The Rise of CliffsNotes Cinema
Oversimplified literary remakes miss the point of the works they are adapting.
Culture
Why Justin Bieber Played YouTube Onstage for Thousands of People
The pop star transformed the normal act of browsing your laptop into something interesting—and unsettling.
The New Age of Performance Anxiety
With the rise of screen culture, all the world has stage fright.
Where Did ‘Let Them’ Come From?
Years before Mel Robbins published her best-selling self-help book, a struggling writer posted a poem with a similar message.
Hacks Goes for the Jugular
In its third season, the show faces the failures of late-night comedy head-on.
The Diminishing Returns of Having Good Taste
The internet makes most information instantly available. What if that’s why mass culture is so boring?
I Am Building an Archive to Prove That Palestine Exists
For me and my family, this work is an act of hope.
How Daniel Radcliffe Outran Harry Potter
He was the world’s most famous child star. Then he had to figure out what came next.
When Your Every Decision Feels Torturous
Neel Mukherjee’s new novel explores the reality that no choice—particularly as a parent—is perfect.
The Godfather of American Comedy
The funniest people on the planet think there’s no funnier person than Albert Brooks.
Bad Bunny Has It All—And That’s the Problem
The Puerto Rican superstar is known for his anthems of community. His latest tour is about his own isolation.
Would Limitlessness Make Us Better Writers?
AI embodies hypotheticals I can only imagine for myself. But I believe human impediments are what lead us to create meaningful art.
Why Does Taylor Swift See Herself as an Albatross?
She can’t help identifying with the notorious bird from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem.
The Story That’s Holding Taylor Swift Back
The artist is an extraordinarily powerful woman who still, somehow, feels like she has no real power at all.