A typically manic episode of the iconic 1950s TV show The Honeymooners sees Jackie Gleason’s embattled everyman Ralph Kramden storming home to discover his wife […]
The Unforgettable Whimsy of ‘Labyrinth’: A 1986 Masterpiece That Still Haunts Us
Jim Henson’s Labyrinth remains an unparalleled achievement in fantasy filmmaking—a surreal odyssey that fused puppetry with poetic storytelling to create a cultural landmark of the […]
Stone Age Marriage? Stephanie Coontz’s Book Challenges Modern Family Norms
Stephanie Coontz, a leading historian on marriage, argues in her new book For Better and Worse: The Complicated Past and Challenging Future of Marriage that […]
A Palimpsest of Ambition: How Umberto Eco’s ‘The Name of the Rose’ Film Stumbles But Endures
In 1986, director Jean-Jacques Annaud embarked on adapting Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose—a book that had already become a literary sensation after selling […]
Deadbeat Crank James Fishback Loses Florida GOP Primary by Over 23 Percentage Points
James Fishback, the candidate who placed third in Florida’s GOP gubernatorial primary, has been widely criticized for his campaign tactics and controversial statements. With nearly […]
The Silent Architects: How Literary Agents Shape American Fiction
Professor Laura B. McGrath’s Middlemen: Literary Agents and the Making of American Fiction exposes the vital yet understated role literary agents play in American literature. […]
A Mother’s “Alternate Universe”: How Losing a Child Rewrites Reality
There exists a term to describe the transformation women undergo when becoming mothers—matrescence—which characterizes how their bodies and minds adapt to nurturing a child. Yet […]
Why ‘Stand By Me’ (1986) Is Still America’s Most Timeless Film on Childhood
Among the many gifts of the 1980s was an abundance of coming-of-age dramas and comedies. Today, the genre has nearly disappeared from theaters, but the […]
Two Dynasties Collide: The Kennedys and Windsors’ Unlikely Entanglements
There’s a mini-vogue in publishing now not so much for group biographies (how very 2019!) but for histories that take two apparently contrasted dynasties or […]