Books & Culture
“Theatre Can’t Miss This Moment”: An Interview with Audra McDonald
The actress on color-blind casting, virtual performance, and learning how to trust her own power.
The Latest
Bramancing the Braless: Notes on Nine Lingerie Startups
How different are these newfangled garments from the ones we’ve been wearing (or not wearing) forever?
What to Stream: “The Last Days of Immanuel Kant,” a Physical Comedy of the Philosophical Life
Philippe Collin’s 1996 film follows the famously abstemious and abstruse philosopher as he’s anticipating his death, yet it’s a physical comedy filled with neo-slapstick intimacy.
“My First Sessions” Explores the Relationship Between Therapy and Culture
For a Chinese college student adjusting to life in the U.S., anger and sadness felt like dark secrets, but the idea of seeing a therapist was daunting.
The Critics
Rethinking the Science of Skin
What is all the scrubbing, soaping, moisturizing, and deodorizing really doing for the body’s largest organ?
Joseph McCarthy and the Force of Political Falsehoods
McCarthy never sent a single “subversive” to jail, but, decades later, the spirit of his conspiracy-mongering endures.
American Tragedy and Comedy, Streaming on YouTube
“The Line,” a play of communal horror, follows health-care workers battling COVID-19, and Hannibal Buress’s new special turns a police encounter into comedy and catharsis.
The Rallying Cry in Pop Smoke’s Posthumous Album
On “Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon,” the charismatic New York rapper, who was killed in February, sounds like a young man exploring all his possibilities.
Goings On About Town
The Picnic Baskets of the Pandemic
Bubby’s craggy fried chicken, Café Kitsuné’s frilly ham and Gruyère on baguettes, Otaku Katsu’s sando set, and more blanket-ready fare.
Photo Booth
The Faces of Those Marching for Racial Justice in New York
Al J. Thompson’s portraits from Black Lives Matter marches in New York telegraph unity and a common sense of resolve.
Video
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Responds to Verbal Abuse by Ted Yoho
In a speech on the House floor, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says Ted Yoho’s profane slur on the Capitol steps is part of a larger problem faced by all women.