For Celebrities, Apathy Can Be a Form of Political Credibility
Stars are focused less on candidates than on democracy itself this year, and using their own past indifference as a tool.
Frontiers of Sports
New Orleans’s Football Stadium Reflects the State of the City
When I was young, the Superdome was full of joyful chaos. Then Katrina hit, and filled it with despair. Now the stands at Saints games are hauntingly empty.
Dwight Schrute Was a Warning
When The Office originally aired, its resident fool made for easy comedy. Fifteen years later, it’s hard to watch Dwight without seeing tragedy.
Sarah Cooper’s Humor Is Not What You Thought
The comedian went viral for “playing Trump,” but in her new Netflix special, Everything’s Fine, she shows how unusual her comedic taste can be.
On TV, Having Wealth Means You Get to Suffer Beautifully
Like other stories about terrible rich people, HBO’s glitzy murder mystery The Undoing is entranced by a world it finds immoral.
What Was Adele Doing on Saturday Night Live?
The vocalist flaunted her personality, not her pipes—in an assertion that her stardom is bigger than singing.
The New Borat Movie Is Less a Satire Than an Exposé
The bumbling provocateur who stormed the United States in 2006 has now become an unlikely voice of reason.
De-stress With an Election-Anxiety Playlist
Twelve songs to help you express impatience, agitation, and hope
Let Sofia Coppola’s New Film Transport You
On the Rocks, starring Rashida Jones and Bill Murray, is a dose of much-needed escapism.
How a Great Crime Writer Came to Imitate Himself
Over the past decade, John Banville has frankly apprenticed himself to the masters, including Henry James and Raymond Chandler. With his new novel, he’s come full circle.
The COVID-19 Documentary All Americans Need to See
Totally Under Control delivers a damning—and essential—report card on the White House’s mismanagement of the pandemic.
25 of the Best Horror Films You Can Watch, Ranked by Scariness
This list should have something for everyone, no matter your fear-tolerance level.
SNL Takes a Much-Needed Break From Politics
Issa Rae’s sunny demeanor enlivened last night’s episode and ushered in a handful of sketches that diverged from the show’s standard fare.
An Ode to Agony Aunts
Taking pleasure in others’ pain as a reader of the advice column
The Mad, Mad World of Niche Sports Among Ivy League–Obsessed Parents
Where the desperation of late-stage meritocracy is so strong, you can smell it
A Radically Different Way to Look at Incarceration
Time, a breathtaking documentary by Garrett Bradley, follows a young couple’s journey to keep their family together during a 20-year prison stay.
Aaron Sorkin’s New Film Is the Right Story for This Moment
Netflix’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 is a departure for the writer and director, who often indulges in misty-eyed idealism for American institutions.
Watching the Outrage Over Cuties as a Survivor of Pedophilia
Detractors of the Netflix film have painted it as sordid and exploitative. They couldn’t be more wrong.
Would a Soul Mate Fix Your Anxiety Right Now?
Probably not—but a new AMC show about the false promise of true love makes for strangely comforting viewing in pandemic times.
Beyond the Myth of Malcolm X
Understanding the humanity, and the communities, that shaped the brilliant, troubled, selfish, generous, sincere radical
How to Get Rich By Losing Lots of Money
Adam Neumann is out of his WeWork job, but entrepreneurs will surely imitate him.
The Surprising Value of a Wandering Mind
In a time of Zoom lectures and distracted students, a new book champions an underappreciated state of being.