The Real Star of M*A*S*H A personal tribute to the overlooked genius of writer W.C. Heinz. Kevin Mims 11 Oct 2022 · 13 min read
B.S. Moss and the Dawn of the Movie-Palace Era Although the vaudeville circuits would last through the 1920s, the way was now paved for impressive purpose-built movie houses with proper lighting and sound that would exhibit first-rate popular entertainment to general audiences. Charles B. Moss Jr. and Jonathan Kay 23 Dec 2021 · 15 min read
Play Anything—The Case for Colorblind Casting Colorblind casting is precisely what it sounds like—the practice of filling roles in a play or film regardless of skin color. Graham Daseler 4 Sep 2021 · 18 min read
Life as a Stand-Up Comic Can Be Brutal. ‘Safe Space’ Call-out Culture Is Making it Unbearable “Cancel culture” has become a trendy term in recent years. But public shaming has always existed. It’s a social tool, and like all tools can be used for good or ill. Jessica Pigeau 1 Aug 2021 · 34 min read
In Praise of the Novelization—Pop Fiction's Least Reputable Genre Kevin Mims 28 Jun 2021 · 19 min read
Splendid Triviality: Philosophy, Art, and Sport in a Time of Crisis They are necessary because without them none of the things that are noble can flourish. Craig Clifford 14 Apr 2021 · 8 min read
With Theatres Shuttered, I Tried to Stage a 'Zoom Play.' (It Didn't Work) I once directed a classical musical—Anything Goes—at Canada’s Shaw Festival. But that’s the only play I’ve directed that was seen by a large audience. Sky Gilbert 9 Mar 2021 · 7 min read
The Videogame That Takes Us Inside the Hell of a Nazi-Run World The New Order starts off in 1962, but not the 1962 we know. In this timeline, the Axis powers have conquered Eurasia, and are now seeking to bring Africa to heel, along with other far-flung corners of the world. Carlos Miguel del Callar 26 Nov 2020 · 9 min read
A Reasoned Judgment and a Reputation in Ruins Depp has found that using the law to defend your reputation is a very expensive way of shattering it. Matthew Scott 7 Nov 2020 · 10 min read
What We Owe to 'The Boys in the Band'—and Other Classics of Gay Film Allan Stratton 28 Oct 2020 · 14 min read
Elder Millennial Metalheads: Our Shrinking World of Dark Thoughts and Bad Jobs We are a generation of smart, strong, caring, conscientious men, full of kinetic energy that I now see dispersed through alcoholism, drug abuse, depression, anxiety, violence, and death. Matthew Amos 22 Oct 2020 · 8 min read
Why Is Funny? How America Lost Its Sense of Humor Jokes entail risk, because in order for them to work, they need to be a bit unsettling, and to get better at telling them we need to be allowed to fail. Robert Lynch 25 Sep 2020 · 18 min read