Peacock's Ponies and when streaming enters crunch time

Plus: Damien McCarthy's horror movies, Some Like It Hot, and true fashion.

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Angel Down, Whalefall, and the phantasmagoria of manhood

Why do people love Daniel Kraus' novels? Maybe it's because he's not afraid of a big metaphor.

Preorder Emily's next novel! Save big money! Now!

Plus: The e-book of Woodworking is on sale too? Remember Woodworking?

Episodes Book Club: Infinite Jest, Week Seven

This week: the enthralling and the exhausting kind of become one singular thing.

Atlanta saw America more clearly than nearly any TV show of its era (preview)

A preview of this week's premium Wednesday newsletter!

Atlanta saw America more clearly than nearly any TV show of its era

Watching the show's first season in 2026 is an exercise in seeing just how far Hollywood "progressivism" has fallen across a decade.

Is Coyote vs. ACME the perfect movie for the moment?

Also: Paranormal Activity on stage, the Furious finale, and a good comic about a cat.

The Invite, Obsession, and the runaway success of movies for straight people to argue about

Who is responsible for your own unhappiness? The answer may disappoint you.

Episodes Book Club: Infinite Jest, Week Six

We're talking irony, sincerity, and, of course, Randy Lenz.

The memories of a deadly pandemic hidden in one of America's most beloved films

Art about pandemics and plagues rarely gets made after the fact. Yet here's the Spanish flu in It's a Wonderful Life.

Dolly Parton never met a song she couldn't make her own

Also: A trip to the Minnesota State Fair, The End of Oak Street, and America's reigning Garfield princess