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Emily St. James

Emily St. James

Los Angeles
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.
Sep
13
An out-of-focus clock is surrounded by the words ALARM, LATE, SCHEDULE, BUSY, RUSH, OVERTIME, STRESS

Programming note — and a big sale

There's never been a better time to become a paid subscriber to this newsletter!
3 min read
Sep
08
Official promotional art for Foundation shows the series' characters in an exciting, sci-fi setting.

Pop culture weekend (Sept. 8): Foundation and the rise of the "episodic" streaming show

5 min read
Sep
06
Ice cold refreshing lemonade, in several glasses and a large pitcher. Lemon slices and mint float in the drink.

How to make lemonade

My recipe blogging cis self thinks about motherhood and Stephen Sondheim
14 min read
Sep
01
Tiny people riding rats go to war with each other in promotional art for the TTRPG Household.

Pop culture weekend (Sept. 1): On vacation

4 min read
Aug
30
Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) and Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen) softly embrace after declaring their love.

Class and the modern romance novel

Romance as a genre can't escape the long shadow of that hot rich guy Mr. Darcy. Should it?
8 min read
Aug
25
Tom Berenger, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Mary Kay Place, JoBeth Williams, Glenn Close, and Kevin Kline in The Big Chill.

Pop culture weekend (Aug. 25): The millennial Big Chill (doesn't exist)

7 min read
Aug
23
J. Robert Oppenheimer, played by Cillian Murphy, stares into the camera while smoking in this black-and-white image.

What we discourse about when we discourse about Barbenheimer

The discourses around Barbie and Oppenheimer have followed very similar patterns.
8 min read
Aug
18
A father runs with his daughter on his shoulders in the movie The Broken Circle Breakdown.

Pop culture weekend (Aug. 18): I can't watch bad things happen to fictional kids anymore.

I became a parent, and you won't believe what happened next! (Spoilers: I found watching scenes of children dying or being endangered almost completely unbearable.)
7 min read
Aug
11
Tommy Lee Jones and Sissy Spacek star in Coal Miner's Daughter.

Pop culture weekend (Aug. 11): Country music and hierarchies

5 min read
Aug
09
Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore (in a Steelers jersey) watch some TV on the couch in This Is Us.

You are not smarter than the art you critique

Here's my best advice for young critics: Don't presume you know better.
8 min read