Critics at Large | The New Yorker

“Michael”—a new film, directed by Antoine Fuqua, charting Michael Jackson’s rise to fame—just had the best opening weekend in the history of bio-pics, proving that audiences are still eager to celebrate the King of Pop. The movie also ends, pointedly, before the first in a series of allegations of child sexual abuse that have tainted Jackson’s reputation ever since. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and their fellow staff writer Kelefa Sanneh consider how the unprecedented highs and horrific lows of Jackson’s life and career have made him a prism for modern ideas about stardom and power. Sanneh’s recent Profile of Fuqua details the Jackson estate’s involvement in the production, which resulted in a sanitized portrait of a deeply complex figure. Other works have assessed Jackson’s legacy more critically: the 2019 documentary “Leaving Neverland” lays out, in granular detail, the claims of two of Jackson’s accusers. “It’s just such a dissonance, seeing these two texts in such close proximity,” Fry says. “The thing with ‘Michael’ is, it doesn’t separate the art from the artist. It separates the artist from the wrongdoing entirely.” Read, watch, and listen with the critics: “Michael” (2026) Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” Michael Jackson’s “Dangerous” “The Action-Film Director Who’s Taking On Michael Jackson,” by Kelefa Sanneh (The New Yorker) “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV” (2024) “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” by Jennette McCurdy “On Michael Jackson,” by Margo Jefferson “Leaving Neverland” (2019) Michael Jackson’s “Off the Wall” “Justin Bieber, Pop Music’s Fallen Angel, Rises Again at Coachella,” by Vinson Cunningham (The New Yorker) New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. Critics at Large is a weekly discussion from The New Yorker which explores the latest trends in books, television, film, and more. Join us every Thursday as we make unexpected connections between classic texts and pop culture.

Cynicism is widely considered a defining quality of our conspiracy-addled, irony-poisoned age. But audiences and creatives alike now seem ready to cast it aside in favor of an attitude that’s long been out of style: earnestness. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz trace this trend from the outer-space buddy comedy “Project Hail Mary” to the real-life Artemis II mission, whose crew has spoken movingly about Earth as a “lifeboat” in the middle of a vast, mysterious universe. The hosts also consider two buzzy new books—Lena Dunham’s “Famesick,” and “Transcription,” by Ben Lerner—which find their authors turning to earnestness in midlife, after precocious beginnings. In this era of political, economic, and environmental precarity, younger generations, too, have come to celebrate big feelings, rather than living in fear of seeming cringe. “We’ve just seen too much awful stuff, and it's impossible to ironize,” Cunningham says. “The only sane response to that is to kind of sober up and say, ‘All right, what resources do humans still have?’ ” Read, watch, and listen with the critics: “Project Hail Mary” (2026) “The Pitt” (2025-) “Love on the Spectrum” (2022-) “Heated Rivalry” (2025-) “Famesick,” by Lena Dunham “Girls” (2012-17) “Transcription,” by Ben Lerner “Climbing Cringe Mountain With Gen Z” (The New York Times) “Amos & Boris,” by William Steig László Krasznahorkai’s Nobel Prize lecture New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. Critics at Large is a weekly discussion from The New Yorker which explores the latest trends in books, television, film, and more. Join us every Thursday as we make unexpected connections between classic texts and pop culture.

In 2019, marriage rates in the United States hit their lowest point in a hundred and forty years. They still haven’t rebounded. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz consider how recent cultural offerings mirror this increasing dissatisfaction with matrimony. They discuss the new season of the Netflix anthology show “Beef,” which centers on two couples locked in a feud that gradually exposes the cracks in each relationship, and the A24 film “The Drama,” about a wedding that goes off the rails in spectacular fashion. They also consider real-life examples, including Lindy West’s recent memoir, “Adult Braces,” which has sparked a flurry of discourse about polyamory and open marriages. As such alternative ways of organizing our love lives enter the mainstream, the narrative around one of our oldest institutions is shifting, too. “I think we’re in a place where we’re trying to make marriage seem more like a positive choice, rather than an obvious obligation,” Schwartz says. “It’s a fascinating fiction that those who get married subscribe to, hoping that the fiction becomes true.”  Read, watch, and listen with the critics: “Beef” (2023-) “The White Lotus” (2021-) “The Drama” (2026) “Strangers,” by Belle Burden “A Hymn to Life: Shame Has to Change Sides,” by Gisèle Pelicot “Madame Bovary,” by Gustave Flaubert “Parallel Lives,” by Phyllis Rose “Adult Braces,” by Lindy West New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. Critics at Large is a weekly discussion from The New Yorker which explores the latest trends in books, television, film, and more. Join us every Thursday as we make unexpected connections between classic texts and pop culture.

