Lily Osler

Mailbag

January mailbag!

This month: Oscars, Oscars, Oscars! Plus, meditative TV, tarot as a storytelling device, and more.

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.

minnesota

Republicans think they know Minnesota better than Minnesotans. They’re wrong

Try as they might, there is no secret conservative side of Minneapolis that Republican violence can uncover.

Rundown

Episodes Monday Rundown January 12–18 2026

This week: The Housemaid, The Bone Temple, and two very different fantasy novels.

pluribus

Pluribus isn't an allegory for anything. It's smarter than that

Pluribus' superpower, and its best feature in a media landscape full of too-obvious themes, is its use of elastic metaphor.

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.

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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.

Rundown

Episodes Monday Rundown December 15–21 2025

This week: Wicked's unsolvable second act, Train Dreams' hallucinatory magic, and a whole bunch of Christmas stuff.

Mailbag

December mailbag!

This month: Rob Reiner favorites, new Oscar categories, and holiday stories crying out for the Rankin-Bass treatment.

winter

Always winter, never Christmas: 21 snowy entertainments without a Santa in sight

Celebrate winter - and NOTHING ELSE - with our list of recommendations.