Featured Voices
‘Daily Show’ Showrunner: Why We Switched Gears for the Election
Elections are a special time at The Daily Show. When I joined the show in 1998, we were anticipating the 2000 election. Bush v. Gore would later be called “the most consequential election of our lifetime,” but for us, it was also the most important one in the short history of the show. It was […]
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‘Girls on the Bus’ Creator on Critiques of Sadie’s Sex Life: “Female Journalists Have Zero Margin for Error”
The first several weeks in the writers room of The Girls on the Bus, the Max series about female journalists covering a presidential campaign, went like this: “Oh, what if Sadie sleeps with a candidate?” Me: “Absolutely not.” “How about a Democratic strategist?” “Hard no. She cannot sleep with a source.” “Well, what if she […]
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Critic’s Notebook: Everything to Know Behind the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar Rap War of Words
When wrestling legend and WWE Hall of Famer Shawn “Heartbreak Kid” Michaels takes to social media and invites you to settle your rap rivalry in the squared circle — or Saturday Night Live takes a deep dive with a sketch — you know your quarreling is so huge it has permeated the mainstream. The musical […]
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Sheryl Crow on AI in Music: “Congress Needs to Act Now” (Guest Column)
I am not a scientist. I am an artist. I cannot begin to spout scientific data on what we will become once artificial intelligence outsmarts us. I can read the predictions of how our workforce will be replaced by AI. I can read the warnings from Stephen Hawking that go back as far as 1996 […]
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Anita Hill on Harvey Weinstein Reversal: “Our Movement Will Persist”
This week’s reversal of Harvey Weinstein’s conviction sent shockwaves through survivor communities. It’s grossly ironic, if not outright cynical, that the release comes during Sexual Assault Awareness Month; it says volumes about the contemporary reality of sexual assault and the limits of legal protections against it. The case forces us to acknowledge that societal misconceptions […]
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NAACP Reacts to ‘Good Times’ Trailer: “Choices Were Made and Approved” (Guest Column)
Shortly after Netflix released the trailer for its new adult animated series Good Times two weeks ago, our office started receiving calls and emails. Inspired by the iconic live-action sitcom of the 1970s, the new show’s use of the beloved title conjures notions of familial fabric and community cohesion, amid challenges of generational poverty and […]
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Guest Essay: J. Robert Oppenheimer Biographer on the Nearly Impossible Adaptation
Back in September 2021, a friend sent me a paragraph-long notice in a magazine, reporting that Hollywood director Christopher Nolan was working on a film about J. Robert Oppenheimer. This was disturbing news to me, a co-author of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a 720-page biography of Oppenheimer that was […]
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The “Brute Math” Behind Hollywood’s Outsized Role in Shaping Perceptions of Muslims and Jews in America (Guest Column)
As we enter the heart of Hollywood awards season, there are signs everywhere of both how far the entertainment industry has come in telling the whole American story — and just how far it has left to go. Last month, events during the Sundance Film Festival reflected on the fractious times we are living in. […]
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A Little Barbie Could Take Nikki Haley All the Way to the White House (Guest Column)
Though Margot Robbie’s delightful tributes to Barbie on the red carpet have become a fun staple this season, seeing a possible homage to Barbie on a presidential debate stage this year was definitely a surprise. During the final, pivotal primary debate on Jan. 10, five days before the Republican Iowa Caucus, former South Carolina governor […]
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AI Threats Emerge In Music Publishers’ Battle With Big Tech (Guest Column)
The threat of artificial intelligence to creators, and its value to big tech, is one of the most pressing concerns in the legal and music fields. Current litigation will ultimately shape how AI will be developed and implemented across entertainment with copyright infringement at the forefront of such disputes. In October 2023, three major music […]
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It’s Time for Hollywood to Step Up and Fight Antisemitism, Israeli-American ‘Outpost’ Filmmaker Argues (Guest Column)
When we woke up on October 7 to the stories of the barbarity of Hamas, when we heard about the hostages, when we saw the footage of the obliterated homes on various kibbutzim, when we were told the massive death toll and saw kidnappings before our very eyes, when we heard about grotesque snuff videos on […]
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‘Creed III’: When Michael B. Jordan Stepped Into the Directorial Ring (Guest Column)
I joined Outlier Society as president and became Michael B. Jordan’s producing partner after serving as president of production at Paramount Pictures. When I arrived at Outlier, the Creed III team was already in development on the script from a story by the franchise’s originator, the incomparable Ryan Coogler, to be written by King Richard […]
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