Cultural news and criticism, and conversations about TV, theatre, movies, and music, as well as Goings On About Town listings from The New Yorker.https://www.newyorker.com© Condé Nast 2024en-USMon, 20 May 2024 08:25:05 +0000https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/what-george-miller-has-learned-in-forty-five-years-of-making-mad-max-movies6643cb37666969e8a35847f9Sun, 19 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000In a series of conversations, the director of “Furiosa” explains why silent films have the best action, audiences are seldom wrong, and his wife is always right.Culture / The New Yorker InterviewMovies, Movie Directors, George Miller, Action Movies, ViolenceBurkhard BilgerCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/how-to-live-forever65d8d96be416cd0086349338Sat, 18 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000The simplest, most foolproof way to extend life is to do so backward, by adding years in reverse.Culture / The Weekend EssayAging, Affiliate Links Disable, Journals, Writing, MemoryDavid OwenCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/ilana-glazers-babes-joins-a-lineage-of-pregnancy-comedies6644cc5a473621b3cf42bb85Fri, 17 May 2024 18:25:17 +0000In the past decade, pregnancy has proved to be the ideal vehicle for raunch—and for observations on class and social mores.Culture / Cultural CommentPregnant, Pregnancy, ComedyCarrie BattanCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-idea-of-you-and-the-notion-of-the-hot-mom663cdaa3274e7b4fb493cc06Thu, 16 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000Anne Hathaway, as Solène, is a vision of relatability, self-sufficiency, and poise, in a film that proves the rom-com isn’t dead.Culture / Cultural CommentRom-Coms, Anne Hathaway, Fan Fiction, MomsKaty WaldmanCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/who-wins-and-who-loses-when-we-share-a-meme6643b6c4574bac4bea36f565Wed, 15 May 2024 20:15:39 +0000Two new books by art-world authors explore online shareability and come to different conclusions about what creators stand to gain.Culture / Infinite ScrollSocial Media, Art, Artists, Memes, Internet, Internet MemesKyle ChaykaCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/best-books-202465b018acd25a722d03b1eb75Wed, 15 May 2024 15:01:00 +0000Our editors and critics review notable new fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.Books / Under ReviewBooksThe New YorkerCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/05/20/why-we-remember-charan-ranganath-book-review663b7e7498ae82b6c660e88aMon, 13 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000A neuropsychologist says that we’re thinking about memory all wrong.Magazine / BooksJerome GroopmanCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/05/20/as-gods-among-men-guido-alfani-book-review663b7e6a3760a647cf5de317Mon, 13 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000We used to think the rich had a social function. What are they good for now?Magazine / BooksBenjamin Wallace-WellsCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/05/20/revolusi-women-and-the-piano-lucky-and-piglet663a39dcd8b3a62706084e81Mon, 13 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000“Revolusi,” “Women and the Piano,” “Lucky,” and “Piglet.”Magazine / BooksCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/05/27/megalopolis-movie-review-francis-ford-coppola664229aaa6870b5b6971ac2eFri, 17 May 2024 00:18:40 +0000After a thirteen-year absence, a great American director returns with an ambitious vision of a city—and a world—in need of renewal.Magazine / The Current CinemaFrancis Ford Coppola, Adam Driver, Movie ReviewJustin ChangCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/how-hindsight-distorts-our-view-of-the-beatles-in-let-it-be663b92719630f61f132cabf4Fri, 10 May 2024 15:34:48 +0000Usually seen as a document of the band’s breakup, the documentary, newly restored by Peter Jackson, is just as much a record of freewheeling inspiration.Culture / The Front RowThe Beatles, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Peter Jackson, Documentary, DisneyRichard BrodyCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/how-does-challengers-make-a-love-triangle-feel-so-empty6638dca323f91ebb5e7f53a9Mon, 06 May 2024 21:54:10 +0000The fussy structure of Luca Guadagnino’s film dissipates the erotic charge on which the drama relies.Culture / The Front RowLuca Guadagnino, Tennis, Love TrianglesRichard BrodyCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-current-cinema/the-beautifully-unnerving-gaze-of-evil-does-not-exist66313541e91d815132326714Fri, 03 May 2024 22:20:45 +0000The Japanese filmmaker Ryûsuke Hamaguchi follows his Oscar-winning “Drive My Car” with a hauntingly ambiguous drama of nature and capitalism in conflict.Culture / The Current CinemaMovie Reviews, Japanese FilmsJustin ChangCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-food-scene/penny-the-glittering-pleasure-of-a-perfect-raw-bar6646744c6e6574d352916d66Sun, 