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.
Latest
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!
Pluribus: Episodes 6, "HDP"
Wait, WHAT are the Joined doing? Let's let John Cena explain.
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.
Submit your April mailbag questions!
It's that time again!
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
We don't respect Grey's Anatomy enough
2005's 26 Episodes pick reveals the very gendered way we talk about "great" television
Pluribus: Episode 5, "Got Milk"
Sometimes, you don't want to be a sci-fi protagonist. Sometimes, you don't get a choice.
Episodes Monday Rundown March 30–April 5 2026
This week: Roofman, First Time Caller, and a whole lotta horror.
Why did this year's Tournament of Books care so much about men?
Or: Why were the only books that got praised for being "about men" the grim, airless ones?
Deadwood, God, and the coarsening of America
The show's first-season finale linked death, life, and everything else.
Pluribus: Episode 4, "Please, Carol"
On this week's Pluribus, you've gotta be cruel to be kind.
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.
His Dark Materials
What His Dark Materials gave me that Harry Potter never could
Kids deserve books that feel like getting away with something.
pluribus
Pluribus: Episode 3, "Grenade"
Grocery shopping as a way to stubbornly ignore your feelings about your lover's death? That's the Carol Sturka special!
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.
Mailbag
March mailbag!
In this month's mailbag: sitcom remakes, ranked-choice voting takes, and a whole lotta Oscars!
pluribus
Pluribus: Episode 2, "Pirate Lady"
Carol attempts to make friends, to mixed results.
oscars
Journalism is failing at its chief duty. Why do we keep asking art to take its place?
There's a place for endless nuance and character development. It's not in articles about the president.
Rundown
Episodes Monday Rundown March 9–15 2026
This week: the Oscars, The Phoenecian Scheme, and some fascinating life circumstances.
Mailbag
Submit your March mailbag questions!
It's that time again!
one battle after another
This year's Best Picture nominees, ranked
Emily and Lily go through the hits and skips (well, mostly hits) of this year's race for the top Oscar.
26 Episodes
Alias made no sense. Good.
Even Columbo couldn't figure out what was going on on Alias. Should that matter?
pluribus
Pluribus: Episode 1, "We Is Us"
Our new recap series begins with a book tour, a tragic night out, and some very nice pod people who just wanna help.