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.
What Orwell Didn’t Anticipate
George Orwell famously argued that clear language in politics can be a bulwark against oppression. But in the Trump era, his solution no longer holds.
When the Pope Dies, the Cardinals Get Catty
In Conclave, Vatican City isn’t immune to election-season absurdity.
The Writer Who Understood the True Nature of Obsession
The late Gary Indiana kept the culture of his time close to his chest because it fueled his indignation—and his fixations.
The Virtue of Being Forgotten
A new book argues that privacy is the key to a meaningful existence.
My Colleague Repeats Herself Constantly
And I’m losing my mind.
The Genius of Handel’s Messiah
The oratorio is a feat of sustained inspiration arguably unsurpassed in the canon of Western classical music.
How the Trump Resistance Gave Up
This year is nothing like 2020, and a collective sense of resignation might make all the difference.
The Celebrities Are Saying the Loud Part Quietly
Democratic politics and pop culture have long been entangled—but entertainers seem a bit more sheepish about their endorsements lately.
MomTok Is the Apotheosis of 21st-Century Womanhood
On reality TV, motherhood is turning into a jumble of feminist ideals and branded domesticity.
Don’t Cancel The Washington Post. Cancel Amazon Prime.
The subscription money enriching Jeff Bezos could instead be spent on the journalism crucial to preserving democracy.