Isaac Asimov. Photo by Jay Kay Klein, courtesy Regents of the University of California

Asimov’s Empire, Asimov’s Wall

The science fiction author Isaac Asimov engaged in forms of unwanted touching with countless women. It set the tone for the entire genre.
A still from The Lodger, 1927

Hitchcock’s Transition from London to Hollywood

In England, Alfred Hitchcock cultivated a comedic sensibility that shines through in his Hollywood thrillers.
El Jaleo by John Singer Sargent, 1882

What Did Franco’s Spain Do to Spanish Music?

Contemporary Spanish genres like flamenco and zarzuela still carry the weight of cultural associations with Franco’s fascist regime.
Cixin Liu

“To Reach the Pure Realm of the Imaginary:” A Conversation with Cixin Liu

The science fiction author Cixin Liu is best known for his mind-bending trilogy The Three Body Problem.
A Moog synthesizer

The Fear That Synthesizers Would Ruin Music

A German musicologist complained in 1954 that they reminded him of "barking hell-hounds."
Employees of the Fleischer Studios picket the New Criterion Theater in New York to protest against the showing of Popeye and other cartoons drawn by striking Fleischer artists, 1937.

The Great Animation Strike

Animation workers took to the streets, carrying signs with bleakly humorous slogans. One read: “I make millions laugh but the real joke is our salaries.”
King Lear, Act I, Scene I by Edwin Austin Abbey

The Rowdy Women of Early Modern Theater

There were, in fact, women in the audiences of Shakespeare’s plays. Some came to watch; others to sell their wares; others to get on stage themselves.
Closeup shot of a group of unrecognizable people holding plants growing out of soil

Five Green Living Resolutions for 2020

We won't solve all of the pressing environmental problems, but we can help mitigate some.
The Witcher

Why Netflix’s The Witcher Is a Gamble

TV shows based on video games can't capture all the little minutiae that captivate gamers, like the map in the instruction manual.
Six book covers

Editors’ Picks: What We’re Reading

The history of Native resistance, the philosophy of love, the medicalization of madness, color in fairy tales, and dinosaur bones.