Jonathan Franzen: the man, the myth, the guy whom I thought I saw emerge from a men's room at the L.A. Times Book Festival, but since I wasn't wearing my glasses, I couldn't really be sure; my only clues were silver hair and glasses and something he'd said to someone else about "the kids," and … Continue reading Has Jonathan Franzen Ever Said Anything About Trans People? A 3:46 AM Investigation
“You’re God’s born loser, you know that?” — George St. Geegland to Gil Faizon, Oh Hello! On Broadway (2017) They were brothers first. It would not always be so, later on, but first, they were brothers. The first brothers, to be exact, born of Adam and Eve after their expulsion from Eden. Writing hadn’t been … Continue reading Reeling in the Years: George St. Geegland and Gil Faizon as the Biblical Cain and Abel, Through The Ages
I want to preface this by saying that my Bachelor’s degree is in Classical Studies and Ancient History, and I’ve dedicated months of my life to the Aeneid at this point. I’ve loved Dido, hated Aeneas, studied the epic again, still loved Dido, felt bad for Aeneas, and spent the rest of my time also … Continue reading Listen, Hear Me Out, Taylor Swift Wrote ‘The Archer’ About Aeneas and Dido
It's often said that the first Pride was a riot. And that's true, insofar as modern Pride commemorates the uprising at Stonewall and the throwing, en masse, of bricks at cops. But perhaps more importantly, the first Pride was a fun, casual night on the town that went up in flames because straight people didn't … Continue reading The Top Ten Worst Things About the Worst Pride Month Ever
Illustration by Fiona Ostby. This debate contains spoilers for “Cat Person,” as well as discussion of rape and sexual abuse, which may be triggering to some readers. The interview has been edited and condensed for clarity, and to get rid of all our little verbal tics, because we uh, um, like, I think, used a … Continue reading Did “Cat Person” Deserve the Hype?
This past week, I finished reading Meaghan O'Connell's excellent book And Now We Have Everything: On Motherhood Before I Was Ready. Among the many revelations in this book: caring for a newborn, it turns out, is extremely difficult! For the first month of their life, a newborn needs to eat every two hours, which means that … Continue reading Help Your Neighbours with Their Newborn, You Loser
Readers, hopefully we’re all in agreement that violence is bad, and that killing people with weapons is, in most circumstances, not good. However, have you heard “Motion Sickness” by Phoebe Bridgers? Like, really listened? Because if you, like me, have listened to “Motion Sickness,” many times, on repeat, in a car, or lying in bed, while … Continue reading Every Line of Motion Sickness Ranked by How Much It Makes Me Want to Give Phoebe Bridgers A Sword
Elizabeth Holmes is not a good person. Like, historically not good. Like, stole $9 billion and played Russian roulette with millions of innocent lives levels of not good. Last month, a federal grand jury indicted her on nine counts of wire fraud; in March, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued her and formally banned her … Continue reading I Love Elizabeth Holmes, Scam Queen
Have you heard? Lucasfilm just hired David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the creators of Game of Thrones, to direct their very own Star Wars trilogy. I don't know about you guys, but I think this is a great move for the franchise. We're living in a new age of feminist progress: predators are being exiled, grassroots campaigns like #MeToo are … Continue reading Ten Strong Female Star Wars Characters We’re Stoked to Watch Being Violently Assaulted
In 2012 - or some year similar to that - Mitt Romney approached me, shook my hand with moderate firmness, and asked me why I was standing in his driveway. He did not question the Jedi robes I was wearing at the time, nor did he flinch when my lightsaber went off later on in … Continue reading How I Stole Mitt Romney’s Jacket, and You Can Too
The Niche 