Last fall, a group of masked men broke into the Louvre in broad daylight and made off with some of France’s crown jewels. The stunt swiftly became an online phenomenon. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss the sordid satisfaction of watching a heist play out, both onscreen and off. They dive into the debacle at the Louvre, along with a range of fictional depictions, from the fantasy of hyper-competence in “Ocean’s Eleven” to the theft that goes woefully awry in Kelly Reichardt’s  “The Mastermind.” Part of the fun, it seems, lies in rooting for those who identify and exploit the blind spots of an institution. “Someone else, just like me, is seeing that everybody is an idiot. But, unlike me, they’re able to best those people in charge,” Fry says. “It’s an alternative morality—a morality of wits.” This episode originally aired on November 13, 2025. Read, watch, and listen with the critics: “The Mastermind” (2025) “Ocean’s Eleven” (2001) Stella Webb’s impression of “the Louvre heist Creative Director” Jake Schroeder’s “Ballad for the Louvre” “Showing Up” (2022) “The Italian Job” (1969) “How to Beat the High Cost of Living” (1980) “Drive” (2011) “Le Cercle Rouge” (1970) “This Is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist” (2021) “Good Time” (2017) “George Santos and the Art of the Scam” (The New Yorker) New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. Critics at Large is a weekly discussion from The New Yorker which explores the latest trends in books, television, film, and more. Join us every Thursday as we make unexpected connections between classic texts and pop culture.

In the new HBO miniseries “DTF St. Louis,” Jason Bateman plays a weatherman living with his wife and kids in a sleepy town just outside of St. Louis. He befriends a coworker, Floyd Smernitch (David Harbour), and the two sign up for a dating app that specializes in clandestine affairs. By the end of the first episode, Smernitch is dead. So begins a whodunnit set against the backdrop of suburban America and the discontents simmering beneath. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz survey how the setting has been used over the decades, from the films of Douglas Sirk and the stories of John Cheever in the nineteen-fifties and sixties to the fantasy of that era seen in 1985’s “Back to the Future.” Today, the locale is being assessed anew. Like “DTF,” the recent docuseries “Neighbors” strips the suburbs of their glamour, focussing instead on petty grievances and property disputes. “They are small stakes, but of course, everything that is quintessentially American—property, the right to violence, the right to protect land—are all intensely operative in this space,” Cunningham says. “And if something goes wrong, somebody pays for it.” Read, watch, and listen with the critics: “DTF St. Louis” (2026—) “‘DTF St. Louis’ Peers Into the Suburban Male Psyche,” by Vinson Cunningham (The New Yorker) “The Swimmer,” by John Cheever (The New Yorker) “Judy Blume: A Life,” by Mark Oppenheimer “Wifey,” by Judy Blume “Back to the Future” (1985) “All That Heaven Allows” (1955) “Desperate Housewives” (2004-2012) “American Pie” (1999) “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997-2003) “Adventures in Babysitting” (1987) “The Five-Forty-Eight,” by John Cheever (The New Yorker) “Neighbors” (2026—) “All Her Fault” (2025) “Friendship” (2025) New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. Critics at Large is a weekly discussion from The New Yorker which explores the latest trends in books, television, film, and more. Join us every Thursday as we make unexpected connections between classic texts and pop culture.

