Historical Fiction’s Shipwrecks, Magical Objects, and the Marginalized
Historical fiction as diverse as Laila Lalami’s The Moor’s Account and teen TV show Outer Banks bring real stories of shipwrecks, magical objects, and the marginalized to life.
Television
Features, reviews, interviews, and lists about television, covering the latest as well historical topics.
Dark Winds’ Tale of Memory and Monsters at Monument Valley
Fusing mystery with mysticism, Navajo Nation psychological thriller Dark Winds conjures memory and monsters at Monument Valley.
The Penguin’s Means, Ends, and Morality
‘The Penguin’ compels us to interrogate our morality: do we treat others in our lives only as means to an end?
Workplace Drama ‘Severance’ Enhances Performance and Hits High Targets
Workplace drama Severance Season 2 enhances performance by moving sideways from work ethics to reach the complicated hearts of its protagonists.
The Empty Excitement of the 2025 Grammy Awards
Beyoncé may have broken her curse with fun performances, but the bright Grammy ceremony was undercut by self-aggrandizing acts that fell flat by the end.
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Dark Comedy ‘Patriot’ Illuminates Neoliberalism’s Dark Reality
The dark comedy Patriot illuminates how neoliberalism makes choices for us disguisedly, using entrepreneurial agency as a fig leaf to obscure manipulation.
What If Donald Trump’s Cabinet Picks Really Were Looney Tunes?
Many of Donald Trump’s 2025 cabinet picks came from Fox News. Would the nation be better served if he binged Looney Tunes instead?
‘Slow Horses: Season Four’ Subverts the Spy Genre
The good, the bad, and the ugly dance to Slow Horses‘ strange game, which reminds viewers that solidarity is essential to fighting oppression.
When the 1950s Met the 1960s via LSD TV
These eight TV episodes illustrate what happened when the 1950s met the 1960s via LSD TV, leading to moments of confusion and irony, often with comical results.
Rom-Communism: ‘Ted Lasso’ and the Future of the Romantic Comedy
As polarization impacts the cultural landscape, rom-coms like Ted Lasso show how we can work through our differences and disagreements to everyone’s satisfaction.
The10 Best Episodes of ‘Are You Afraid of the Dark?’
For this Halloween, we invite you to join us in revisiting ten classic, creepy Are You Afraid of the Dark? episodes. First, turn off the lights.
Deadwood’s Moral Optimism
Individualism was not the dominant force on the American frontier, as most Westerns would have you believe. Deadwood explores the era’s cooperation and moral optimism.