“What can millions of Swifties tell us about human community and pop culture? A KU sociology professor is finding out.”
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Posted inNewsletter
Two Incisive Excerpts (And Our Top 5)
How Mac Barnett got inspired to write books for kids, a tense, deeply reported crime story, and our weekly Top 5.
Posted inNewsletter
40 Days in a Jungle and Our Top 5
“The skies were blue that day, and there was a light wind. For around half an hour all was well. But as the Cessna approached Caquetá, a Colombian department that contains one of the densest, wettest, most remote corners of the Amazon, something went wrong.” Pat yourselves on the back: you’ve made it through January. […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
On 4th and Broadway: Remembering Tower Records
“To this day, I’ve never stopped thinking about that music sanctuary for the twenty years it existed at that location.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Epic Return of Lucinda Williams
“Having once left an abusive relationship, Van Etten hears in Williams’s lyrics the strength of a woman who refused to let darkness define or diminish her.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Why I Left the Network
“America is in the midst of a mental health crisis. But finding a therapist who takes insurance can feel impossible. Insurers say that’s because there aren’t enough therapists. That’s not entirely true.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Untangling the Knotty Politics Behind Reggaeton’s Rise in Spain
“Once stigmatized as the music of immigrants, reggaeton now leads Spanish charts, spawning local artists and global stars. But not everyone is a fan.”
Posted inNewsletter
Album as Poem, List as Confession, and Our Top 5
We may often think of poetry as something formal or grand, or meant for the pages of a book. But these two essays remind us that poetry lives in many places.
Posted inFeature
A Year in Reading: When the Going Gets Tough
These are the stories I couldn’t stop thinking about—the ones that ask us to sit with darkness and still find reasons to keep going.
Posted inEditor's Pick
What’s a God to a Machine?
“Frank Ocean emerged from self-imposed exile to headline Coachella Weekend 1. After a polarizing set, he won’t be returning for Weekend 2. What does his performance say about artistry in an increasingly algorithmic and AI-generated world?”
