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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.
Beth March Returns from the Dead
Preorder Emily's next novel! Save big money! Now!
Plus: The e-book of Woodworking is on sale too? Remember Woodworking?
Episodes Book Club
Episodes Book Club: Infinite Jest, Week Seven
This week: the enthralling and the exhausting kind of become one singular thing.
preview
Atlanta saw America more clearly than nearly any TV show of its era (preview)
A preview of this week's premium Wednesday newsletter!
26 Episodes
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.
Monday Digest
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.
movies
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
Episodes Book Club: Infinite Jest, Week Six
We're talking irony, sincerity, and, of course, Randy Lenz.
it's a wonderful life
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.
Monday Digest
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
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.