Culture

‘Groundhog Day,’ a Parable

Every generation is a Phil Connors, tasked with figuring out the right way to live.

Look What You Made Me Do

On being compelled to write about Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, and ‘psy ops.’

New Book Club Episode: Killers of the Flower Moon

Sarah and Jonah discuss the movie adaptation of David Grann's best-selling book.

See You Next Time, ‘Better Call Saul’

Forgotten by the Emmys, here’s why Vince Gilligan’s show should be remembered.

Heavy Is the Head

Eliot Cohen’s ‘The Hollow Crown’ intertwines Shakespearean insights with the history of statesmen, past and present.

What Conservatives Can Learn from MLK’s Economic Views

His support for left-wing views didn’t arise in a vacuum—and it was highly controversial among black pioneers, too.

How ‘American Fiction’ Satirizes Wokeness

A thoughtful new comedy skewers progressive pieties around race.

It’s Nietzsche’s World, You’re Just Living In It

Even if you don’t realize it.

Pretend It’s a University

On the past and future of higher education.

Healing a Nation, One Relationship at a Time

David Brooks’ ‘How to Know a Person’ offers a granular approach to national unity.

The Artist, ‘The Boy and the Heron’

Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film reflects on grief and the value of art.

A Random Walk Through My Mind

Freud, the narcissism of small differences, and antisemitism.

At the Crossroads

As the calendar turns to 2024, which way will you go?

New Year’s Kiss-Off

Count me out of the countdown to 2024.

The Dispatch’s Best of 2023

The culture and content we enjoyed the most this year.

Is the Cure to Male Loneliness … ‘Her’?

Spike Jonze’s AI romance remains a timely meditation on the wonders of and obstacles to intimacy.