Culture

The Magical-Thinking Defenses of Brett Kavanaugh

CSI: Beltway. Doppelgängers. Zillow. The theories offered on behalf of the Supreme Court nominee have come to suggest a determined resistance to a changing world.

• Megan Garber
• Sep 21, 2018

The Sisters Brothers Is a Brutal, Funny, and Surprisingly Graceful Western

Jacques Audiard’s adaptation of Patrick deWitt’s novel stars Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly as a pair of hired guns growing sick of their work.

• David Sims
• Sep 21, 2018

The Rising French Star Creating Subversive Synth-Pop

On her new album, Christine and the Queens makes the gender revolution hummable.

• Spencer Kornhaber
• Sep 21, 2018

The Simple Request of the McDonald’s Anti–Sexual Harassment Protests

The strike, like most #MeToo-era advocacy, reveals that those who’ve dealt with workplace misbehavior don’t desire vengeance so much as an acknowledgment of the harm that’s been wrought.

• Hannah Giorgis
• Sep 20, 2018

The Logical Fallacy of Christine Blasey Ford’s ‘Choice’

Since coming forward with allegations against Brett Kavanaugh, the professor has faced doxxings and death threats. Now she’s also been given a misguided ultimatum to testify.

• Megan Garber
• Sep 20, 2018

In Life Itself, Death Is the Ultimate Plot Twist

The writer and director Dan Fogelman (This Is Us) has crafted a film with an all-star cast—Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Antonio Banderas—but an absolutely miserable script.

• David Sims
• Sep 20, 2018

A Heartbreaking Reality for Mets Fans

Despite a fantastic start to the season that suggested the historically disappointing New York team was on the upswing, it appears greatness is still out of reach.

• Annika Neklason
• Sep 20, 2018

Brett Kavanaugh, Mark Judge, and the Romanticizing of Teenage Indiscretion

An alleged witness to the rape attempt the Supreme Court nominee stands accused of has opined about rowdy-young-male behavior for years.

• Spencer Kornhaber
• Sep 19, 2018

‘I’d Do Her’: Mike Bloomberg and the Underbelly of #MeToo

Disparaging comments. Demeaning jokes. As the mogul reportedly considers a 2020 presidential run, it remains an open question whether his long-alleged history of undermining women will affect his chances.

• Megan Garber
• Sep 19, 2018

Fahrenheit 11/9 Is Powerful at Times, Scattered at Others

Michael Moore’s new film takes aim at President Trump and establishment Democrats alike, but it only succeeds when the director turns the camera on his hometown.

• David Sims
• Sep 19, 2018

Does Anybody at the Emmys Know What the Word Diversity Means?

In simply joking and pontificating about an absent diversity, the awards show missed yet another opportunity to begin reflecting.

• Hannah Giorgis
• Sep 18, 2018

Housegirl Complicates the Diaspora Narrative

The debut from the Ghanaian British author Michael Donkor explores the life of a domestic worker in London, while rejecting the common impulse to focus on more aspirational immigrant stories.

• Hannah Giorgis
• Sep 18, 2018

Colin Jost and Michael Che’s Lackluster Emmys Monologue

The dual hosts of the TV Academy’s awards looked less than thrilled to be onstage, and even their Saturday Night Live chemistry was lacking.

• David Sims
• Sep 17, 2018

The Movie Myths That Shaped Steve Bannon’s View of America

A documentary about the former Trump adviser is one of a handful of new films that challenge the allure of pop-culture heroes in the U.S.

• David Sims
• Sep 17, 2018

Brett Kavanaugh and the Revealing Logic of ‘Boys Will Be Boys’

The discussion now swirling around the Supreme Court nominee asks an insidious question: Is sexual assault simply the way of the world?

• Megan Garber
• Sep 17, 2018

The Emmys Should Be Political

The past year has proved, over and over again, that TV is defined by misbehavior. Awards shows shouldn’t ignore that fact.

• Sophie Gilbert
• Sep 17, 2018

Your 2018 Emmys Crash Course

A roundup of all The Atlantic’s best stories to get up to speed in time for TV’s biggest awards show

• J. Clara Chan
• Sep 16, 2018

The Phantom Reckoning

From Les Moonves to Louis C.K. to so many others implicated in #MeToo, there have been many performances of accountability theater. But those in power have repeatedly proven themselves unwilling to make amends.

• Megan Garber
• Sep 16, 2018

The First Is a Dazzling, Portentous Space Drama

Beau Willimon’s new Hulu series about a groundbreaking Mars mission, starring Sean Penn, is gorgeous and occasionally insightful.

• Sophie Gilbert
• Sep 15, 2018

The Predator Is a Manic, Messy Disaster

Shane Black’s entry into the long-running sci-fi franchise is too chaotic for its own good.

• David Sims
• Sep 14, 2018