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.
What Comes After America
Emily St. John Mandel’s latest work of science fiction considers the tenuousness of any possible future.
A Night for Actor’s Actors, Not Movie Stars
This year’s Emmys ceremony celebrated versatile performers, not glitzy celebrities.
Jean Smart’s Reminder to the Women in the Room
The actor’s history-making Emmys win was a recognition of female performers who refuse to placate.
Why Does Donald Trump Hate This Sculpture?
The president wants the Smithsonian to add a colossal George Washington statue—and remove another work of abstract art in D.C.
George Lucas’s Next Great Epic Is an Art Museum
Inside the Star Wars creator’s temple to storytelling
Facing the Music
A poem
Look Closer: Edward Steichen’s Sunflower
Before the photographer left painting behind forever, he attempted to refocus it on nature.
The Year Great White Sharks Took Over Maine
More and more people have spotted them this season, but no one knows exactly why—or what to do.
Cormac McCarthy’s Midlife Crisis
Heading west at 40 transformed his writing—and American literature.
How to Kill a Franchise Before It Even Starts
The new monster movie Hope can’t live up to its own epic aspirations.