19 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000Penny, in the East Village, has a polished, understated swagger that somehow makes the oysters taste even better.Culture / The Food SceneSeafood, East Village, Restaurants, DiningHelen RosnerCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-food-scene/blanca-is-not-for-beginners6639018931a97c13c7733344Sun, 12 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000At the reopened restaurant behind Roberta’s, the Chile-born chef Victoria Blamey offers flavors that are strong, unexpected, and occasionally disorienting.Culture / The Food SceneTasting Menus, Clams, OystersHelen RosnerCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/when-babies-rule-the-dinner-table66157e8ca58f398dcd9db58eMon, 22 Apr 2024 10:00:00 +0000In the past two decades, American parents have started to ditch the purées and give babies more choice—and more power—at mealtime.Culture / Photo BoothCulture / Kitchen NotesFeeding Children, Parenting, Nutrition, Disable Inline Signup UnitAlexandra SchwartzCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/fifteen-essential-cookbooks660adafdbf18f9f1f6803a56Mon, 22 Apr 2024 10:00:00 +0000The kitchen guides that New Yorker writers and editors can’t do without.Books / Page-TurnerCulture / Kitchen NotesCookbooksThe New YorkerCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/the-view-from-palestinian-america66354d6ea6d186f49af76f89Tue, 14 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000In Kholood Eid’s photographs of Missouri, taken six months into the war in Gaza, the quiet act of documenting life is a kind of protest against erasure.Culture / Photo BoothGaza, Palestine, Palestinians, Israeli-Palestinian ConflictZaina ArafatCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/on-television/jerrod-carmichael-finds-the-outer-limits-of-confessional-comedy6644fc1630dc9cacab3a2661Sat, 18 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000Through an uncanny hybrid of access journalism and fourth-wall breaking, the comedian created an HBO series that was impossible to look away from.Culture / On TelevisionComedy Writers, Comedians, Reality TVCarrie BattanCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/on-television/the-contestant-is-more-than-a-cautionary-tale66325adb3356aae602b426b6Thu, 02 May 2024 19:46:07 +0000The new Hulu documentary charts the rise of one of the earliest reality-TV stars and the ethically queasy production choices that cemented his fame—but it’s elevated by its interest in what came afterward.Culture / On TelevisionReality TV, Japan, Television, Reality Shows, CelebrityInkoo KangCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/on-television/the-sympathizer-has-an-identity-crisis661d522c22d7fcb026eb53f9Mon, 15 Apr 2024 19:59:29 +0000The HBO adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel is part espionage thriller, part war drama, and part Hollywood satire—wild genre shifts that come at the expense of its protagonist’s interiority.Culture / On TelevisionPark Chan-wook, Sandra Oh, HBO, MiniseriesInkoo KangCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/on-television/jerrod-carmichael-reality-show-is-exhibitionism-as-art6605826a1060066cad7b869fFri, 29 Mar 2024 20:52:55 +0000Two years after “Rothaniel,” the comedian has committed another moving—and deeply entertaining—act of self-exposure.Culture / On TelevisionTV Shows, Television, Comics, Actors, LGBTQ, Families, RelationshipsInkoo KangCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/05/27/here-there-are-blueberries-theatre-review6644b8903699e1462ed7dc8aSat, 18 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000Moisés Kaufman’s play dramatizes the discovery of a photo album of Nazis at leisure at Auschwitz, and the reckoning it provoked.Magazine / The TheatreVinson CunninghamCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/05/13/three-broadway-shows-put-motherhood-in-the-spotlight6632427f710cd1db4cd3a74bThu, 02 May 2024 19:39:00 +0000Paula Vogel’s “Mother Play,” Shaina Taub’s “Suffs,” and Amy Herzog’s “Mary Jane” strike back at the mother-as-monster dramatic trope.Magazine / The TheatreHelen ShawCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/05/06/stereophonic-theatre-review-cabaret662905a35384d6ee73aef010Fri, 26 Apr 2024 14:00:00 +0000David Adjmi’s cult-hit play features seventies-inspired rock songs by Will Butler, while Eddie Redmayne presides over a demonic version of the Kit Kat Club.Magazine / The TheatreHelen ShawCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-theatre/ralph-fiennes-sidles-his-way-into-power-as-macbeth661ff25255e74203dfe5d380Thu, 18 Apr 2024 19:13:51 +0000A hit British production of Shakespeare’s ever-timely tragedy arrives in D.C.Culture / The TheatreShakespeare, William, Macbeth, Plays, Ralph FiennesHelen ShawCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/05/27/hit-me-hard-and-soft-billie-eilish-music-review66477ebb60e2cfc45c923de9Fri, 17 May 2024 