Why do we love sports? Well, there’s the existential aspect: We need meaning in life, and sports provides it, at least for some. Then, as scriptwriter Schur and sportswriter Posnanski put it, “Life is lonely, and sports provide community.” What’s more, sports, at least in the authors’ case, allows them to go tearing off to […]
Since its inception in 2015, says Peele, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, British TV’s Love Island UK and its 2019 American spinoff, Love Island USA, have captured massive audience attention with tropical island, luxury villa locations; attractive singles; and the contestant end-game goal of finding love. It’s an addictive combination and “interactive as a […]
A U.S. Air Force C-32A crashes near Bodrum, Turkey, killing all aboard, including the secretary of commerce. American investigators suspect sabotage, which elevates the issue up to the White House. Strangely, only 15 passengers had been aboard while 16 were listed on the manifest. Gunther Klaus, a Swiss moneyman for the Russians, was supposed to […]
For many fans, the consensus “big three” rappers are J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and Drake, distinct artists from different backgrounds and with a history of collaboration. And, more infamously, feuding: Beef entangling all three consumed much of 2024, culminating in Lamar’s savage Drake diss track, “Not Like Us,” which won him a Song of the […]
Orion Casey lives for music, but she won’t sing in public. She developed a phobia after her frenemy, Melissa Rae, and her minions openly mocked Orion’s singing voice. So while Melissa Rae takes the spotlight in their school’s musical production, Orion is just fine working backstage. Her self-esteem gets a welcome boost from an unlikely […]
For generations, members of Lili’s family have been delegated as the Town Council’s hunters, tasked with killing the monster that slowly eats away at the adults in the community. Lili’s own father is “riddled with holes, / can no longer walk”—and she’s desperate to save him. Thanks to rumors about her family, particularly her deceased […]
Meredith Metzger is a devoted social worker in Rockford, Illinois, a hardscrabble city that residents love and loathe in near-equal measure. In her profession, Meredith sees the worst the city has to offer, both in terms of individual decisions and systemic inequities that drive poverty and its associated hardships. But when the pressure becomes too […]
Unlikely platinum albums don’t come any more unlikely than the Violent Femmes’ self-titled debut: The trio hailed from a city with no national profile (Milwaukee), had a lead songwriter still in his teens, and played acoustic instruments in an era of punk guitars and New Wave synths. But their snappy songs, inspired by alt-rock misfits […]
Going with the idea that any household-name celebrity deserves a biography, this one gets the job done. Olivia Newton-John was born in Cambridge, England, in 1948; in 1954, her father accepted a job at the University of Melbourne, taking the family with him. After Newton-John’s mother gave her an acoustic guitar, the teenager started performing […]
Cultural critics Druckman and Sen are adoring longtime soap opera fans who infuse their enthusiasm and analysis into a dozen “episode” essays examining the ascent and fanatical obsession of these serials as well as their incremental replacement by modern “reality” versions. In a delightful introductory piece, the authors quiz each other about how their fascination […]