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Risk of nuclear catastrophe is worse than ever. We can change that
Half a lifetime ago, I had a crappy copyediting job that meant I had to drive for 90 minutes through traffic across the sprawling concrete wasteland of Phoenix. The job itself was boring and soulless, and after spending another 90…
“President Curtis” is a “Rick and Morty” spinoff to believe in
Years ago on “Rick and Morty,” President Andre Curtis fumed that he can’t coexist with Rick Sanchez, a living god who won’t submit to his will. Giving the man his own spinoff is one way to fix that. In “President…
Your freezer wants to be hot
I was born the same year the Food Network debuted, which sometimes makes me feel as if I cut my teeth on “The Barefoot Contessa” and its particular arrangement of fantasies: a perfected roast chicken, always somehow at the ready;…
The trademark wars of influencer culture
If you’re someone who likes to read and frequents places both online and IRL where other people who like to read tend to congregate, the phrase “Hot Girls Read” has probably been on your radar at some point in the…
AI doomerism is misplaced. Here’s what it will take to pop the bubble
Nostalgia is supposed to take at least a decade or more to kick in, but nowadays people are already pining for just a few years ago, before the president was drenching us in crappy AI memes and reply guys were…
The small-screen seduction of the middle-aged woman
The starkest contrast between two summertime TV hits about women navigating midlife’s challenges shows up in the way its leading ladies handle themselves in the kitchen. For Jennifer Garner’s Hollis Shaw, the influencer around whom “The Five-Star Weekend” revolves, the…
How to upgrade instant ramen into a genuinely good meal
I’ve been on a mission to transform a handful of my go-to “struggle meals” into something that feels and tastes more elevated — without breaking the bank, of course. Thus far, I’ve conquered the humble, often-overlooked canned soup, along with…
Wall Street wants to change the rules for your 401(k)
Most Americans don’t look to their 401(k) plans for excitement or experimentation, instead relying on the promise that steady saving and sober planning will guarantee security in their golden years. But the Trump administration wants to transform the well-worn patterns…
The rising price of Trump’s anti-science agenda
There’s a well-known scene from a 2001 episode of “SpongeBob SquarePants” in which a mob of fish mistakes a feeble old man for a bully and attacks him. The gag happens again, leading a blue fish to famously quip, “How…
The conservative movement’s sporadic anointment of Gen-Z spokeswomen
Emma Waters was first introduced to readers of The New York Times in an April 2025 report titled “Trump’s White House assesses ways to persuade women to have more children.” The piece’s hero image is Waters, sitting on a couch…