Television

The Psychic Theater of Boots Riley

The Psychic Theater of Boots Riley The Psychic Theater of Boots Riley

Absurdist, darkly funny, I’m a Virgo tells a story of first love, capitalism’s surreal excesses, the contradictions of Black life, and how much politics a work of art can bear.

Jul 25, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Jorge Cotte

SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America members picket in front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza on July 17, 2023.

Hollywood Bosses Are Trying to Scare Striking Workers Into Folding. They Won’t Win. Hollywood Bosses Are Trying to Scare Striking Workers Into Folding. They Won’t Win.

The studios are ramping up a campaign of fear in an effort to spook writers like me into taking a bad deal. But we’re not going to fall for it.

Jul 18, 2023 / Josh Gondelman

The Great Collapsing Culture Bubble

The Great Collapsing Culture Bubble The Great Collapsing Culture Bubble

From classic movies to documentaries, the foundations of film culture are under siege from cost-cutting executives.

Jun 29, 2023 / Ben Schwartz

Retired Marine Gen. James Cartwright arrives for a hearing at US District Court, October 17, 2016 in Washington, DC. Cartwright was charged with making false statements during a federal investigation.

If Donald Trump Went to Jail for Violating the Espionage Act, He’d Be an Exception If Donald Trump Went to Jail for Violating the Espionage Act, He’d Be an Exception

It’s only whistleblowers who do hard time. Generals and high officials typically get just a slap on the wrist.

Jun 20, 2023 / James Bamford

Pat Robertson

Pat Robertson’s Genocidal God Has Called Him Home Pat Robertson’s Genocidal God Has Called Him Home

The political preacher who made the religion look bad.

Jun 9, 2023 / Obituary / Jeet Heer

Chris Licht, Chairman and CEO, CNN Worldwide, speaks onstage

How CNN Went From Bad to Worse How CNN Went From Bad to Worse

Chris Licht’s disastrous reign is governed by reactionary centrism.

Jun 5, 2023 / Jeet Heer

A visitor takes a picture with his mobile phone of an image designed with artificial intelligence inspired by Johannes Vermeer’s painting “Girl With a Pearl Earring.”

Truth in the Age of the Deepfake Truth in the Age of the Deepfake

Could our interest in true-crime podcasts and celebrity biopics be telling us something about our collective discomfort with faking it?

Jun 2, 2023 / Marianela D’Aprile

Jeremy Strong in the finale of “Succession.”

The Janus-Faced End of “Succession” The Janus-Faced End of “Succession”

At once cruel and compassionate, the finale of the much-loved HBO show revels in the space between tragedy and comedy.

May 31, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Vikram Murthi

The character Shiv Roy sitting at a conference table with a resigned and frustrated look on her face.

Soul-Crushing Misogyny Made “Succession” the Perfect Show for Our Time Soul-Crushing Misogyny Made “Succession” the Perfect Show for Our Time

It was clear from the start: Siobhan Roy could never win. But toxic masculinity made the men losers too.

May 30, 2023 / Joan Walsh

President Barack Obama visits a Solyandra manufacturing facility in Fremont, Calif., in 2010.

Why Barack Obama’s “Working” Isn’t Quite… Working Why Barack Obama’s “Working” Isn’t Quite… Working

The former president explores what we do all day in a Netflix series that says little about what is to be done. 

May 25, 2023 / Ben Schwartz

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