“The ringmaster of ‘Saturday Night Live’ is 80 years old. What happens to the show, not to mention American comedy, when he retires?”
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Acid Blues (Slight Return)
“The music of Jimi Hendrix continues to strike a chord.”
Lorne Michaels Is the Real Star of “Saturday Night Live”
“He’s ruled with absolute power for five decades, forever adding to his list of oracular pronouncements—about producing TV, making comedy, and living the good life.”
Who’s Afraid of Lorne Michaels?
Very rarely can we see an entire system reflected in one person. The creator and executive producer of “Saturday Night Live” is such a person.
The Perils of Television and Five Brilliant Reads
“This is what interests me about SNL. For almost its entire existence, its workers have been very clear about its costs. From interns to stars, they’ve described the show as an intensely discriminatory workplace run by a cold, manipulative boss. As they’ve told us this, SNL has grown into one of the most important institutions in American culture. ” […]
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
In this edition: January begins, finding beauty, powerful blues, toxic water, and begonia batons.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
In this edition: a father’s grief; a commuter’s concern; a decision’s consequences; a teen’s hobby; and a sports fan’s hidden haven.
Loneliness, Power, and the Top 5 of the Week
“I want to be left alone, but I don’t want to be lonely.” Hanif Abdurraqib writes this about a tension that dominated the career of singer Phyllis Hyman—but it also feels like a familiar plea in this dim, early-January week, when many of us leave the chaos of extended family and drift back into our own homes, our own jobs, and perhaps our own small pockets of solitude.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Showcasing stories from Fatima Syed, Jack Crosbie, Charlotte Higgins, Sonya Bennett-Brandt, and Camille Bromley.
What Are Memories, Anyway?
The brain is a funny thing. You give it the right cues of depth and immersion, and something that would otherwise be a memory of an image becomes a memory of an experience.


