Review: South Park Is Somehow Still Good in the Age of Hyperpoliticization
"It's not that South Park suddenly quote got political. It's that politics became pop," co-creator Trey Parker said in a recent interview.
Reviews
Review: Charting the 3 Factions of the MAGA Movement
Furious Minds identifies national conservatives, postliberals, and Claremonters as the coalition driving the New Right.
Review: A Hit Country Song Made by AI
Should it matter whether a song was made by a human or a machine?
Review: D.C.'s $500 Million Shrine to Capitalism
The new Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream in Washington, D.C., sidesteps its founder's complicated history.
Review: Why You've Probably Never Heard of James Garfield's Assassin
The Death by Lightning miniseries dramatizes the assassination of a president who left little lasting impact on Americans' lives.
Review: A Novel About Masculinity and Weightlifting
Muscle Man offers a subtler commentary than any thinkpiece about the bro-ification of the right.
Review: Tron: Ares Reminds Us That Artificial Intelligence Is Not the Enemy
It's the humans who develop and use AI for malicious ends, not the tech itself, who should worry us.
Review: The Sound of Music's Anti-Authoritarianism
The 65-year-old musical's depiction of an us-vs.-them mentality remains poignant.
Review: Wayward Spotlights the Dark Secrets of Troubled-Teen Programs
Characters in the Netflix show undergo psychological torture, manipulation, and psychedelic treatment.
Review: When the CIA Tried To Unlock Mind Control
Project Mind Control tells the story of the federal government's failed MKUltra program.
Review: Progressive Myths Rebuts the Left's Histrionic Takes
The author argues America is still "among the freest, most egalitarian, and most open-to-progress societies in history."
Review: The British Spy Novelist Beloved by Fellow Spies
Tradecraft chronicles the career of John le Carré, intelligence officer turned author.
Review: The Paper Parodies Work Life at a Struggling Local Newspaper
The Office spin-off contrasts journalists' self-image as a pillar of democracy with what the job often entails.
Review: Quasi-Government Megacompanies Collide in Alien: Earth
The FX series is a direct prequel to the 1979 movie.
Review: Frank S. Meyer's Fusionism Melded Classical Liberalism With Traditional Religion
Biographer Daniel J. Flynn uncovered long forgotten documents in the conservative thinker's former home.
Review: Charting Jerry Garcia's Enormous Cultural Impact
Here Beside the Rising Tide tells the story of the Grateful Dead and the 1960s counterculture.
Review: 'The Greatest Songwriter of All Time' Finally Gets a Biography
Carole King became one of the most influential musicians in the '60s, '70s, and beyond.
Review: The Smithsonian's 'Futures in Space' Exhibit Is Surprisingly Backward-Looking
We're living in the future already. Why not focus on that instead?
Review: KPop Demon Hunters Teaches Us That Harmony Thwarts Evil
A girl group battles a demon boy band in the wildly popular Netflix musical.
Review: When the Government Sent a Photographer To Document Living Conditions in Coal Towns
Russell Lee's 1946 photographs shows the squalor coal miners and their families lived in before mechanization.
Review: Eddington Takes on the Chaotic 2020 Politics of COVID
The first half of the film comes off as libertarian but then it takes a weird turn.
Review: Who Is Satoshi Nakamoto? A New Book Investigates Bitcoin's Creator
Author Benjamin Wallace explores several possibilities but admits the mystery remains unsolved.
Review: This Cat Gamed the Academic Publishing System and Earned High Marks on Google Scholar
Larry the cat's co-conspirators pulled a prank that highlighted a serious problem in scientific research.
Review: Lena Dunham's New Show Is a Rom-Com for the TikTok Era
The main character in Netflix's Too Much suffers from a fixation with online therapy culture.
Review: Dracula: A Love Tale Casts the Title Character as a Trad Religious Hero
Director Luc Besson delivers a conservative interpretation of Bram Stoker's classic vampire novel.
Review: A Godzilla Movie About Bureaucracy
In Shin Godzilla, scientists must cut through red tape to save Tokyo.
Review: Is Weapons a Metaphor for School Shootings?
The new hit horror movie is really about adults using kids for their own ends.
Review: In Defense of Spotify
Liz Pelly's Mood Machine book bemoans the music giant but overlooks how useful it is for listeners.
Review: A Documentary Portrait of Inmates Who Quilt
Netflix's The Quilters goes inside a maximum security prison where men sew quilts for foster children.
Review: Girl on Girl Explores the Dark Side of '90s Nostalgia
Author Sophie Gilbert's book dissects turn-of-the-century media and the role of women in it.
Review: The Historical Art You've Probably Never Seen
A newly renovated wing at the Met showcases culture and history from Africa, the Americas, and Oceania.
Review: Murderbot Is Part Frankenstein's Monster and Part C-3PO
The title character in this Apple TV+ series is both a menace and a friend.
Review: Ologies Podcast Explores Everything From Witches to Algae
How Alie Ward's interviews with a wide range of experts subtly make the case for liberalism and pluralism.
Review: Did We Really Need Another Squid Game?
The third season of the Netflix series lacks the moral nuance that made the original so compelling.
Review: Coastal Is a Culinary Love Letter to California's Central Coast
The cookbook offers everyday inspiration to get creative and elevate the ordinary.
Review: Detroit's Ford Rouge Factory Reveals Just How Far American Industry Has Come
The factory has changed a lot, from making Model T parts to making Mustangs to assembling electric Ford F-150s.
Knossos Presents Dueling Ideas of Greek History
The world's most glorious monument to fakery is Knossos, the Greek site containing the legendary Palace of Minos.
Review: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Sets Players Loose in a World of Wonder
If you're looking to see the sights and understand the culture of a foreign land, the easiest way to do it might be from the comfort of your couch.
Review: What Would Happen If the Modern-Day British Government Discovered Time Travel?
The Ministry of Time offers a world of romance, murder, blue sci-fi lasers, and lots of paperwork.
Review: Denmark's Viking Ship Museum Offers a Glimpse Into Life at Sea
On display are five real Viking ships, intentionally sunk in Roskilde Fjord around 1,000 years ago to form a defensive barrier.
Review: The Endless Summer Chases the Perfect Surf Conditions Around the Globe
A documentary from 1966 offers a taste of summer, no matter the season.
Review: Avowed Is a Fantasy Game About the Benefits of Local Control
The player encounters various governmental figures and debates about the rights of various human and not-so-human creatures
Review: What the Hell Is a 'Libertarian Authoritarian'?
Offended Freedom categorizes perfectly understandable anger at government overreach as inherently "authoritarian."
Review: A Doctor Changes His Mind About Opioid Prescriptions
In Greed to Do Good, a former CDC physician calls the agency's war on opioids a disaster.
Review: YouTuber Max Miller Is Recreating Historical Recipes
From parmesan ice cream to pumpkin spice lasagna
Review: Schedule I Is a Multiplayer Co-op Black Market Econ Simulator
A spiritual successor to the Drug Wars game that proliferated on high school graphing calculators
Review: There Are No Top-Down Solutions to the Problems Depicted in Adolescence
The limited-run Netflix series is fueling a real-life push for the British government to protect kids from online dangers.
Review: A Comic Book Villain Runs for Mayor of New York in the New Daredevil Series
Daredevil's nemesis Kingpin runs up against local government bureaucracy.
