The Severance Twist I Can’t Forgive
The Season 2 finale emphasized the show’s most philosophical queries, but one element was hard to swallow.
A Rapper for the Ketamine Era
Playboi Carti sounds like he isn’t saying much. But there’s a story to his music.
The Supply Closet That Film Geeks Love
A trip to the Criterion Closet is a dream for directors, actors, and their cinephile fans.
Searching for the Democratic Bully
Andrew Cuomo is resurgent, and Rahm Emanuel is considering a presidential run. Are these the tough guys Democrats need?
How to Make an Instantly Forgettable, Very Expensive Movie
The Russo brothers’ Avengers films took hold of popular culture, but the directors have yet to repeat that kind of success.
What Impossibly Wealthy Women Do for Love and Fulfillment
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, embraces old-fashioned domesticity on her new lifestyle series.
Dear James: I Miss Being on Dating Apps
I’ve hit the relationship jackpot. But now I have romance FOMO.
The Life of the Mind Can Only Get You So Far
Michelle de Kretser’s intellectual coming-of-age explores the fissures between one’s ideals and reality.
Why Aren’t Women Allowed to Play Baseball?
Women have always loved America’s pastime. It has never loved them back.
The Last Great Yiddish Novel
Chaim Grade’s Sons and Daughters rescues a destroyed world.
A Thriller That Knows Not to Overstay Its Welcome
With Black Bag, Steven Soderbergh makes the case for his own ruthless efficiency.
A ‘Slow Movie’ in the Best Possible Way
The film Eephus celebrates the beautiful, blissful anticipation of baseball.
I’d Had Jobs Before, but None Like This
The time I spent working on the Canadian National Railroad changed the course of my life.
Reality TV Just Leveled Up
The Traitors is part satire, part camp, and pure genius.
An Unabashedly Intellectual Murder Mystery
Cristina Rivera Garza’s newly translated novel evokes a mixture of numbness and anxiety in the face of incessant violence.
The Man Who Owned 181 Renoirs
Albert Barnes believed in the liberating power of art—but you had to look at it his way.
Bong Joon Ho Will Always Root for the Losers
In his new film, Mickey 17, the director brings his preoccupation with classism to outer space.
There’s Nothing Else Like Netflix’s Mo
The Palestinian American sitcom is the first of its kind—and takes its humor very seriously.
Dear James: I Hate Playing With My Children
And I’m riddled with mom guilt.
The Novel I’m Searching For
Five years after the pandemic, I’m holding out for a story that doesn’t just describe our experience, but transforms it.