The K-pop group BTS—by many metrics, the most popular band of all time—had a meteoric ascent before its members were called away by mandatory South Korean military service. Now, nearly four years later, the group has returned with a new record, “Arirang.” On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz delve into the album as well as the live-streamed concert and documentary that have accompanied its release, both on Netflix. “Arirang” is being framed as a return to the group’s Korean roots, albeit one that signifies a new, more mature era for its members, who are now in their late twenties and early thirties. The hosts consider BTS’s meticulously crafted image and its relationship to its devoted followers, known as ARMY. Intense fandom is nothing new—just ask the Beatles—but K-pop stans are particularly invested in the lives (and livelihoods) of their favorite idols, even paying for the chance to message them directly. “This further privatization of what we call parasociality,” Cunningham says, “if that can be monetized and organized, it really is the final frontier of the pop star.” Read, watch, and listen with the critics: BTS’s “Arirang” “BTS: The Return” (2026) “KPop Demon Hunters” (2025) Justin Bieber’s “Swag” “The K-Pop King,” by Alex Barasch (The New Yorker) The music video for BTS’s “Swim” “Judy Blume: A Life,” by Mark Oppenheimer The Beatles’ “Let It Be” New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. Critics at Large is a weekly discussion from The New Yorker which explores the latest trends in books, television, film, and more. Join us every Thursday as we make unexpected connections between classic texts and pop culture.

“Love Story,” an FX series produced by Ryan Murphy, drops audiences straight into the lives of one of the most talked-about couples of the nineties: J.F.K., Jr., and the style icon Carolyn Bessette. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss how the show re-creates the look and fashion of the era in granular detail while reducing the relationship itself to a generic fairy tale. Despite its many flaws, the show has been embraced with a zeal that reflects the enduring allure of the Kennedys—often said to be the closest thing America has to a royal family. The hosts consider why this political dynasty has so persisted in the popular imagination, discussing everything from the work of the paparazzo Ron Galella to Oliver Stone’s “JFK” and Pablo Larrain’s “Jackie,” two very different treatments of the aftermath of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. “Love Story” ’s focus on style underscores how much the family’s legacy lives in aesthetics, which risks obscuring some of the darker chapters of its history. “It does seem like we have ever more efficiently stripped the Kennedys and their image, and their style, from any notions of political power,” Cunningham says. “The look of something and the sort of moral thrust of something are not always one to one working in parallel.” Read, watch, and listen with the critics: “Love Story” (2026–) “Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy,” by Elizabeth Beller “How Can ‘Love Story’ Get Away With This?,” by Daryl Hannah (The New York Times) “American Prince: JFK Jr.” (2025) “Seinfeld” (1989-98) “Jackie” (2016) “The Kennedy Imprisonment,” by Garry Wills The photography of Ron Galella “JFK” (1991) “A Battle with My Blood,” by Tatiana Schlossberg (The New Yorker) New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. Critics at Large is a weekly discussion from The New Yorker which explores the latest trends in books, television, film, and more. Join us every Thursday as we make unexpected connections between classic texts and pop culture.

On this episode of Critics at Large, with the ninety-eighth Academy Awards just around the corner, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz are joined by their fellow staff writer Michael Schulman to take stock of Oscars season. They discuss the biggest races and consider whether the year’s Best Picture nominees—many of them both critical and commercial successes—might represent a return to the bygone era of “grownup movies.” At the center of all this pageantry is the host: a notoriously tricky role for even the most seasoned performers. Together, the critics revisit the highs and lows of Oscars hosting history, from the long tenure of Bob Hope to the golden age of Billy Crystal. These m.c.s’ success hinges on their ability to walk a fine line, embodying the celebratory spirit of the evening while also poking fun at its absurdity. “It’s about that insider-outsider aspect. You are the court jester,” Schwartz says. “Are you really wanting to be vizier to the king, or are you O.K. in that jester role?” Read, watch, and listen with the critics: “Oscar Wars,” by Michael Schulman “Marty Supreme” (2025) “Sinners (2025) “The Secret Agent” (2025) “One Battle After Another” (2025) “‘Come to Brazil?’ The Oscars Just Might,” by Michael Schulman (The New Yorker) “Sentimental Value” (2025) “The Mastermind” (2025) “Peter Hujar’s Day” (2025) Billy Crystal’s opening monologue for the 1990 Oscars Chris Rock’s opening monologue for the 2005 Oscars Ricky Gervais’s opening monologue for the 2020 Golden Globes Nikki Glaser’s opening monologue for the 2026 Golden Globes New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. Critics at Large is a weekly discussion from The New Yorker which explores the latest trends in books, television, film, and more. Join us every Thursday as we make unexpected connections between classic texts and pop culture.

