Media

Americans Can’t Stop Mythologizing Robert Mueller

Batman. Superman. Boyfriend. Savior. While the special counsel has conducted a notably quiet investigation, Americans have filled in the blanks.

• Megan Garber
• Mar 22, 2019

Jussie Smollett’s Alleged Hoax Will Feed Bigger Hoaxes

If the actor faked a hate crime, he provided fuel for bigoted conspiracy theories. But so does the discourse around his case.

• Spencer Kornhaber
• Feb 22, 2019

Andy Warhol’s Meta and Morbid Message Haunted the Super Bowl Ads

In the future, everyone will have 15 minutes of selling fast food from beyond the grave.

• Spencer Kornhaber
• Feb 4, 2019

Russell Baker: ‘When Writing Is Fun, It’s Not Very Good’

Falling potatoes, reading lists, and humor critiques: a wide-ranging conversation with the legendary New York Times columnist, who died this week at 93

• Adrienne LaFrance
• Jan 23, 2019

The President’s McFeast

The fast-food dinner Trump hosted was also an argument: about government, about political messaging, about himself.

• Megan Garber
• Jan 15, 2019

Hollywood Still Doesn’t Know What to Make of Childless Women

Mary Queen of Scots promises heady feminism, but it endorses a pernicious idea: Whatever else she might achieve, a woman who is not a mother is to be pitied.

• Megan Garber
• Dec 12, 2018

Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas, and the Two Internets

What the mystifying alliance between a Bollywood star and a former boy-band member reveals about a global inability to communicate

• Mallika Rao
• Dec 7, 2018

CBS’s Les Moonves Problem Isn’t Solved

A new report on the former chief executive suggests how much more work needs to be done at the network that enabled him.

• Megan Garber
• Dec 5, 2018

The Soft Lighting of a President's Legacy

Embedded in the 41st president’s legacy are tensions about the nature of presidential celebrity.

• Megan Garber
• Dec 2, 2018

The Hard Lessons of Amanda Bynes’s Comeback

The former teen star broke down in excruciatingly public fashion five years ago. Her return brings up pointed questions about the way society handles struggling celebrities.

• Sophie Gilbert
• Nov 29, 2018

The End of The Clinton Affair

The scandal that led to an impeachment helped shape the America of 2018. Twenty years later, however, it also serves as a reminder of the stubbornness of the status quo.

• Megan Garber
• Nov 22, 2018

The Media Barely Covered One of the Worst Storms to Hit U.S. Soil

Weeks ago, Super Typhoon Yutu devastated the Northern Mariana Islands, which are home to tens of thousands of Americans. Mainland outlets paid little attention.

• Alia Wong and Lenika Cruz
• Nov 14, 2018

Sean Hannity Is Trump's Shadow Press Secretary

The Fox star finally dispenses with the polite fiction that he is anything more than the president’s puppet.

• Megan Garber
• Nov 6, 2018

Megyn Kelly’s Original Sin

The host, now leaving NBC, claimed that her morning show would be apolitical. It was a convenient act from the beginning.

• Megan Garber
• Oct 26, 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

Why the Les Moonves Departure Is Not Enough

The powerful CBS chief is exiting the company after a new round of sexual-misconduct allegations. It’s a big deal—but it’s not the full deal.

• Megan Garber
• Sep 10, 2018

The Absurdist Spectacle of the Nike Boycotts

The viral responses to the company’s new campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick reinforce the stakes of his protests—and misunderstand what motivated the brand in the first place.

• Hannah Giorgis
• Sep 5, 2018

The Lazy Trope of the Unethical Female Journalist

With Camille Preaker, Zoe Barnes, and Rory Gilmore, Hollywood’s depictions of women reporters have never been further from reality.

• Sophie Gilbert
• Aug 20, 2018

Donald Trump and the Currency of Tapes

Why eavesdrops, hot mics, and other unorthodox recordings are such a staple feature of the 45th presidency

• Sophie Gilbert
• Aug 14, 2018

And Then No One on the CBS Earnings Call Asked Les Moonves About Harassment

Americans have been conditioned to draw dangerous lines: money on the one side, morality on the other.

• Megan Garber
• Aug 3, 2018