Culture

The Dirtbag Is Back

A returning cultural archetype is indifferent to power and extremely adept at enjoying meaninglessness. What a relief.

Why Did We Buy What Victoria’s Secret Was Selling?

The brand sold itself using an upside-down logic: that women need to suffer to be deemed desirable.

An Ode to Trump’s Outtakes

His post-insurrection-speech rehearsals are even more revealing—and disturbing—than the final version.

The Way We Talk About Nature Is Getting Weirder

A new book argues that giving space to strange phenomena helps us pay better attention to the crises of our time.

The Gray Man Takes the Stoic-Spy Cliché Way Too Far

Much like Brad Pitt before him, Ryan Gosling keeps falling into Hollywood's “cool guy” trap.

The Novel That Captures New York City Right Now

Brother Alive feels like the first work of fiction since the beginning of the pandemic that reflects the mood of the city.

What a Warming Planet Means for Literature

Worrying about climate change is now just part of life on Earth: Your weekly guide to the best in books

The Risk and Opportunity of Online Fertility Groups

Seeking health advice on the web is precarious. But for some people, internet strangers provide helpful information and emotional support.

The Most Moving Film of the Year Is a Documentary About Volcanoes

Fire of Love isn’t your typical nature film; it’s also a tragic love story.

Jordan Peele’s Nope Is Spectacular, Indulgent, and Brutal

You won’t be able to look away.

Lizzo’s Music Really Is Special

The pop star’s new album continues her heartwarming world-domination plan.

Do Animals Dream?

A new book argues that dreams are a portal to animal consciousness.

You’ve Never Seen Anything Quite Like The Rehearsal

Nathan Fielder’s superpower is pushing any situation into its most awkward territory. In his new series, he goes a step further.

When a Troubling Book Gets a Hollywood Makeover

A slick movie adaptation of Where the Crawdads Sing doesn’t just sanitize the story; it obfuscates the questionable morality at the novel’s center.

Netflix’s Persuasion Tries to Have It All

The Jane Austen adaptation aims to be subversive when it could have just been sincere.

‘Netflix Thinks Exactly Like an Old Movie Studio’

In a year of falling subscriber numbers and shaky stock prices, the streaming service is doubling down on expensive, risky blockbusters.

‘Watching for Discomfort’: Mark Leibovich on Reporting His New Trump Book

A Q&A with the author on the various ways the Republican subjects of his new book, Thank You for Your Servitude, revealed themselves

TV’s Best New Show Is a Study of Masculinity in Crisis

The new FX/Hulu series The Bear brilliantly analyzes the ways in which male-dominated environments are set up to fail.

‘Everything About This Boy Was About His Mother’

There’s a troubling logic to the familial relationships in Douglas Stuart’s novels.

Where the Crawdads Sing Author Wanted for Questioning in Murder

A televised 1990s killing in Zambia has striking similarities to Delia Owens’s best-selling book turned movie.