Mountainhead Is a Shallow Satire of Tech Billionaires
A zippy script can't make up for a lack of insight.
Television
Alton Brown on Cultural Appropriation, Ozempic, and the USDA
"If a Greek family starts a pizzeria, if a Chinese family straight from Beijing opens a hot dog shop, are they appropriating or are they just smart?" says the Food for Thought author and former Good Eats host.
Andor Is a Star Wars Show About the Brutality of Bureaucracy
Tony Gilroy's series reminds us that an empire doesn't need dark magic to be evil.
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.
Trump Tries To Defund NPR and PBS by Executive Order
A new executive order would keep the Corporation for Public Broadcasting alive while telling it to cut off the two biggest public broadcasting networks. Get ready for a legal fight.
How the NFL Draft Screws Over Players
Plus: a new NFL stadium, a Boston Marathon record, and Shoresy (huh?)
Are We Still Living in 1999?
A new book argues that late-20th-century lowbrow culture created the modern world.
Are Public Broadcasters About To Lose Their Subsidies?
Republicans often call for cutting off the funds but have never actually done the deed. Here's why this time might—might—be different.
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: Aging Millennials Confront Adult Problems on Screen
Apple TV+'s Shrinking is both cringeworthy and relatable.
Review: A TV Spy Thriller About Psychological Consequences of Going Undercover
The Agency depicts the cruelty and dehumanization involved in espionage work.
The Cold War Broadcasting Apparatus Should Shut Down
Dissidents resisting authoritarian regimes should be independent of the United States—and so should their media sources.
Alton Brown: A Culinary Legend Offers Food for Thought
The Good Eats host talks about the virtues of Cap'n Crunch, why fusion cooking isn't cultural appropriation, and how Martha Stewart's perfectionism ruined dinner parties.
Review: HBO's Chimpanzee Murder Mystery
What happened to Tonka the chimp? The Chimp Crazy series investigates.
Review: Drug Prohibition Leads to Violence in The Penguin
An HBO series set in the Batman universe reminds us that when a substance is outlawed, the market will provide one way or another.
Review: Why Did MTV Stop Playing Music?
Former VJ Dave Holmes explores the channel's history on his podcast, Who Killed the Video Star.
Map: Pearl Clutchers in Hot Spring County
A rural Arkansas county files more than twice as many FCC complaints per resident than anywhere else in the United States.
Review: Like Friday Night Lights, But For High School Mariachi
A documentary on Netflix follows a team of young musicians vying for competition wins in Texas.
Review: Evil on Trial Seeks To Reach A Younger Audience
WWII correspondent William L. Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich comes to life in this Netflix docuseries.
Abolish the FCC's Equal Time Rule Before the Next Election
The decades-old regulation imposes burdens that no other media outlets are subject to.
Review: In Ren Faire a Tyrant King Tries To Find a Successor
George Coulam didn't just create the Texas Renaissance Festival. He built a utopia and crowned himself king.
Review: Sunny Is a Techno-Satire About Violent Robots
Technology is neither inherently good or bad. Our friendbots—and our murderbots—are what we make of them.
Review: A Medieval Black Comedy With No Monarch
The state is almost completely absent in 'The Decameron. The characters don't exactly handle this responsibility well.
Review: House of the Dragon Imagines Dragon Combat and It's Awesome
Much like in nuclear war, there’s no way to win when both sides have dragons.
Review: Hacks Explores the Comedy of Cancel Culture
An aging comedian wrestles with woke campus culture in the new season of the Max series.
Review: Is Fallout Actually a Good Game-to-TV Crossover?
Staying true to the game, producers of the Amazon show even leave room for side quests and open-ended exploration.
Saudi Arabia Reportedly Sentences Netflix Comedian to 13 Years
The creator of Masameer County was charged with promoting homosexuality and terrorism for his South Park-style satirical cartoon.
Reason Wins 7 Southern California Journalism Awards
First-place finishes include an investigative piece on egregious misconduct in federal prison, a documentary on homelessness, best magazine columnist, and more.
Review: An Arkansas Jail Unlocked the Cells. Did it Work?
A new Netflix documentary series shows what happened when inmates were free to roam the cellblock with no guards in sight.
Review: An Anime Murder Mystery With an AI Twist
In Netflix's Pluto, a serial killer targets the world’s most advanced robots.
Review: South Park's Take on ChatGPT
The long-running satirical show turns its animated sights on AI and ChatGPT.
How Free-Range Kids Became an Answer on Jeopardy!
It took a lot of work to clear this quiz show milestone.
No, Unions Aren't Having a Resurgence—and That's Good for Workers
Private unions have every right to exist, but that doesn't mean they're actually beneficial on net.
Review: Mrs. Davis Tests the Limits of Science and Faith
When does a sufficiently advanced algorithm start to mimic our conception of God?
Another Day, Another Doomed Plan To Defund NPR
We've seen this saga so many times before.
Review: An Anime Reboot About Japan's Transition From Feudalism
The protagonist's adversaries eventually embrace modernity.
Read the FCC's Crank Mail About Saturday Night Live
One viewer said it should be illegal to take the Lord's name in vain on TV—and that was one of the more coherent complaints.
A Magical World Where Government Discriminates Against the Nonmagical
The anime Mashle: Magic and Muscles offers an absurdist metaphor for politically driven discrimination.
The 3 Body Problem's Chilling Social Media Parallel
From struggle sessions to cancel culture, the story depicts the terrors of surveillance authoritarianism.
If Ronna McDaniel Is Beyond the Pale, NBC May Have Trouble Presenting 'Diverse Viewpoints'
The former RNC chair's concession that Biden won "fair and square" did not save her from internal outrage at her support for Trump's stolen-election fantasy.
New Georgia Law Limits Film Tax Credits. But Marvel Would Still Qualify.
While the state senate's bill would cap tax credits at 2.3 percent of the state's budget, any production filming at a big enough studio would be exempt.
Why Are NBC Anchors Throwing a Tantrum Over Ronna McDaniel?
They should keep in mind that Jen Psaki exists.
Patrick Swayze's Road House Defined the So-Bad-It's-Good Movie. The Remake? Not So Much.
A just-good-enough remake fails to live up to its predecessor.
