The Rise of CliffsNotes Cinema
Oversimplified literary remakes miss the point of the works they are adapting.
Culture
Why Justin Bieber Played YouTube Onstage for Thousands of People
The pop star transformed the normal act of browsing your laptop into something interesting—and unsettling.
The New Age of Performance Anxiety
With the rise of screen culture, all the world has stage fright.
Where Did ‘Let Them’ Come From?
Years before Mel Robbins published her best-selling self-help book, a struggling writer posted a poem with a similar message.
Seven Books That Demystify Human Behavior
Other people can be baffling; these titles attempt to unravel a bit of their mystery.
The Brash New Sound of Hedonism
The Dare’s music is a blast, and a challenge to the psychological hang-ups of modern partygoers.
Slow Horses and the Dark Psychology of an Unwinnable Game
The show’s masterful fourth outing unpacks the steep cost of a trade in which people are expendable.
Inside the Dangerous, Secretive World of Extreme Fishing
Why I swim out into rough seas 80 nights a year to hunt for striped bass
Rachel Kushner’s Surprising Swerve
She and her narrators have always relied on swagger—but not this time.
How Resilient Are Jewish American Traditions?
Between the Temples tackles the anxieties around cultural assimilation—and finds continuity among very different generations.
What a 100-Year-Old Trial Reveals About America
A new book on the Scopes case traces a long-simmering culture war—and the fear that often drives both sides.
Introducing “Dear James,” a New Advice Column
For all your existential worries
The Growing Gender Divide, Three Minutes at a Time
Sabrina Carpenter tackles the exasperation of being young, female, straight, and single in 2024.