21:17:19 +0000Much of the artist’s new album, “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” is about wanting a relationship but failing, in some fundamental way, to sustain closeness with another person.Magazine / Pop MusicPop Music, Billie Eilish, AlbumsAmanda PetrusichCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/podcast/critics-at-large/kendrick-lamar-drake-and-the-benefits-of-beef6644ee72d0f3f54b76cbca89Thu, 16 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000A feud between two of the biggest names in rap quickly escalated into a mutual smear campaign. How did a conflict based in craft become one that was about so much more?Podcast / Critics at LargeDrake, Kendrick Lamar, Rap, Feuds, Music, Musicians, AudioCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/new-releases-make-old-jazz-young-again66414e40069ce1e754406446Tue, 14 May 2024 19:48:17 +0000Rediscovered archival concerts—and one recent one—offer important revelations.Culture / Culture DeskJazz, Music, Musicians, Concerts, John ColtraneRichard BrodyCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/05/20/revisiting-composers-suppressed-by-the-nazis663242759e3095b7a4cbe6c9Mon, 13 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000The Musica Non Grata series, in Prague, explores the glittering, elusive world of Alexander Zemlinsky.Magazine / Musical EventsAlex RossCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/goings-on/richard-brody-on-hong-sangsoos-stories-of-artists-in-crisis66451dfa574bac4bea36f5e6Fri, 17 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000Also, Kelela’s electronic R. & B., DanceAfrica at BAM, the New Group’s “All of Me,” and more.Culture / Goings OnCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/postscript/deborah-treisman-postscript-alice-munro6643bb47f27207270b0fdfb0Tue, 14 May 2024 23:15:48 +0000Working with the author, who has died, at ninety-two, was both a thrill and a lesson in intentionality.Culture / PostscriptWriters, ObituaryDeborah TreismanCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/05/20/baby-reindeer-tv-review-netflix-under-the-bridge-hulu663b7e936631e41128ffcdd8Mon, 13 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000The two streaming series grapple with horrific real-life crimes—and with the complexity of the relationship between perpetrators and victims.Magazine / On TelevisionInkoo KangCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/05/20/dogland-passion-glory-and-lots-of-slobber-at-the-westminster-dog-show-tommy-tomlinson-book-review663b7e532eeff16ab7dedc60Mon, 13 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000A canine campaign can run to hundreds of thousands of dollars, not to mention all the brushing, trimming, blow-drying, and styling products. Did you think it was easy being top dog?Magazine / A Critic at LargeAudioKathryn SchulzCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/amy-herzog-wants-you-to-enter-into-the-strangeness-of-caregiving663a4aa4f4b1e6fd15569c6bSun, 12 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000The playwright on the new production of her play “Mary Jane,” which stars Rachel McAdams as the mother of a two-year-old born with serious medical conditions.Culture / The New Yorker InterviewPlays, Playwrights, Rachel McAdams, BroadwayParul SehgalCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/postscript/the-beautiful-rawness-of-steve-albini663d22df6bf974937d5d8e13Sat, 11 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000The producer was uncompromising in his opposition to the commercialization of music. That might seem today like a Gen X relic—or it might seem kind of awesome.Culture / PostscriptMusic, Musicians, Nirvana, Rock Music, PixiesAmanda PetrusichCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/personal-history/looking-at-art-with-peter-schjeldahl6626db00568f417718ceb3daSat, 11 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000Recalling a friendship with The New Yorker’s late art critic.Culture / Personal HistoryArt, Artists, Friendship, Art Criticism, Peter SchjeldahlSteve MartinCondé Nasthttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/swimming-with-my-daughters656506b4dd2644bdd75bc365Sat, 11 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000It was so reasonable—why couldn’t we want different things? Two could go into the water and one could stay on the shore. But I didn’t want to leave her there.Culture / The Weekend EssayMotherhood, Daughters, Children, ParentingMary GrimmCondé NastWeekend Essayhttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/drake-kendrick-lamar-and-our-moment-of-bad-reading663be620cb13fd05f146b76aFri, 10 May 2024 23:34:01 +0000The once-upon-a-time defense of the poetics of rap has been ceded to the millennial mind of genius.com, taking every syllable as ripe for mundane exegesis.Culture / Cultural CommentRap Music, Feuds, Music Industry, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Hip-HopLauren Michele JacksonCondé Nast