• Thanks for the Memories, Dhaka: Selected Notes From the Hay Festival, Bangladesh

    by C.P. Heiser A few weeks ago I found myself in Bangladesh for the Hay Festival.  I was visiting the …

    Writing about China and Eponymous Adjectives

    By Paul French In the wake of new Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s “Third Plenum” — the first policy-focused general meeting …

    Saturday Night Live’s Alumni Problem

    Dear TV, WE’RE TALKING SNL this week, and I’m … excited. Which isn’t a feeling I’ve gotten from SNL in …

    Good, Giving, and Game: Towards a Theory of SNL Hosting

    Dear Television, WHEN PHIL FIRST emailed to ask if we wanted to cover this week’s Saturday Night Live, he was …

    Robot Revolutions: “Almost Human”

    THE LAST OF THIS YEAR’S new science fiction programs, Fox’s Almost Human, debuted this week, a co-creation of J.H. Wyman and J.J. …

    Life Hacks and the Undead: On Urban Exploration, “The Walking Dead” and “Revolution”

    By Brigette Brown A deserted prison sits in the middle of an open field, fenced in with gates several feet …

    In Praise of Quitting

    Dear Television, I’VE QUIT ONE JOB, I’ve quit two sports, I quit one (very ill-advised) diet. I finish all my …

    Gene Luen Yang on Relying on Stories, Creating Boxers & Saints

    By Angilee Shah It’s not that the concept of Gene Luen Yang’s Boxers & Saints is complex: two volumes tell …

    Trust Fumes: Staying With Homeland

    SPOILERS AHEAD FOR ALL SORTS OF STUFF… Dear Television, THIS WEEK, AHP and I will be talking about the virtues …

    The UC System Is Failing Its Graduate Students

    By Maura Elizabeth Cunningham I have enjoyed the best experience one could possibly hope for while getting a PhD. I …