Afleveringen
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The rap superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar have been on a collision course for a decade, trading periodic diss tracks to assert their superiorityâbut earlier this month the long-simmering beef erupted into a showdown that said as much about the artists as it did about the art. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz examine how the back-and-forth devolved from a litigation of craft into a series of ad-hominem attacks alleging everything from cultural appropriation to pedophilia. They discuss the way rivalries function in the creative world, fuelling new work and compelling audiences to pay closer attention to it than ever before. The hosts also consider other feuds of note, from a nineteenth-century debate over Shakespearean actors that ended in violence to the writer Renata Adlerâs blistering takedown of the film critic Pauline Kael in The New York Review of Books. Why do so many of these schisms revolve around fundamental questions of authenticity and belonging? And, once they start to spiral, is there any going back? âConflict can be productive emotionally and also artistically,â Schwartz says. âBut this is not a place that we can permanently reside.â
Read, watch, and listen with the critics:
âDAMN.,â by Kendrick Lamar
âTo Pimp a Butterfly,â by Kendrick Lamar
âControl,â by Big Sean featuring Kendrick Lamar and Jay Electronica
âFirst Person Shooter,â by Drake featuring J. Cole
âLike That,â by Future, Metro Boomin, and Kendrick Lamar
âPush Ups,â by Drake
âTaylor Made Freestyle,â by Drake
âBack to Back,â by Drake
âeuphoria,â by Kendrick Lamar
â6:16 in LA,â by Kendrick Lamar
âmeet the grahams,â by Kendrick Lamar
âNot Like Us,â by Kendrick Lamar
âTHE HEART PART 6,â by Drake
âStormy Danielsâs American Dream,â by Naomi Fry (The New Yorker)
âThe Perils of Pauline,â by Renata Adler (The New York Review of Books)
New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. -
Over the past several years, true crimeâs hold on the culture has tightened into a vice grip, with new titles flooding podcast charts and streaming platforms on a daily basis. This week on Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz take stock of the phenomenon, first by speaking with fans of the genre to understand its appeal. Then, onstage at the 2024 Cascade PBS Ideas Festival, they continue the discussion with The New Yorkerâs Patrick Radden Keefe, whose books âEmpire of Painâ and âSay Nothingâ are exemplars of the form. The panel considers Keefeâs recent piece, âThe Oligarchâs Son,â which illuminates the journalistic challenges of reporting on sordid eventsânot least the difficulty of managing the emotions and expectations of victimsâ families. As its appeal has skyrocketed, true crime has come under greater scrutiny. The most successful entries bypass lurid details and shed light on the society in which these transgressions occur. But âthe price you have to pay in sociology, in anthropology, in enriching our understanding of something beyond the crime itselfâitâs fairly high,â Keefe says. âYou have to remember that this is a real story about real people. Theyâre alive. Theyâre out there.â
This episode was recorded on May 4, 2024 at the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival, in Seattle, Washington.
