My favorite director, Lynn Shelton, died suddenly this month at the age of 54. Did the spirit of indie filmmaking go with her?

History may have pigeonholed her as Renaissance Italy’s most notorious seductress, but it’s high time we give the Duchess of Ferrara a closer look.

Scott Korb contemplates disgust — his own, yours — at the kind of magical thinking that promises (with fingers crossed) to protect us from all the causes of dying.

Edging, or extending the time leading up to an orgasm, is almost a character of its own in Normal People, Run, and Portrait of a Lady on Fire. It also has a lot to teach us about sexuality and consent.

New submissions guidelines, plus information about our new essay series.

Ella Dawson learns about the perils of break-up sex the hard way.

On masculinity, grief, and learning from suffering.

Newly single in her mid-50s, Pam Mandel swipes through dozens of selfies, including her own.

Marcia Aldrich on why cell phones, so thin and light and little, don’t seem fitting for momentous calls, for life and death communications, or for last words.

In her quest to become truly American, Jakki Kerubo discovers what it means to belong in a place.

On letting go of potential and other myths of greatness.

It seems like everyone in the world loves “Fetch the Bolt Cutters.” So why don’t I? On the isolation of disconnection.

After separating from her husband and entering quarantine, Anne Liu Kellor faces her ongoing desire for a partner and the necessity of loving herself.

Shaheen Pasha explores how the trauma of a loved one’s incarceration unravels her carefully planned-out existence, and sets her on a new, unexpected path to find meaning in the meaningless.

Notes on an autumn in search of acceptance.

“Joi’s recorded performances embodied all the funkiness my little soul had been waiting for.”

In isolation, Stephanie Land finds surprising relief from PTSD — and discovers she is able to write again.

Robin Antalek considers the legacy of the man who abandoned her for another family and never looked back.

You don’t know what day it is, do you? Robert Burke Warren digs into ‘the Oddball Effect’ and fascinating brain data that may help explain why.

Emily Flake reflects on the shifting nature of magic and power in middle age.

“I’ve always had the sense that my mother’s side of the family is, in fact, diminished by my uncle’s absence. Or at least diminished in their quiet response to it.”

All the good habits and self-optimization in the world don’t give you real control over your body. Back away from the bread starter.

Adam Kuhlmann was outmatched at the 1993 Little League World Series. His 11-year-old nephew helps him to learn from his errors.

Under self-quarantine, Aaron Gilbreath ‘moves’ freely with the help of Rambalac’s video travelogues.

Deenie Hartzog-Mislock confronts a lifetime of body image trauma when her marriage turns south and sexless.

“With a drink in my hand and earplugs responsibly in place, I’m very aware that I’ve spent more than half my life essentially standing in the same spot: off to one side of the stage (close but not too close), eyes forward, shifting weight from foot to foot.”

“Whatever it is, coronavirus has made the mighty kneel and brought the world to a halt like nothing else could.”

Coronavirus inspires Sari Botton to reach out to family and friends she’s fallen out with.

Faylita Hicks considers what it means to be a Black nonbinary activist in the age of Trump — and questions how the social justice movement has changed the way they have sex.

With physical distancing the order of the day as COVID-19 spreads, cultural locales — sites for communal experiences, like museums and theaters — are emptying out. What are we sharing if we’re not sharing these spaces? And were we really sharing them to begin with?