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.
Case Study
A short story
The Filmmaker Who Wants to Wake Us From the American Dream
Sean Baker, the director of Anora, has become independent cinema’s best hustler.
Why Are We Humoring Them?
When Donald Trump and Elon Musk can turn death threats into punch lines, the joke is on the rest of us—and that’s the point.
Why Randy Newman Is Least Loved for His Best Work
The musician’s greatest songs are dramatic, psychologically complex, and often very bleak.
Six Political Memoirs Worth Reading
Hackish campaign memoirs shouldn’t indict the entire genre—there are truly excellent books written about power from the inside.
The Chronically Online Have Stolen Halloween
Obscure meme costumes are sucking the joy from the holiday.
The Worst Insult I Ever Heard as an Opera Singer
I’m not sure how to recover from this.
Michael Keaton’s Simple Trick on SNL
The actor can go from “regular guy” to awkward eccentric in a heartbeat.
Who Owns an Idea?
Cases of loose inspiration or coincidental convergences in art can be fascinating, because they force us to rethink what originality really means.
Seven True Stories That Read Like Thrillers
These immersive works of journalism follow ordinary Americans facing long odds.