Read, watch, and listen with the critics:
âUK True Crime Podcastâ
âMy Favorite Murderâ
âEmpire of Pain,â by Patrick Radden Keefe
âSay Nothing,â by Patrick Radden Keefe
âParadise Lost,â by John Milton
âA Loaded Gun,â by Patrick Radden Keefe (The New Yorker)
âThe Oligarchâs Son,â by Patrick Radden Keefe (The New Yorker)
âCapoteâ (2005)
âIn Cold Blood,â by Truman Capote (The New Yorker)
âThe Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durstâ (2015, 2024)
âHelter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders,â by Curt Gentry and Vincent Bugliosi
âLaw & Orderâ (1990â)
âDahmerâMonster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Storyâ (2022)
âThe People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Storyâ (2016)
âO.J.: Made in Americaâ (2016)
âLost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery,â by Robert Kolker
New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. -
Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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From âRaging Bullâ to âA League of Their Own,â films about athletes have commanded the attention of even the most sports-skeptical viewers. The pleasure of watching the protagonist undergo a test of body and spirit, proving their worth to society and to themselvesâoften with a training montage thrown in for good measureâis undeniable. Luca Guadagninoâs steamy new tennis film, âChallengers,â applies this formula in a different context, mining familiar themes like rivalry and camaraderie for their erotic potential. On this episode of Critics at Large, the staff writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss how recent entries like âChallengersâ and last yearâs Zac Efron-led wrestling drama, âThe Iron Claw,â reflect a more contemporary view of masculinity than their predecessors do. The hosts also assemble their âhall of fameâ of sports films, including Spike Leeâs âHe Got Game,â the nineties classic âCool Runnings,â and the rom-com âLove & Basketball.â They argue that the genre, at its best, offers auteurs the chance to embrace their instincts. âFor our most stylish filmmakers, I would just lay down the gauntlet. If you want to express to us your personal vision, do a sports movie,â Cunningham says. âBecause weâll know what you care about: visually, sensuallyâwe will know.â
Read, watch, and listen with the critics:
âChallengersâ (2024)
âThe Iron Clawâ (2023)
âRocky IVâ (1985)
âBlack Swanâ (2010)
âA League of Their Ownâ (1992)
âCool Runningsâ (1993)
âRaging Bullâ (1980)
âHe Got Gameâ (1998)
âLove & Basketballâ (2000)
âA League of Their Ownâ (2022â)
New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. -
âCivil War,â Alex Garlandâs divisive new action flick, borrows iconographyâand actual footageâfrom the America of today as set dressing for a hypothetical, fractured future. Though we know that the President is in his third term, and that Texas and California have formed an unlikely alliance against him, very little is said about the politics that brought us to this point. Garlandâs true interest lies not with the cause of the carnage but with the journalists compelled to document it. On this episode of Critics at Large, the staff writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz debate whether the film glamorizes violence, or whether itâs an indictment of the way audiences have become inured to it through repeated exposure. The hosts consider Susan Sontagâs âOn Photography,â which assesses the impact of the craft, and âWar Is Beautiful,â a compendium that explores how photojournalists have historically aestheticized and glorified unthinkable acts. From the video of George Floydâs killing to photos of Alan Kurdi, the young Syrian refugee found lying dead on a Turkish beach, images of atrocities have galvanized movements and commanded international attention. But what does it mean to bear witness in the age of social media, with daily, appalling updates from conflict zones at our fingertips? âI think all of us are struggling with what to make of this complete overabundance,â Schwartz says. âOn the other hand, weâre certainly aware of horror. Itâs impossible to ignore.â
Read, watch, and listen with the critics:
âCivil Warâ (2024)
âEx Machinaâ (2014)
âNatural Born Killersâ (1994)
âThe Doom Generationâ (1995)
âWar Is Beautiful,â by David Shields
âOn Photography,â by Susan Sontag
âJoan Didion: The Center Will Not Holdâ (2017)
New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. -
