Television

Then-FCC chair Newton Minow appearing before a Senate subcommittee in 1961

Newton Minow Sought to Lead Us Out of the Vast Wasteland Newton Minow Sought to Lead Us Out of the Vast Wasteland

The Kennedy-era FCC chair who inspired reformers to demand media that served the public interest has died at age 97.

May 9, 2023 / John Nichols

Striking writers outside the set for the Showtime series

AI and the Hollywood Writers’ Strike AI and the Hollywood Writers’ Strike

Creative workers are fighting to preserve the human factor in the entertainment industry. 

May 8, 2023 / Ben Schwartz

Members of the Writers Guild of America East on the picket line outside of the Peacock NewFront on May 2, 2023, in New York City.

Writers Like Me Have Shut Down Hollywood. Here’s Why. Writers Like Me Have Shut Down Hollywood. Here’s Why.

The Writers Guild of America is on strike because Hollywood bosses have treated our demands for fair and sustainable working conditions with contempt.

May 4, 2023 / Josh Gondelman

In the naughty chair: former Fox News host Tucker Carlson

No, You Absolutely Do Not Have to Hand It to Tucker Carlson No, You Absolutely Do Not Have to Hand It to Tucker Carlson

Contra some of his leftist stans, the ousted Fox News host was not actually anti-war or an economic populist.

Apr 28, 2023 / Jeet Heer

E. Jean Carroll at 2019 Glamour Women Of The Year Summit

Is Donald Trump’s Luck About to Run Out in a Manhattan Court? Is Donald Trump’s Luck About to Run Out in a Manhattan Court?

While Fani Willis deliberates and Jack Smith investigates, E. Jean Carroll finally gets her day in court.

Apr 25, 2023 / Francis Wilkinson

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in “The Last of Us.”

What “The Last of Us” Could Never Do What “The Last of Us” Could Never Do

The HBO series exposed all the limits of video game adaptations.

Apr 20, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Erin Schwartz

Donald Trump and Fred Trump in 1987

Donald Trump Sinks to a New Low by Dog-Whistling an Old Racist Tune Donald Trump Sinks to a New Low by Dog-Whistling an Old Racist Tune

Insinuating that special prosecutor Jack Smith changed his name might seem like an odd tactic for someone whose family name was Drumpf—unless you know the history.

Apr 14, 2023 / David Margolick

Edward Norton and Mia Maestro in Extrapolations

The Banal Politics of “Extrapolations” The Banal Politics of “Extrapolations”

The new Apple TV series knows the world is going to shit but is uninterested in the kind of change needed to prevent this from happening.

Apr 12, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Jorge Cotte

Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, presides during a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on what Republicans say is the politicization of the FBI and Justice Department and attacks on American civil liberties on March 9, 2023.

Representative Jim Jordan’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Hearings Representative Jim Jordan’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Hearings

The Ohio representative’s debut in the scandal business represents a considerable falling off from the party of Joseph McCarthy and Henry Hyde.

Apr 11, 2023 / Francis Wilkinson

The Biting Workplace Comedy of “Party Down”

The Biting Workplace Comedy of “Party Down” The Biting Workplace Comedy of “Party Down”

Returning over a decade after it was originally canceled, the cult series remains a potent satire of meritocracy and Los Angeles.

Apr 11, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Vikram Murthi

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