The Protect College Sports Act Isn’t Enough
A much-hyped piece of legislation is more bark than bite.
Culture
Can You See What Holds This Painting Together?
With his sly, vacant images, Roy Lichtenstein explored the distance that technology created between us and reality.
An SNL Sketch to Make Airlines Feel Ashamed
There’s a lot to worry about while flying. Add terrible passengers to the list.
The Rise of the Tallboy Is a Sign of the Times
America has entered its big-beer era.
The Trouble With Trying to Turn Viral Videos Into Blockbusters
The film industry is starting to see Reddit and YouTube as gold mines, but those platforms won’t save Hollywood on their own.
Disunion
A short story
The Man Who Refused to Sit on the Sidelines
Kevin Dowdell, a lieutenant in an elite FDNY rescue unit, taught his sons to take action. When he disappeared on 9/11, they went to Ground Zero to search for him.
Marlon James Returns to Realism, and to Jamaica
In his new novel, gay men struggle to escape violence in Kingston.
Why I Quit the Tenure Track
The insufferable hypocrisy of elite academia
Stance
A poem
The Mysterious Art of Conducting
An inside look at music’s widely misunderstood profession
A Culture War in the Bedroom
A new film pokes fun at Gen Z’s inhibitions—erotic and otherwise.
Hard-Luck Men in Hardscrabble Towns
In Richard Russo’s novels, the American dream feels like a cruel joke.
Pop Culture Has Its Teeth in You
Jane Schoenbrun’s new film interrogates the relationship between what we watch and who we are.