Since the turn of the millennium, HBOâs âCurb Your Enthusiasmâ has slyly satirized the ins and outs of social interaction. The seriesâwhich follows a fictionalized version of its creator and star, Larry David, as he gets into petty disputes with anyone and everyone who crosses his pathâaired its last episode on Sunday, marking the end of a twelve-season run. On this episode of Critics at Large, the staff writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss the showâs âweirdly movingâ conclusion as well as its over-all legacy. Then they consider other notable TV endings: some divisive (âSex and the Cityâ), some critically acclaimed (âSuccessionâ), some infamously rage-inspiring (âGame of Thronesâ). What are the moral and narrative stakes of a finale, and why do we subject these episodesâwhich represent only a tiny fraction of the work as a wholeâto such crushing analytic pressure? âThis idea of an ending ruining the show is alien to me,â Cunningham says. âI wonât contest that endings are differentâdistinct. Are they better? I donât know.â
Read, watch, and listen with the critics:
âCurb Your Enthusiasmâ (2000-24)
âSeinfeldâ (1989-98)
âSex and the Cityâ (1998-2004)
âSuccessionâ (2018-23)
âThe Hillsâ (2006-10)
âGame of Thronesâ (2011-19)
âBreaking Badâ (2008-13)
âLittle Women,â by Louisa May Alcott
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In her 1955 novel, âThe Talented Mr. Ripley,â Patricia Highsmith introduced readers to the figure of Tom Ripley, an antihero who covets the good life, and achieves itâby stealing it from someone else. On this episode of Critics at Large, the staff writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss the long tail of Highsmithâs work, which has been revived in adaptations like RenĂ© ClĂ©mentâs 1960 classic, âPurple Noonâ; the definitive 1999 film starring Matt Damon and Jude Law; and a new Netflix series, âRipley,â which casts its protagonist as a lonely middle-aged con man. In all three versions, Dickie Greenleaf, a wealthy acquaintance of Ripleyâs, becomes his obsession and eventually his victim. The story resonates today in part because weâre all in the habit of observingâand covetingâthe life styles of the rich and famous. Social media gives users endless opportunities to study how others live, such as the places they go, the meals they consume, and the objects they possess. âOne of the reasons that the character of Ripley is forever sympathetic is the yearning and striving to be something other than himself, following an example thatâs set out to him,â Fry says. âFor him, itâs someone like Dickie. For us, it might be someone online.â
Read, watch, and listen with the critics:
âThe Talented Mr. Ripley,â by Patricia Highsmith
âThe Talented Mr. Ripleyâ (1999)
âPurple Noonâ (1960)
âRipleyâ (2024)
âSaltburnâ (2023)
âThe White Lotusâ (2021â)
New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. -
News of Kate Middletonâs cancer diagnosis arrived after months of speculation regarding the royalâs whereabouts. Had the Princess of Wales, who had not been seen in public since Christmas Day, absconded to a faraway hideout? Was trouble at homeâan affair, perhapsâkeeping her out of the public eye? What truths hid behind the obviously doctored family photograph? #WhereisKateMiddleton trended as the online world offered up a set of elaborate hypotheses increasingly untethered from reality. On this episode of Critics at Large, the staff writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss how a particular brand of âfan fictionâ has enveloped the Royal Family, and how, like the #FreeBritney movement, the episode illustrates how conspiracy thinking has become a regular facet of online life. The hosts discuss âThe Paranoid Style in American Politics,â an essay by the historian Richard Hofstadter, from 1964, that traces conspiratorial thought across history, as well as Naomi Kleinâs 2023 book âDoppelganger.â How, then, should we navigate a world in which itâs more and more difficult to separate fact from fiction? Some antidotes may lie in the fictions themselves. âThe rest of us who are not as conspiratorial in bent could spend more time looking at those conspiracies,â Cunningham says. âTo understand what a troubling number of our fellows believe is a kind of tonic action.â
Read, watch, and listen with the critics:
âDonât Blame âStupid People on the Internetâ for Palaceâs Princess Kate Lies,â by Will Bunch (the Philadelphia Inquirer)
âDoppelganger,â by Naomi Klein
âThe Paranoid Style in American Politics,â by Richard Hofstadter (Harperâs Magazine)
âThe Parallax Viewâ (1974)
âCutterâs Wayâ (1981)
âRedditâs I.P.O. Is a Content Moderation Success Story,â by Kevin Roose (the New York Times)
New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. -
