Review: A Godzilla Movie About Bureaucracy
In Shin Godzilla, scientists must cut through red tape to save Tokyo.
Reviews
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.
The Government Was Lying to You About Afghanistan. Dan Krauss Has the Receipts.
Reason is sharing an exclusive clip from Bodyguard of Lies, an upcoming documentary about the failed war in Afghanistan.
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.
How Civilizations Lose Their Spark—and How We Might Keep Ours
Golden ages teach us a lot about what makes civilizations rise and fall.
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.
Mark Twain's Travel Log From the Holy Land
Christianity would be wonderful, Twain suggests in The Innocents Abroad, if it weren't for Christians.
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.
Superman Is About the Anti-War Vibe Shift
Supervillains used to be foreign enemies. Now the villain is a defense contractor who wants to start a regime change war.
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.
Jurassic World Rebirth Chases Summer Movie Nostalgia
In this painfully mediocre Jurassic Park franchise placeholder, even the hypocrisy is nostalgic.
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.
McCarthyism, Past—and Present?
Clay Risen's Red Scare book wrongly frames it as an exclusively conservative hysteria.
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
The Best Democracy Is Anarchy
"Anarchism and democracy are—or should be—largely identical," wrote the anthropologist David Graeber.
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.
Review: The Wild Adventures of Women in Anthropology
Anthropology was once built around freewheeling interactions with alien peoples in far-flung lands.
Review: The Free Market Comes to The Sims 4
Even simulated entrepreneurs aren't free from the burdens of business registration fees.
Review: Was Charles Manson Carrying Out a CIA Experiment?
Errol Morris' new Netflix documentary explores alternative theories of the Manson cult's infamous 1969 murders.
Review: A Doomsday Murder Mystery Set in an Underground Bunker
Even in a fictitious postapocalyptic world, the government can't be trusted to tell the truth.
Review: A Superhero Struggle About the Ethics of Violence
The animated Invincible series wrestles with the ethics of killing for the greater good.
Review: Blurring the Line Between Fine Art and Advertising
Commercial genius Alphonse Mucha's ads helped sell everything from soap to Champagne.
In Praise of Zeppo and Shemp
Two new biographies tell the stories of the unsung members of the Marx Brothers and the Three Stooges.
Review: How Video Games Can Connect Us to the World
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, a documentary on Netflix, explains how a terminally ill boy found freedom in World of Warcraft.
Review: The Christian Case for Free Markets
Mere Economics makes a religious argument for private property and free exchange.
Review: The Whole Story Tells the Story of Whole Foods Market
Company co-founder John Mackey weaves together lessons from his business, spiritual, and personal journeys.
Review: Authoritarianism Backfires in the Latest Dune Installment
In Max's Dune: Prophecy, even the power to predict others' actions can't tame the chaos of free will.
Review: Netflix's Mo Captures the Absurdity of the U.S. Immigration System
A stateless protagonist dodges the federal government in comedic fashion.
Review: Is the New Captain America Movie an Allegory for Donald Trump?
Brave New World was shot long before the new Trump term, but the parallels are hard to overlook.
Review: Flow Is a Beautiful Low-Budget Animated Feature
The Latvian Oscar winner was rendered on a free and open-source 3D graphic engine.
Review: Aging Millennials Confront Adult Problems on Screen
Apple TV+'s Shrinking is both cringeworthy and relatable.
Review: A Novel About Pronatalist Government Programs
Set in South Korea, Apartment Women reflects real concerns about the country's lagging birth rate.
Review: A TV Spy Thriller About Psychological Consequences of Going Undercover
The Agency depicts the cruelty and dehumanization involved in espionage work.
Review: D.C. Museum Exhibit Illuminates the Brutalities of Slavery
The "In Slavery's Wake" exhibit celebrates black Americans' resistance to slavery and Jim Crow.
