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
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.
Episodes Book Club
Episodes Book Club: Infinite Jest, Week Five
Is careful observation the same thing as love? Lily and Emily investigate.
26 Episodes
It's The Leftovers' afterlife. We're just living in it.
Over a decade after its debut, HBO's cult series about an ambiguous apocalypse only grows more prescient.
Rundown
Episodes Monday Rundown August 17–23 2026
This week: Furious, further Camp Miasma thoughts, and, most importantly, TRAINS.
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, or learning to love your own horniness
Jane Schoenbrun's new film is about a very common trans experience. And a very common human experience too.
Infinite Jest
Episodes Book Club: Infinite Jest, Week Four
It's Eschaton time!! (Oh, and also David Foster Wallace predicts Trump.)
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
Episodes Monday Rundown August 10–16 2026
This week: Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Spider-Man, and the Winnie-the-Pooh hot takes you've been waiting for.
preview
August mailbag! (preview)
A little preview of this month's mailbag!
Mailbag
August mailbag!
This month: the works of John Crowley, our personal AI policies, and movies that could have used a sex scene.
Infinite Jest
Episodes Book Club: Infinite Jest, Week Three
In which the book begins to find... a plot??
26 Episodes
The thing Transparent was smartest about was never trans identities
The series remains one of the best in TV history at depicting the way we remember and forget our pasts.
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The thing Transparent was smartest about was never trans identities (preview)
A preview of this week's premium Wednesday newsletter!