Science fiction has historically been considered a niche genre, one in which far-flung scenarios play out on distant planets. Today, though, such plots are at the center of our media landscape. On this episode of Critics at Large, the staff writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz anatomize the appeal of recent entries, from Denis Villeneuveâs âDuneâ movies to Netflixâs new adaptation of âThe Three-Body Problem,â the best-selling novel by Liu Cixin. The hosts are joined by Josh Rothman, an editor and writer at The New Yorker, who makes the case for science fiction as an extension of the realist novel, tracing the way films like âThe Matrixâ and âContagionâ have shed new light on modern life. The boundaries between science fiction and reality are increasingly blurred: tech founders like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have cited classic sci-fi texts as inspiration, and terms like âred-pillingâ have found their way into our political vernacular. âI find the future that weâre all moving into to be quite scary and sort of unthinkable,â Rothman says. âScience fiction is the literary genre that addresses this problem. It helps make the future into something you can imagine.â
Read, watch, and listen with the critics:
âDune: Part Twoâ (2024)
â3 Body Problemâ (2024)
âThe Martian Chronicles,â by Ray Bradbury
âDuneâ (2021)
âDune,â by Frank Herbert
âStar Trekâ (1966-1969)
â2001: A Space Odyssey,â by Arthur C. Clarke
âDuneâ (1984)
âCan Science Fiction Wake Us Up to Our Climate Reality?â by Joshua Rothman (The New Yorker)
âThe Matrixâ (1999)
âContagionâ (2011)
âThe Future,â by Naomi Alderman
âDoomsday Prep for the Super-Rich,â by Evan Osnos (The New Yorker)
âThe Three-Body Problem,â by Liu Cixin
âLiu Cixinâs War of the Worlds,â by Jiayang Fan (The New Yorker)
New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. -
For centuries, the bildungsroman, or novel of education, has offered a window into a formative period of lifeâand, by extension, into the historical moment in which itâs set. Vinson Cunningham sent the draft of âGreat Expectations,â a book loosely based on his experience on Barack Obamaâs first Presidential campaign, to publishers on January 6, 2021. Shortly after he hit Send, he watched rioters break into the Capitol building. âFor me, it was, like, cycle complete,â he says. The age of optimism ushered in by Obama was over. âWe are off to another thing.â Cunninghamâs novel is part of a tradition that stretches back to the eighteen-hundreds: coming-of-age plots that chart their protagonistsâ entry into adulthood. On this episode of Critics at Large, Cunningham and his fellow staff writers, Naomi Fry and Alexandra Schwartz, discuss how âGreat Expectationsâ fits in the genre as a whole. They consider it alongside classic texts, like Gustave Flaubertâs 1869 novel âSentimental Education,â and other, more recent entries, such as Carrie Sunâs 2024 memoir, âPrivate Equity,â and reflect on what such stories have to say about power, disillusionment, and our shifting relationships to institutions. âI think, if the bildungsroman has any new valence today, it is that the antagonist is not parents, itâs not religion, itâs not upbringingâthese personal facets that you usually have to escape to come of age,â Cunningham says. âItâs the superstructure. Itâs finance with a capital âF.â Itâs government with a capital âG.â â
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The office has long been a fixture in pop cultureâbut, in 2024, amid the rise of remote work and the resurgence of organized labor, the way we relate to our jobs is in flux. The stories we tell about them are changing, too. On this episode of Critics at Large, the staff writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss Adelle Waldmanâs new novel âHelp Wanted,â which delves into the lives of retail workers at a big-box store in upstate New York. Theyâre joined by The New Yorkerâs Katy Waldman, who lays out the trajectory of the office novel, from tales of postwar alienation to Gen X meditations on selling out and millennial accounts of the gig economy. Then, the hosts consider how this shift is showing up across other mediums. Though some white-collar employees can now comfortably work from home, the office remains an object of fascination. âThe workplace is within us,â says Fry. âThere will always be shit-talking about co-workers, about bossesâthe materials for narrative will always be there.â
Read, watch, and listen with the critics:
âWorking Girlâ (1988)
âOffice Spaceâ (1999)
âThe West Wingâ (1999-2006)
âHelp Wanted,â by Adelle Waldman
âThe Pale King,â by David Foster Wallace
âPersonal Days,â by Ed Park
âThen We Came to the End,â by Joshua Ferris
âThe New Me,â by Halle Butler
âThe Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.,â by Adelle Waldman
âThe Jungle,â by Upton Sinclair
âSeverance,â by Ling Ma
âTemporary,â by Hilary Leichter
âSeveranceâ (2022â)
âThe Vanity Fair Diariesâ (2017)
âDoubt: A Parable,â by John Patrick Shanley
Dolly Partonâs â9 to 5â
âMad Menâ (2007-15)
âIndustryâ (2020â)
âNorma Raeâ (1979)
â30 Rockâ (2006-13)
New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts.
