Review: Inside New York's 20th Century Psychotherapeutic Cult
The Sullivan Institute trapped members and broke up families.
Reviews
Review: When a Fentanyl Thief Slipped Through the Cracks, Women Suffered
A New York Times podcast tells a story about both the drug war and institutional incompetence.
Review: A Podcast With Lighthearted Takes on Grim Historical Events
In The Rest Is History, two historians strike a pleasing balance between fact-dense narratives and witty banter.
Review: Netflix Offers a Too-Lighthearted Take on Becoming a Cult Leader
Narrator Peter Dinklage takes viewers through a step-by-step process for becoming the next Jim Jones.
Review: A Vampire Mockumentary Takes on Local Politics
“It’s really no surprise, the amount of energy vampires in politics," says a fictional candidate for Staten Island comptroller.
Review: Slow Burn Steps Inside the House at the Center of Clarence Thomas Controversy
A podcast about a man everyone already has an opinion about.
Review: They Cloned Tyrone Draws on Old CIA Conspiracy Theories
The political commentary in Netflix's sci-fi comedy isn't exactly subtle.
Review: Who Really Wrote Little House on the Prairie?
Did Laura Ingalls Wilder's libertarian daughter have an outsize role in crafting the beloved children's series?
Review: Not Everyone Liked the New Deal
Amity Shlaes anthologizes Franklin D. Roosevelt’s critical contemporaries.
Review: Silo Shows the Perils of Authoritarian Hierarchies
Leaders depicted in the Apple TV+ series outlaw "relics" of the past, even including PEZ dispensers.
Review: Shiny Happy People Charts the Downfall of the Duggar Family
The Amazon miniseries examines the Institute in Basic Life Principles, focusing on the Duggar family and its multiple sex abuse scandals.
Review: White House Plumbers Delivers an Amusing Take on Watergate
This retelling of the Nixon scandal is more in the style of Leslie Nielsen than Robert Redford.
Free Market Book Misstates the History of Free Market Thought
Author Jacob Soll's commitment to an untenable historical thesis distorts the facts.
Review: In The Bear, a Restaurateur Battles Government Bureaucracy
A Chicago sandwich shop's survival depends on cutting through red tape.
Review: Alphabet Boys Explores Federal Cops' Manufactured Crimes
A new podcast asks whether federal agents are catching bad guys or creating them.
What's in Your Bug-Out Bag?
Your ideal bug-out bag depends on your needs. Here's what J.D. Tuccille puts in his.
Review: The Big Break Documents Trump's Washington
Washington Post reporter Ben Terris offers a fair treatment to both conservative and liberal activists in the Trump era.
Review: Wonder Boy Chronicles the Life and Death of Former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh
A new book handles the ill-fated CEO's story with respect.
Review: The Covenant Dramatizes the Plight of Afghan Interpreters
Jake Gyllenhaal stars in a film that criticizes the U.S. immigration system.
'Private Tyranny' Is Less Private Than You Think
Sohrab Ahmari inadvertently gives even more reasons to reduce the power of the state.
Review: The Peculiar Politics of Killer Mike
The rapper is a Bernie Sanders supporter who speaks out about gun rights and free speech.
We Don't Need a War on Screen Time
Unwired makes an unconvincing argument for heavy-handed tech regulation.
Review: Did the Waco Siege Inspire More Violence? Showtime Series Explores the Question
The assault on Mount Carmel was meant to bolster the ATF's reputation. It failed.
Review: In Baby J, John Mulaney Contends With His Post-Rehab Image
What happens when a "wife guy" divorces his wife?
The Chicago Boys' Deal With the Devil
The Chile Project surveys neoliberalism's most polarizing experiment.
Review: Jury Duty Offers a (Fake) Look Inside the Justice System
A supposedly sacred duty devolves into much ado about ordering lunch.
Review: Choose Your Own Adventure in American Futures
The author, whose libertarian leanings are evident, makes readers consider the impact of the choices they make in the voting booth.
Review: Ithaka Chronicles the Fight To Save Julian Assange
"If he goes down, so will journalism," Assange's father John Shipton says in the documentary.
Review: How Tetris Escaped the Iron Curtain
The Apple TV+ film tells the story of an entrepreneur who helped bring a Soviet designer's game to the world.
Thank Dutch Merchants, Not a Strong State, for Capitalism
Pioneers of Capitalism chronicles centuries of bottom-up economic evolution in the Netherlands.
Review: Computer-Generated Art, Decades Before Midjourney
Futuristically thrilling but aesthetically limited
Review: Ash Ketchum Was a Free-Range Kid
In the Pokemon universe, there's no central government and vital social services are provided by informal clubs.
How Pirates in Madagascar Spread Enlightenment Ideas
Pirate Enlightenment documents an interracial experiment in stateless self-governance.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Celebrated Selfishness as a Virtue
The show's final season boldly declared that success requires putting yourself first and accepting the trade-offs.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Does Cinematic Diversity Right
The Little Mermaid was a dull exercise in box-checking. Spider-Verse uses its diverse cast as an opportunity for narrative delights.
Review: A Lesson on Political Ambition From Dungeons & Dragons Movie
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is more Rob Reiner than J.R.R. Tolkien.
Review: Henry George's Many Children
The 19th century reformer's influence on 20th century progressives, conservatives, and libertarians
Oppression in the South Was Not an Expression of Freedom
Freedom's Dominion argues Southern history was animated by "racialized radical anti-statism." The case is lacking.
Review: Animal Control Pokes Fun at Real-World Policing Problems
Asset forfeiture isn't funny—but what if it involves tripping bunnies and psychedelic mushrooms?
The Left-Right Spectrum Is Mostly Meaningless
The political landscape doesn’t fit on a simple map.
Review: National Shrine Celebrates St. John Paul II as a Freedom Fighter
Too few remember the pope's opposition to Polish building regulation.
Review: Everything I Need I Get from You Gives a Fangirl's View of the Internet
Author Kaitlyn Tiffany offers a history of fandoms.
Beware the 'Christian Prince'
The Case for Christian Nationalism advocates for an ethnically uniform nation ruled by a "Christian prince."
Review: The Man Who Hacked the World Captures the Chaos of John McAfee
Author Alex Cody Foster went deep with McAfee for months in an ill-fated attempt to ghostwrite his memoir.
Review: Imperfect Victims Documents Women Who Are Prosecuted for Defending Themselves
Author Leigh Goodmark's end goals of abolishing prisons and defunding police are hard to swallow.
Review: Bragg Brothers' Pinball Depicts Repeal of the Game's Ban in New York City
Politicians in the last century accused pinball of being mob activity.
