’Tis the Season for SufjanThe singer-songwriter on what he’s learned about the holidays after releasing 100 Christmas songs.
ByCraig Jenkins
profile
The Spectacular Life of Octavia E. ButlerThe story of the girl who grew up in Pasadena, took the bus, loved her mom and grandmother, and wrote herself into the world.
ByE. Alex Jung
podcasts
What Happened to Ana MendietaShe was a pathbreaking artist, hungry for recognition. A podcast reexamines how her 1985 death made headlines instead.
ByMax Pearl
power
House of SpearsOne year ago, Britney Spears was freed from a notorious conservatorship. What possessed her father to seize near-total control of her life?
Ken Jennings Ascends the PodiumThe Jeopardy! co-host (and its greatest champion) settles into his dream job, one year after the show’s legacy was almost tarnished.
Podcasting Is Just Radio NowIt’s been ages since the last blockbuster narrative show. What does that mean for the medium as an art form?
ByNicholas Quah
books
Hua Hsu Is True to the GameHis new memoir is both a coming-of-age story and an evolutionary step for Asian American literature.
ByRyu Spaeth
remembrance
Everyone Has Their Own GodardFor all his godlike splendor, there is no other filmmaker over whom so many people can claim ownership, each in their own distinct manner.
ByBilge Ebiri
profile
‘I Need to Tell You This’Kate Beaton captured the aesthetic of a late-aughts internet. Her new memoir is a monumental synthesis of politics, history, and her own life.
ByKathryn VanArendonk
a twenty-four
The Cult of A24Since 2012, the studio has bred superfans, dropped swag, and perfected a singular house style. It’s also teetering on the verge of self-parody.
‘The Gays Are Here’Titanique, a jukebox fantasia that imagines Céline Dion survived the Titanic, has found its audience.
ByRachel Handler
first person
The Voice of New York Is DrillIt’s the most captivating sound the city has heard in decades — and also the most misunderstood. Here, 19 NY drill artists set the record straight.
As told toCamille Squires
performance study
The Making of Silent BruceBruce Willis was a fast-talking lead who became a man-of-few-words star. Which made his mental decline that much harder to notice.
What You Can and Can’t See in Nope“A true point of view is where you just see enough but are yearning to see more,” says the film’s cinematographer on three key visual choices.
ByRoxana Hadadi
a whole lotta woman
‘She Wanted to Be Fantastic’An oral history of Beyoncé in Austin Powers: Goldmember, a goofy anomaly in a now-rarefied pop career.
‘Have You Read Nevada?’Imogen Binnie’s first novel became a staple of trans literature. Nine years and one reissue later, how much has the culture changed?
Cronenberg’s Cannes ComebackThe director’s stomach-turning new movie has him back in the festival’s good graces.
ByRachel Handler
a long talk
Gaspar Noé Is Not in ControlNoé’s films have always been about the chaos of losing control. His latest, Vortex and Lux Aeterna, seem to get bracingly personal, too.
