“Michael,” Reviewed: A Sanitized Bio-Pic That’s All Business
Antoine Fuqua’s upcoming biopic “Michael” offers a polished, business‑focused look at the life of pop icon Michael Jackson. Critics describe the film as a sanitized portrayal that prioritizes brand protection over artistic depth. The project arrives amid a surge of music‑legend movies, positioning the Jackson estate to capitalize on streaming and theatrical markets. Release is slated for late 2026, with a star‑studded cast yet to be fully disclosed.
What Will It Take to Get A.I. Out of Schools?
The rollout of generative AI tools—most notably Google’s Gemini—on school‑issued Chromebooks is rapidly reaching K‑12 classrooms across the United States. Districts from Boston to Los Angeles are embedding chatbots, image generators, and AI‑assisted writing aids into daily lessons, while parents, teachers’...
A Wunderkind’s Best-Selling Nostalgia
Swiss student Nelio Biedermann’s debut novel “Lázár” has become a cultural phenomenon, topping Germany’s bestseller list for 29 weeks and attracting translation deals in over 25 languages. The 300‑page, maximalist saga reimagines his aristocratic Hungarian ancestors’ fate from the Austro‑Hungarian...
Is the Ticketmaster Monopoly Verdict a Mirage?
The New Yorker’s Paula Mejía recounts a night of frantic ticket hunting for the Oasis reunion, only to be thwarted by Ticketmaster’s opaque queues and disappearing seats. The piece uses this personal experience to question whether the recent antitrust verdict declaring...
If You Ask Me: Save the Rich White Women
Libby Gelman‑Waxner’s column spotlights a growing streaming‑TV formula that centers affluent white women in crisis, citing Nicole Kidman’s repeated roles in titles like *The Perfect Couple* and *The Undoing*. The piece outlines a recurring playbook: opulent homes, glamorous wardrobes, troubled...
Thomas McGuane on Decency and Feral Charm
Thomas McGuane discusses his short story “Ordinary Wear and Tear,” focusing on the divergent lives of Carl, a comfortably‑raised lawyer, and Jed, a self‑made, feral‑charming outsider. The interview reveals how memory, unconscious impulses, and class contrast shaped the characters and their...
A Genocide Scholar Asks “What Went Wrong” In Israel
Genocide scholar Omer Bartov, a Brown University professor, released his new book *Israel: What Went Wrong?* arguing that Zionism has evolved into an extremist ideology that enabled a genocide in Gaza after the October 7 Hamas attacks. He contends that Israel’s...
Patrick Radden Keefe on “London Falling,” His Book About a Teen-Ager’s Mysterious Life and Death
Patrick Radden Keefe’s latest book, *London Falling*, expands a New Yorker feature about the mysterious death of teenager Zac Brettler. While in London filming the TV adaptation of *Say Nothing*, Keefe learned Brettler had assumed the identity of a Russian oligarch’s...
“Beef,” “The Drama,” And the New Marriage Plot
Marriage rates in the United States hit a 140‑year low in 2019 and have not recovered, prompting cultural reflection. On the latest Critics at Large episode, hosts discuss Netflix’s anthology “Beef” and A24’s film “The Drama,” both depicting strained couples...
Is Zohran Mamdani’s “Sewer Socialism” Resonating?
Zohran Mamdani’s first hundred days as New York mayor showcase his “sewer socialism” approach—high‑visibility public works paired with disciplined, media‑forward messaging. He has advanced universal child‑care and other affordability initiatives while recalibrating some campaign promises. Mamdani’s governance balances pragmatic cooperation...
Cory Doctorow on the High Cost of Living with the Ultra-Rich
Cory Doctorow defines "billionaireism" as the moral vacuum created by ultra‑rich elites and the platform decay he calls "enshittification." In a recent interview he highlights three books that dissect this phenomenon: Sarah Wynn‑Williams’s "Careless People" reveals Facebook’s internal harassment and...
How Project Maven Put A.I. Into the Kill Chain
Project Maven, Palantir’s AI‑powered intelligence platform, has become the Pentagon’s central kill‑chain tool, now backed by a $1.3 billion contract and integrated large‑language models like Anthropic’s Claude. The system can process up to 5,000 targets per hour, enabling rapid strike decisions...
Briefly Noted Book Reviews
The April 13 2026 Briefly Noted roundup spotlights four new titles: Evelyn Iritani’s nonfiction "Safe Passage" reveals the fraught US‑Japan civilian exchanges of World War II, exposing constitutional violations and diplomatic heroism. Benjamin Hale’s true‑crime narrative "Cave Mountain" juxtaposes a 2001 Ozark disappearance...
Douglas Stuart on the Push and Pull of an Old Life Versus a New One
Douglas Stuart discusses how his new short story "A Private View" and upcoming novel "John of John" examine the friction between a working‑class Scottish upbringing and a privileged New York art world. He reveals that his own childhood poverty, his mother’s...
“Blue Heron” Is an Exalted Drama of Troubled Childhood
Sophy Romvari’s debut feature "Blue Heron" opens as a memory‑driven drama set on 1990s Vancouver Island, chronicling sister Sasha’s recollection of her brother Jeremy’s oppositional‑defiant disorder and the family’s struggle to cope. The film blends documentary‑style interviews, precise cinematography by...