Showcasing stories from Ryu Spaeth, Kit Chellel, Dave Eggers, Holly Haworth, and John Semley.
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“After Hours”: The Oral History of a Cult Classic
“With his career on the ropes, Martin Scorsese fought his way back to the top with a low-budget, surreal black comedy, set in New York’s gritty downtown scene.”
Fear as a Game
“What can the philosophy of games tell us about our odd impulse to scare ourselves?”
Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ Dream Job
“Mattel wanted a summer blockbuster to kick off its new wave of brand-extension movies. She wanted it to be a work of art.”
I Never Called Her Momma
“I always saw crack as the source of my family’s problems. But I learned that addiction went back in our family long before the crack epidemic—as did poverty and neglect.”
Wrapping Up 2024 and the Week’s Top 5
Well, folks, this is it. The last Top 5 newsletter of the year! Whether or not you’re observing any holidays, we hope you enjoy a restorative end to 2024. At the very least, you’ll have the full run of our Best of 2024 package at your disposal—between the stories we discussed in our year-end essays […]
Welcome to the No-Budget Era
“Film’s unlikely hope? A quirky, brilliant wave of directors churning out microbudget features that are pushing what’s possible with minuscule funding.”
A Year in Reading: Inward Journeys
Navigating a world in flux demands some understanding of who you really are, and some of my favorite pieces from this year speak to that need.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Recommending stories from Yasmin Tayag, Elliott Woods, David Ramsey, Larissa Diakiw, and A.S. Hamrah.
Rebecca Solnit: Slow Change Can Be Radical Change
“I love dramatic stories too, but I think they tend to mislead us about how change happens.”