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The campaign for an Oscar is just that: a campaign. In the weeks and months leading up to the ninety-sixth Academy Awards, actors and directors have been hard at work reminding voters and the public alike of their worthiness, P.R. agencies have churned out âfor your considerationâ ads, and studios have poured millions of dollars into efforts to help their films emerge victorious on Hollywoodâs biggest night. In this episode of Critics at Large, the staff writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss the state of the race, from the front-runners to the snubs and the seasonâs unlikely âvillain.â The hosts are joined by The New Yorkerâs Michael Schulman, the author of âOscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears,â who describes how Harvey Weinstein permanently changed the landscape in the nineties by treating campaigns as âguerrilla warfare.â Today, much of the process happens behind closed doors. If the game is rigged, why do we care about the outcome? âEven though we know that there is a mechanism behind these things, a glow does attach itself to people who win,â Cunningham says. âWe are still very much suckers for the glamour of merit.â
Read, watch, and listen with the critics:
âOscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears,â by Michael Schulman
âOppenheimerâ (2023)
âBarbieâ (2023)
âMay Decemberâ (2023)
âPoor Thingsâ (2023)
âThe Zone of Interestâ (2023)
âNyadâ (2023)
âMaestroâ (2023)
âShakespeare in Loveâ (1998)
âSaving Private Ryanâ (1998)
âCan You Really Want an Oscar Too Much?â by Michael Schulman (The New Yorker)
âAnatomy of a Fallâ (2023)
âTitanicâ (1997)
âFerrariâ (2023)
New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. -
At this yearâs Super Bowl halftime show, Usher Raymond sang through decades of hits while twirling on roller skates, making a case for himself as one of the great R. & B. artists of our time. The performance illuminates a key aspect of modern pop stardom: the fashioning of oneâs legacy in real time. In this episode of Critics at Large, the staff writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss how musiciansâ images take shape independent of their music. They consider âBob Marley: One Love,â a new bio-pic made with the support of the Marley estate that deliberately smooths the rough edges of the singerâs life. Todayâs performers take a more active role in their own reputation management, using high-profile appearances to stake a claim or reinforce their persona. At this yearâs Grammy Awards, the question of legacy came to the fore when Jay-Z took issue with the fact that his wife, BeyoncĂ©, has never won the coveted Album of the Year award. But the most indelible moments from the ceremony involved songs from decades priorâa reminder that the music itself is often more enduring than any formal accolade. âRather than legacy in corporate terms or in institutional terms,â says Fry, thereâs also âthe legacy of the heart.â
Read, watch, and listen with the critics:
âBob Marley: One Loveâ (2024)
âBoth Sides Nowâ by Joni Mitchell, as performed at the 2024 Grammys
âIf I Ain't Got Youâ by Alicia Keys
Luke Combsâs cover of âFast Carâ by Tracy Chapman
Twins react to âIn the Air Tonightâ by Phil Collins
âWalk the Lineâ (2005)
âYou Make Me Wanna . . .â by Usher
New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. -
