, classical ideas in America," Brown says. "It is a high-testosterone futuristic vision versus the chill, community-oriented one." Honestly? Your newsletter correspondent has actually read more aggressive real estate copy at various greater New York–area open houses over the years. An Exclusive First Look at Wicked: For Good BY CHRIS MURPHY Wicked: For Good—the second film adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical, once again starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande—will hit theaters on November 21. And Vanity Fair has an exclusive preview of all things Elphaba and Glinda ahead of the trailer's release. "This is where our childhood dreams collide with our adult selves," Chu says of the darker turn the second half has to take. READ MORE Hot Topics BUYER'S REMORSE Why Elon Musk Is "Butthurt" About the GOP Spending Bill BY ISSIE LAPOWSKY The Tesla CEO says he's angry about America's ballooning debt. White House sources say it's personal. READ MORE THE IRONY Republicans Shocked Bill They Didn't Read Has Stuff They Don't Like BY BESS LEVIN Representatives like Marjorie Taylor Greene are now expressing their regret—and ignorance. READ MORE AND JUST LIKE HAT Ranking Every Hat on And Just Like That… BY TOM SMYTH Carrie Bradshaw and co. never say no to a statement headpiece—so we went back and ranked all 41 that have appeared on the Sex and the City sequel. READ MORE WHAT'S IN A NAME? Pete Hegseth's Rewriting of American History BY ERIC LUTZ After ordering the renaming of the USNS Harvey Milk, the defense secretary is reportedly considering doing the same for vessels honoring other civil rights trailblazers, falling in line with Donald Trump's attempt to reframe America's past. READ MORE Pack Your Bags The High-Tech, High-Testosterone Eden That Will Save the World BY ZOË BERNARD Dryden Brown has raised half a billion dollars to build a city where the rich will get richer, discuss The Odyssey, and, he thinks, restore Western civilization. Heaven, it turns out, just may be an hour north of Santa Barbara, on a US Space Force base. "At the highest level, it's about building the arsenal of democracy so that if we get into a conflict with a geopolitical rival like China, we can actually compete at parity," shared the CEO and cofounder of the "network state." READ MORE In Other News Meghan Markle Shares Never-Before-Seen Video In honor of Princess Lilibet's birthday, the duchess posted a hilarious video of her and Harry dancing in their hospital room before Lili was born. Renée Zellweger on the Verge of Making History The actor chats with VF about embracing a new era of Bridget Jones—and Hollywood itself. Michelle Obama On Why Her Daughter Dropped Her Last Name on Her Film "We respected the fact that she's trying to make her way." MORE FROM VANITY FAIR POLITICS BUSINESS HOLLYWOOD STYLE ROYALS CELEBRITY This e-mail was sent to you by VANITY FAIR. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, vanityfair@newsletter.vf.com, to your address book. View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2025. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.