The Patience “Euphoria” Demands The Patience “Euphoria” Demands
While the HBO show is polarizing and easy to critique, it still manages to expand the genre of teen drama.
Mar 23, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Erin Schwartz
Volodymyr Zelensky Is Not a Comedian—and That’s No Joke Volodymyr Zelensky Is Not a Comedian—and That’s No Joke
A belated review of Servant of the People that may turn into an obituary.
Mar 16, 2022 / Barbara Garson
The Infinite Possibilities of “Macbeth” The Infinite Possibilities of “Macbeth”
Sparse and beautiful, Joel Coen’s Shakespeare adaptation focuses on why we continue to return to this story of power and downfall.
Feb 22, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Erin Schwartz
Baseball Players Can’t Live on “a Cup of Coffee” Baseball Players Can’t Live on “a Cup of Coffee”
The media’s “billionaires vs. millionaires” view of the current baseball lockout is a major league lie. The vast majority of players who reach the big leagues don’t play long enoug...
Feb 7, 2022 / Kelly Candaele and Peter Dreier
Muhammad Ali Was Our Last Great American Hero Muhammad Ali Was Our Last Great American Hero
The American dream may be coming apart at the seams, but the glory of The Greatest is in full flower and still growing. Why?
Jan 31, 2022 / Robert Lipsyte
Theater Kids and the End Times in “Station Eleven” Theater Kids and the End Times in “Station Eleven”
The HBO adaptation of Emily St. Mandel’s postapocalyptic pandemic novel examines, with mixed results, the endurance of art after society collapses.
Jan 31, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Vikram Murthi
Soul Train and the Desire for Black Power Soul Train and the Desire for Black Power
Don Cornelius’s faith that Black culture would attract a mass audience—and his devout belief that Black culture should be in the hands of Black people—make the program he created a...
Dec 22, 2021 / Mark Anthony Neal
Inside the Hell That Is “The Many Saints of Newark” Inside the Hell That Is “The Many Saints of Newark”
All of the things that worked in The Sopranos make its prequel a remarkable slog of a film.
Nov 18, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Erin Schwartz
“Succession”’s Repetition Compulsion “Succession”’s Repetition Compulsion
In Succession’s moral universe, no one can ever get what they want or what they deserve.
Nov 10, 2021 / 2021 Year in Review / Sam Adler-Bell
Dave Chappelle’s Comedy of Bitterness Dave Chappelle’s Comedy of Bitterness
In his recent special The Closer, and his response to critics of it, he outlines a strange version of identity politics where comedians are always the victims.
Nov 9, 2021 / 2021 Year in Review / Stephen Kearse