As much as contemporary audiences relish a happily ever after, some of the greatest romances of all time are ones that have turned out badly. In this episode of Critics at Large, the staff writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz consider stories of âwretched loveââlove thatâs star-crossed, unfulfilled, or somehow doomed by the taboos of the day. First, they react to listenersâ favorite examples, from Tolstoyâs âAnna Kareninaâ to âThe Notebookâ to the Joni Mitchell song âThe Last Time I Saw Richard.â Then, the hosts discuss their own picks: the poet Frank Bidartâs collection âDesireâ; James Baldwinâs novel âGiovanniâs Roomâ; and âA Girlâs Story,â by the Nobel Prize-winner Annie Ernaux. Why do weâand centuriesâ worth of artistsâgravitate toward tales of thwarted desire? Perhaps itâs because these moments unlock something that stays with us long after the sting of heartbreak has faded. âWhen you widen the lens, life goes on,â Schwartz says. Nevertheless, âthere is a need for all of us to return to that moment because that was part of what made you who you were.â
Read, watch, and listen with the critics:
âAnnie Ernaux Turns Memory Into Art,â by Alexandra Schwartz (The New Yorker)
âAnna Karenina,â by Leo Tolstoy
âConversations with Friends,â by Sally Rooney
âDesire,â by Frank Bidart
âEugene Oneginâ (1879)
âGiovanniâs Room,â by James Baldwin
âA Girlâs Story,â by Annie Ernaux
âSense and Sensibility,â by Jane Austen
âSense and Sensibilityâ (1995)
âSylvia,â by Leonard Michaels
Joni Mitchellâs âThe Last Time I Saw Richardâ
âThe Notebookâ (2004)
âWuthering Heights,â by Emily BrontĂ«
âWuthering Heightsâ (1939)
Kate Bushâs âWuthering Heightsâ
New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. -
If some of us have managed to avoid mean girls in life, weâve had no such luck in art. The âmean girlââa picture of idealized femininity who usually heads up a like-minded cliqueâhas appeared in films like âClueless,â âHeathers,â and, of course, the 2004 classic âMean Girls,â written by Tina Fey. Recently, the mean girl has received a makeover. In this episode of Critics at Large, the staff writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss texts that have breathed new life into the trope, beginning with Ryan Murphyâs âFeud: Capote vs. The Swans,â which dramatizes the schism between the writer Truman Capote and the group of New York City socialites he called his âswans.â The hosts trace the figure of the mean girl through culture, from the character of Regina Georgeâwho returns in the 2024 movie-musical reboot of âMean Girls,â albeit a little less mean than beforeâto the cast of âThe Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.â Today, the archetype is ripe for projection, appropriation, and maybe even for sympathy. âThe hope and the fear looking at these mean girls is imagining how great their lives must be,â Fry says. âBut I think concurrently we would be happy to learn that, in fact, itâs lonely at the top.â
Read, watch, and listen with the critics:
âThe Allure of the Mean Friend,â on âThis American Lifeâ
âCarrieâ (1976)
âDaniel Deronda,â by George Eliot
âEuphoriaâ (2019â)
âFeud: Capote vs. The Swansâ (2024)
âGossip Girlâ (2007-2012)
âHeathersâ (1988)
âLa CĂŽte Basque, 1965,â by Truman Capote (Esquire)
âMean Girlsâ (2004)
âMean Girlsâ (2024)
â101 Dalmatiansâ (1961)
âThe Real Housewives of Salt Lake Cityâ (2020â)
New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. -
The wives and daughters of Dubaiâs ruler live in unbelievable luxury. So why do the women in Sheikh Mohammedâs family keep trying to run away? The New Yorker staff writer Heidi Blake joins In the Darkâs Madeleine Baran to tell the story of the royal women who risked everything to flee the brutality of one of the worldâs most powerful men. In four episodes, drawing on thousands of pages of secret correspondence and never-before-heard audio recordings, âThe Runaway Princessesâ takes listeners behind palace walls, revealing a story of astonishing courage and cruelty.