When Emily Brontë published “Wuthering Heights,” in 1847, critics were baffled, alarmed, and mostly unimpressed. James Lorimer, writing in the North British Review, promised that the novel would “never be generally read.” Nearly two centuries later, it’s regarded as one of the great works of English literature. In a live taping of Critics at Large at the 92nd Street Y, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss the staying power of the original text and the countless adaptations it’s inspired, from the 1939 film featuring Laurence Olivier to Andrea Arnold’s 2011 version. The most recent attempt comes from the director Emerald Fennell, whose new “Wuthering Heights,” starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, reads as a romantic fever dream. The movie has been polarizing in part for the way it excises some of the weirder and wilder aspects of its source material. But what’s discarded—or emphasized—can also be revealing. “It’s an audacious proposition to adapt a great novel … I don’t think it needs to be faithful, necessarily,” Fry says. “The adaptation itself becomes a portrait of the time in which it’s made.” Read, watch, and listen with the critics: “Wuthering Heights,” by Emily Brontë Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights” Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” (2026) “Emerald Fennell’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ Never Plumbs the Depths,” by Justin Chang (The New Yorker) “Barbie” (2023) “Saltburn” (2023) “Promising Young Woman” (2020) “Jane Eyre,” by Charlotte Brontë “The Communist Manifesto,” by Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx (1848) Peter Kosminsky’s “Wuthering Heights” (1992) William Wyler’s “Wuthering Heights” (1939) Andrea Arnold’s “Wuthering Heights” (2011) “All the King’s Men,” by Robert Penn Warren “I Love L.A.” (2025–) New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. Critics at Large is a weekly discussion from The New Yorker which explores the latest trends in books, television, film, and more. Join us every Thursday as we make unexpected connections between classic texts and pop culture.

Toni Morrison was many things in her lifetime—Nobel laureate, renowned author, Princeton professor, and generous mentor to young writers. Her appeal translated seamlessly to the internet, where old interview clips still bubble up regularly on social media, reminding us of her sharp wit and commanding presence. But, as Namwali Serpell argues in a new book of essays, “On Morrison,” this undeniable star persona risks eclipsing the genius—and complexity—of the eleven novels she wrote. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz dive back into these works to rediscover the writer as she was on the page. The hosts discuss Morrison’s début novel, “The Bluest Eye”; “Beloved,” which is widely regarded as her masterpiece; and “Jazz,” the experimental 1992 novel believed to be her personal favorite. Throughout her career, she insisted on writing flawed, dynamic characters rather than paragons of virtue. “The Morrison project is to put Black life, and particularly the lives of Black women, at the very center of literature—but to do it in a way that’s true to character and to human experience,” Schwartz says. “The people she’s writing about are damaged, are greedy, are jealous, are sad . . . and also are generous, and loving, and hurt and trying to heal.” Read, watch, and listen with the critics: “On Morrison,” by Namwali Serpell “Toni Morrison, the Teacher,” by Vinson Cunningham (The New Yorker) “The Bluest Eye,” by Toni Morrison “Song of Solomon,” by Toni Morrison “Toni Morrison and the Ghosts in the House,” by Hilton Als (The New Yorker) “Jazz,” by Toni Morrison “Beloved,” by Toni Morrison “Sula,” by Toni Morrison “Black Writers in Praise of Toni Morrison” (The New York Times) “The Blue Period: Black Writing in the Early Cold War,” by Jesse McCarthy Monuments at MOCA and the Brick “Language as Liberation,” by Toni Morrison New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. Critics at Large is a weekly discussion from The New Yorker which explores the latest trends in books, television, film, and more. Join us every Thursday as we make unexpected connections between classic texts and pop culture.