I had much internal debate over this one. I loved it, and it was initially my POW! choice. There were so many great colorful entries and clever clues, INTERNET RADIO such a surprising and satisfying a-ha for [Pandora's domain]. I was sure it had to do with evils, Pandora's box, etc. Brilliant!

And a WAR MOVIE bringing box office bombs? Yes! This is the kind of stuff I'm used to seeing in a Wentz masterpiece.
SWISS MADE as [Watch words?] = fantastic repurposing of an everyday phrase.
Here's the thing, though. Having read "Between the World and Me," I plunked in TA NEHISI COATES right away. I felt so smart! And smug! I'm well-read! Brilliant! No doubt that he's an important contemporary writer.
But if you haven't heard of him — and I wouldn't blame you, as he's nowhere as famous as Ralph Ellison or Maya Angelou — it's impossible to figure out his name. If you don't happen to know ERIC BANA, that crossing is doomed. Same with a BRIS (where a mohel does a circumcision).
I also happened to know HART CRANE, but only from crosswords. I thought I was too lowbrow to have read him, but Jim (an extremely well-read person) didn't know him either. Boy, was I glad to hear that! Made me feel not quite so uneducated.
That's all to say that along with KT OSLIN (I knew her, Jim didn't), it felt like a lot of tough names. One or two toughies is fine, but too many of them and the puzzle feels like it's trying to educate rather than entertain. I'm much more in the latter camp than the former, so all of this made me rethink my initial POW! consideration.
I still really enjoyed the solving experience, especially since there was a lot of Wentzian color, with STAY AT HOME DAD, SPARE NO EXPENSES, ID NUMBER. It's still probably my favorite puzzle this week. I just wonder if it's aimed too strongly at people like me, and potentially off-putting to large chunks of the NYT's solving audience.