Americana Falls Flat
Nothing in film is more exposing than the big attempt at meaning and poignance that just doesn’t come off. Sadly, Americana stands exposed.
Blog
MAHA Is Going to Make America Sicker
Donald Trump has spent the last seven months flooding our food, water, and air with all kinds of very real, very horrible pollutants, including numerous cancer-causing chemicals — the exact opposite of “making America healthy again.”
Private Equity Is Coming for Public Utilities
While extending its tentacles elsewhere, private equity has mostly stayed away from electric utilities because they often don’t yield quick returns. A BlackRock subsidiary’s campaign to take over a regional utility in Minnesota suggests that is changing.
Alien: Earth Is a Much-Needed Defense of Humanity
Noah Hawley’s new FX series, Alien: Earth, draws on the best of the sci-fi horror franchise to suggest humanity’s future might offer more than mere survival.
The Trump–Putin Talks Blindsided European Leaders
This summer, European states hiked military spending and swallowed a poor trade deal in order to win favor with Donald Trump. Yet the US president’s negotiations with Vladimir Putin all but ignored their proposals.
Cloud is a Techno-Thriller for the Age of Online Hustle Culture
The internet has robbed the world of much of its mystery and replaced it with the jaded cynicism of online grifters. Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s film Cloud explores this bleak world dominated by people who just can’t log off.
How Rome’s Rulers Tried to Stamp Out the Right to Protest
Present-day attacks on the right to free assembly have a long history behind them. For centuries, the rulers of ancient Rome tried to stop its people from organizing to defend their interests, but protest kept resurfacing despite their best efforts.
Indonesia’s Rulers Are Whitewashing the Crimes of Suharto
In the 1960s, the Indonesian dictator Suharto was responsible for one of the twentieth century’s bloodiest political massacres. Under the rule of Prabowo, the country’s government is suppressing the memory of Suharto’s crimes while vilifying the Left.
The Many Lives of James Baldwin
James Baldwin shaped a generation of American writers, many of whom later dismissed his humanistic outlook as naive. Today he is once again celebrated, but a new biography shows that his life was more complex than his viral fame suggests.
Growing Old in a Time of Neoliberalism
In The Life, Old Age, and Death of a Working-Class Woman, French writer Didier Eribon sees his mother’s passing as symbolic of the disappearance of the mass culture and politics that once gave workers of her generation identity and social standing.
Want to End the EV Culture Wars? Make EVs Affordable.
Culture warriors and industry lobbyists have turned electric vehicles into a proxy battle for deeper anxieties about class, control, and who might be left behind in a green economy. But most people just want a car they can afford.
Brutalism Is Back
Not everyone is excited about the resurgence of brutalism. But the rise of neobrutalist projects shows how the polarizing architectural style can also be a pragmatic use of scarce resources.