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.
Nine Movies That Break Down How Fear Really Works
What to watch to understand your terror
How to Make Music Popular Again
The rise of headphone listening has changed us profoundly—and maybe not for the better.
Dear James: I’m Tired of Being a Compulsive Liar
How to break the habit?
The Innovation That’s Killing Restaurant Culture
Delivery has turned America into a nation of order-inners.
What Leni Riefenstahl’s Work Reveals About Fascism
The director’s collaborations with the Nazi government translated Hitler’s ideas to film, almost verbatim.
The Mysterious, Enchanting Qualities of Chocolate
Its flavor can transport you, maybe not always to faraway places but certainly out of reality.
Casting
A poem
The NBA Indictments Are Not What They Seem
The government is calling its illegal-gambling charges a major case. It’s more like small potatoes.
Seven Books That Will Change How You Watch Sports
Digging into the transformative trends behind the games is a valuable pastime of its own.
How ‘Big Tent’ Are Democrats Willing to Go?
Many in the party say it needs a wider range of candidates to run. Does that include people with Nazi tattoos?