Brady Brickner-Wood
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ICE’s New-Age Propaganda
With its string of “wartime recruitment” ads, often featuring pop songs and familiar meme formats, the agency has weaponized social media against itself.
The Curious Notoriety of “Performative Reading”
Is the term a new way of calling people pretentious, or does it reflect a deprioritization of the written word?
Time Runs Out on Nico Harrison and the Dallas Mavericks
The infamous N.B.A. executive once said that “time will tell” on the trade that sent the superstar Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers. Not even a year later, he’s out of a job.
The Redemption of Chance the Rapper
His new album, “Star Line,” has the difficult task of reacquainting the world with the artist after several tumultuous years.
The Fiery Mania of Dijon’s “Baby”
The album’s frantic, unruly nature aims to communicate the madness of living with big feelings—emotions that are difficult to process and to hold to the light.
Adam Friedland’s Comedy of Discomforts
His rendition of the talk show is innately subversive, at direct odds with the squeaky-clean, white-bread humor that is typical of its cable counterpart.
Nobody Wins on “Surrounded”
The viral YouTube debate show attempts to anthropomorphize the internet, turning incendiary discourse into live-action role-play.
Justin Bieber’s Messy, Improbable Masterpiece
“SWAG” is the artist’s first album to hover above his noisy celebrity, to make a case for its own specificity.
What Happened to the Trump Resistance?
If the President’s first term was colored with protests and hashtags, his second has so far been characterized by a lack of dissidence.
The Hollow Allure of Spotify Wrapped
This year’s recap, with A.I. bots and uninspired presentation, revealed a company that seems chiefly concerned with profit margins and squashing its competition.
How Podcasts Are Transforming the Presidential Election
While Kamala Harris courts female voters on “Call Her Daddy,” Donald Trump is doubling down on his appeals to terminally online young men.
How Drake Lost the Plot
Like many celebrities nowadays, the rapper has tried to stage a comeback by flooding the Internet with content.