26 Episodes
How I Met Your Mother is one last message from a pre-Recession world
And other theories on why this once-beloved sitcom hasn't quite endured
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.
Rundown
Episodes Monday Rundown April 13–19 2026
This week: Faces of Death, Exit 8, and the new Olivia Rodrigo!
Mailbag
April mailbag!
This month: books that need reissues, songs that belong to one director, and the Buffy Big Bad ranking you've been waiting for.
Max Richter
The biggest danger of over-licensed music in movies and TV
Maybe the song doesn't need to do all the feeling for the audience!
Rundown
Episodes Monday Rundown April 6–12 2026
This week: The Testaments, The Subtle Knife, and an album that hints at the end of a beloved show.
Mailbag
Submit your April mailbag questions!
It's that time again!
Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen
Not every story should be two hours or 10 hours
Netflix's Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen shows the limits of "this should have been a movie" as a criticism
26 Episodes
We don't respect Grey's Anatomy enough
2005's 26 Episodes pick reveals the very gendered way we talk about "great" television
Roofman
Episodes Monday Rundown March 30–April 5 2026
This week: Roofman, First Time Caller, and a whole lotta horror.
deadwood
Deadwood, God, and the coarsening of America
The show's first-season finale linked death, life, and everything else.
Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen
Episodes Monday Rundown March 23–29 2026
This week: Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, classic Pixar, and two very different musical performances.
Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie
Episodes Monday Rundown March 16–22 2026
This week: Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, Hoppers, and a eulogy for a wonderful cat.