âThe Runaway Princessesâ is a four-part narrative series from In the Dark and The New Yorker. To keep listening, follow In the Dark wherever you get your podcasts or via this link https://link.chtbl.com/itd_f
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Dave Chappelleâs new Netflix special, âThe Dreamer,â has drawn criticism for its targeting of trans and disabled peopleâthe latest in a string of controversies, and of increasingly self-referential sets. His and other standup comicsâ growing fixation with cancel culture raises a pressing question: What is the role of the comic today? In this episode of Critics at Large, the staff writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz trace how comedians have positioned themselves in relation to their audiences over time, from the proto-standup acts of the vaudeville era to the political humor of the legendary George Carlin, who paved the way for the success of Jon Stewart and âThe Daily Show.â Where Chappelle and Ricky Gervais are doubling down in the face of backlash, comedians like Jacqueline Novak and John Mulaney are finding new ways to expose societal fault lines in order to bring the crowd to a place of cohesion. But in the era of the culture wars, do we want to be challenged, or affirmed? âWhatever comedy is now, needs willing and predetermined audiencesâpeople that are there to pay attention to a certain kind of thing,â Cunningham says. âIf what we want is a kind of shattering of whatever mythologies surround us, maybe itâs not the best for that.â
Read, watch, and listen with the critics:
âDave Chappelle: The Dreamerâ (2023)
âRicky Gervais: Armageddonâ (2023)
âChappelleâs Showâ (2003-06)
âJacqueline Novak: Get on Your Kneesâ (2024)
âOutrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars,â by Kliph Nesteroff
âI Love Lucyâ (1951-57)
âGeorge Carlinâs American Dreamâ (2022)
âThe Daily Showâ (1996-)
âComedy Book: How Comedy Conquered Cultureâand the Magic That Makes It Work,â by Jesse David Fox
âJohn Mulaney: Baby Jâ (2023)
âThe Anxious Precision of Jacqueline Novakâs Comedy,â by Carrie Battan (The New Yorker) âJenny Slate: Stage Frightâ (2019) âChris Rock: Bigger & Blackerâ (1999)New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts.
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In this episode of Critics at Large, the staff writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz turn their attention to the artâand purposeâof criticism itself. First, they revisit the work of Joan Acocella, a legendary practitioner of the craft who wrote for The New Yorker until her death, at age seventy-eight, earlier this month, applying her distinctive humor and evocative style to such diverse subjects as Mikhail Baryshnikov, the acclaimed dancer and choreographer, and the Wife of Bath, from Geoffrey Chaucerâs âCanterbury Tales.â Then the hosts reflect on their own formative influences and the role a critic can play in the life of a reader. The rise of apps like Goodreads and Letterboxd has proved to be a double-edged sword, democratizing criticism while also playing into the more toxic elements of fandom. In an era of âcritical populism,â what do the professionals have to offer? âCriticism is often considered a kind of gatekeeping,â Schwartz says. âIt really also can be the opposite. It can be a giving of access. And that to me dignifies the whole endeavor.â
Read, watch, and listen with the critics:
âThank Goodness for Joan Acocella,â by Alexandra Schwartz (The New Yorker)
âThe Soloist,â by Joan Acocella (The New Yorker)
âThe Marrying Kind,â by Joan Acocella (The New Yorker)
âArt as Technique,â by Viktor Shklovsky
âBlack Talk on the Move,â by Darryl Pinckney (The New York Review of Books)
âBusted in New York and Other Essays,â by Darryl Pinckney
âOne Reason Theatre Is in Crisis: The Slow Death of Criticism,â by Jason Zinoman (American Theatre)
âLetâs Rescue Book Lovers from this Online Hellscape,â by Maris Kreizman (The New York Times)
ââThe O.C.â: Land of The Brooding Teen,â by Tom Shales (The Washington Post)
New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. -
