mailbag
January mailbag!
This month: Oscars, Oscars, Oscars! Plus, meditative TV, tarot as a storytelling device, and more.
Emily St. James
Emily St. James is a writer and critic whose work has appeared in Vox, The A.V. Club, and the New York Times. She is the co-creator of the podcast Arden and a writer on the TV series Yellowjackets.
Heated Rivalry
Heated Rivalry: Episode 2, "Olympians"
As Shane and Ilya go to the Sochi Olympics, Lily and Emily talk point-of-view, the things only queer romance can do, and how much the show actually cares about hockey.
rundown
Episodes Monday Rundown January 12–18 2026
This week: The Housemaid, The Bone Temple, and two very different fantasy novels.
mailbag
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narrative
The vibes aren't shifting
Why the right-wing effort to change the narrative is already flailing.
Heated Rivalry
Heated Rivalry: Episode 1, "Rookies"
Our new recap series debuts with hot hockey boys, an innovative approach to narrative time, and Canada's own Leslie Feist.
No Other Choice
Episodes Monday Rundown, January 5–11 2026
This week: No Other Choice, Resurrection, and some great video essays.
trauma
The only way to fix ICE is to get rid of it
The nation's traumatized response to 9/11 has spiraled utterly out of control.
newsletter updates
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rundown
Episodes Monday Rundown December 22 2025–January 4 2026
This week: Hamnet, 2Topia, and more Little Women than you can even imagine.
emily rogers
How to make risotto
The cis recipe blogger version of Emily St. James from another timeline greets another year.
rundown
Episodes Monday Rundown December 15–21
This week: Wicked's unsolvable second act, Train Dreams' hallucinatory magic, and a whole bunch of Christmas stuff.