Pop culture

Joker

‘Joker’ Brings Class Warfare to the Big Screen ‘Joker’ Brings Class Warfare to the Big Screen

Hollywood is uneasy with superheroes, yet the genre is a mirror for troubled times.

Oct 11, 2019 / Jeet Heer

The Making of Moroccan Funk

The Making of Moroccan Funk The Making of Moroccan Funk

Led by the Casablanca polymath Abdelakabir Faradjallah, the band Attarazat Addahabia defined the sound of the city.

Sep 17, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Marcus J. Moore

Ileana Cabra’s Music for a Revolution

Ileana Cabra’s Music for a Revolution Ileana Cabra’s Music for a Revolution

Her new album channels the spirit of Puerto Rico’s activists.

Sep 10, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Julyssa Lopez

The Magic of Megan Thee Stallion and Jai Paul

The Magic of Megan Thee Stallion and Jai Paul The Magic of Megan Thee Stallion and Jai Paul

Two distinct artists defined the sound of this summer. 

Aug 27, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Bijan Stephen

Bon Iver’s Great Escape

Bon Iver’s Great Escape Bon Iver’s Great Escape

What began as a solo folk act has swelled into a collaborative and ecstatic mix of rock, pop, gospel, and more. 

Aug 22, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Marcus J. Moore

Goodbye to Free-Thought Icon and Merry Prankster Paul Krassner

Goodbye to Free-Thought Icon and Merry Prankster Paul Krassner Goodbye to Free-Thought Icon and Merry Prankster Paul Krassner

Atheist, anarchist, cofounder of the Yippies, and countercultural provocateur, Paul leaves The Realist as his greatest legacy.

Jul 26, 2019 / Danny Goldberg

There’s No Band Quite Like Big Thief

There’s No Band Quite Like Big Thief There’s No Band Quite Like Big Thief

Wrapped into its new album U.F.O.F.’s delicate folds are fragility and resilience, love and trauma, nature and ether, enclosure and space, light and dark. 

Jun 4, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Olivia Horn

The Leftovers on HBO

How Pop Culture Primed Us for ‘Alternative Facts’ How Pop Culture Primed Us for ‘Alternative Facts’

When movies, TV shows, and video games deride science, facts, and reason, the harm to our political culture can be profound.

Jan 29, 2019 / Peter Biskind

Meet Sneaks, DC’s DIY Maverick

Meet Sneaks, DC’s DIY Maverick Meet Sneaks, DC’s DIY Maverick

On her new album, Highway Hypnosis, the post-punk artist revels in rawness.

Jan 24, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Julyssa Lopez

Roma screening

‘Roma’ for the People ‘Roma’ for the People

Alfonso Cuarón’s new film breathes new life into Mexico’s “haunted” presidential palace.

Dec 17, 2018 / Ellen Freeman

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