Longreads

My brother Danny lost his virginity at age 25. To a call girl named Monique. Hired by our mother. My mother didn’t bother asking Danny for his permission before engaging Monique’s…

The director confronts the economics of moviemaking, and whether there's hope for independent film:

"But let’s sex this up with some more numbers. In 2003, 455 films were released. 275 of those were independent, 180 were studio films. Last year 677 films were released. So you’re not imagining things, there are a lot of movies that open every weekend. 549 of those were independent, 128 were studio films. So, a 100% increase in independent films, and a 28% drop in studio films, and yet, 10 years ago: Studio market share 69%, last year 76%. You’ve got fewer studio movies now taking up a bigger piece of the pie and you’ve got twice as many independent films scrambling for a smaller piece of the pie. That’s hard. That’s really hard."

When Nathan Fillion says you're disposable, it tends to stick with you. For voice actor Jen Taylor, that moment came when Fillion, star of Firefly and basically geek culture's handsome older brother,…

Beppe Grillo is an Italian version of Michael Moore. Photograph by Stefano De Luigi.

In May 1813, Jane Austen mingled among London's fashionable crowd as she took in an exhibition of oils and watercolors at Wigley ’s Great Room at Spring Gardens. Since the beginning of the…

Not too long ago, I wrote about my sister Linda, who passed away this summer. Nobody could love a daughter more than my father Michael loved Linda.  My father (who is a doctor) was realistic…

I have to admit that, though I did not make it public, I was personally opposed to my Aunty’s marriage plans. My father, my brothers and their wives shared my feelings. It simply wasn’t…

“I, Governor of California, and How I Ended Poverty,” by Upton Sinclair, is probably the most thrilling piece of campaign literature ever written. Instead of the usual flummery, Sinclair, the author…

Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life by Jon Lee Anderson Grove Press, 814…