In recent years, in the realms of self-improvement literature, Instagram influencers, and wellness gurus, an idea has taken hold: that in a non-stop world, the act of slowing down offers a path to better living. In this episode of Critics at Large, the staff writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz trace the rise of âslowness cultureââfrom Carl HonorĂ©âs 2004 manifesto to pandemic-era trends of mass resignations and so-called quiet quitting. The hosts discuss the work of Jenny Odell, whose books âHow to Do Nothingâ and âSaving Timeâ frame reclaiming oneâs time as a life-style choice with radical roots and revolutionary political potential. But how much does an individualâs commitment to leisure pay off on the level of the collective? Is too much being laid at the feet of slowness? âFor me, itâs about reclaiming an aspect of humanness, just the experience of not having to make the most with everything we have all the time,â Schwartz says. âThere can be a degree of self-defeating critique where you say, âOh, well, this is only accessible to the privileged few.â And I think the better framing is, how can more people access that kind of sitting with humanness?â
Read, watch, and listen with the critics:
âHow Millennials Became the Burnout Generation,â by Anne Helen Petersen (BuzzFeed)
âHow to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy,â by Jenny Odell
âImproving Ourselves to Death,â by Alexandra Schwartz (The New Yorker)
âIn Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed,â by Carl HonorĂ©
âThe Sabbath,â by Abraham Joshua Heschel
âSaving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond Productivity Culture,â by Jenny Odell
âSlow Down: The Degrowth Manifesto,â by Kohei SaitoNew episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts.
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Hollywoodâs obsession with stories about creative types has resulted in familiar tropesânamely that of the tortured artist, whose fanatical devotion to his craft makes him an enigma to those around himâand story formulae like the bio-pic, which runs through the beats of its subjectâs career like a Wikipedia entry. In this episode of Critics at Large, the staff writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss how some of the yearâs buzziest films subvert our expectations of art about artists. âMaestroâ is âa fantasia on Leonard Bernstein themesâ that focusses on the toll that the legendary composerâs charisma exacts on those around him. âMay December,â directed by Todd Haynes, is âa dark satire on certain tendencies in method acting.â And Cord Jeffersonâs dĂ©but feature, âAmerican Fiction,â pairs a critique of the publishing industryâs hollow nods toward âdiversityâ with a quiet family drama. The hosts also consider other, more deliberately unglamorous depictions, such as that found in Kelly Reichardtâs âShowing Up.â The movie, which follows a sculptor struggling to make ends meet, raises the question of a much rarer archetype. âIt seems to me a figure that can take more plumbing,â Cunningham says. âI want to see what that new figure, the everyday artist, can unfold to us about what it means to have a life in art.â
Read, watch, and listen with the critics:
âAdaptationâ (2002)
âAmerican Fictionâ (2023)
âA Conversation with My Father,â by Grace Paley
âJust Kids,â by Patti Smith
âMaestroâ (2023)
âMay Decemberâ (2023)
âMy Struggle,â by Karl Ove Knausgaard
âNew York Storiesâ (1989)
âShowing Upâ (2023)New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts.
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After six decades as an icon in country music, itâs hard to imagine Dolly Parton had anything to prove. But when she was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in 2022, she admitted to feeling uneasy. A result of that feeling is âRockstar,â the 77-year-oldâs first foray into rock music. âI wanted the rock people to be proud of me, letâs put it that way,â Parton tells the contributor Emily Lordi. âI wanted them to say, âDid you hear Dollyâs rock album? Man, she killed it.â â For this album, which is largely comprised of covers of classic rock songs like âFreebirdâ along with originals like the title track, Parton channeled the likes of Joan Jett and Melissa Etheridge (who also both appear on the album). She didnât want to make a countryfied rock album, but even at a full roar, her voice is unmistakable Dolly. âItâs a voice you know when you hear it, whether you like it or not,â Parton says. The artist is known for avoiding comment on political subjects, but she describes the volatile state of the culture in her song âWorld on Fire.â âThe only way I know how to fight back is to write songs to say how I feel,â Parton says. âItâs just me trying to throw some light on some dark subjects these days.â
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