Culture
In Defense of the All-American Road Trip
Skip the theme parks, find an unlikely path, and just drive.
1968: Freedom Without License
It was a year to test limits, revolt against technocracy—and all social hell broke loose.
The Hamilton D.C. Would Rather Not See
The musical portrays him as a hip Master of the Universe. But there was much more to him than that.
The Art of the Stroll
For my Grandpa, walking was about a series of stories: a process of taking it in, and when I was with him, sharing.
Houellebecq’s Incel Prophecy: The Alienated and Intimacy-Starved
Controversial writer foresaw the barbarities of the sexual marketplace that have left so many cold and dejected.
In Defense of Firefighters
They’re fixtures of communities who serve the common good. It’s worth having more of them than we need.
Nick Offerman and the Limits of TV Craftsmanship
His new show focuses too much on Etsy-style arts and crafts, but it’s worth watching anyway. Here’s why.
MORE IN Culture
What the Ice Cream Truck Teaches Us About America
Western civilization will survive so long as our neighborhoods still have these mobile delights.
SNL’s Spirit of ‘76
A new book reminds us of one of America’s most underrated elections—and of when funny shows were fun.
Finding Paradise in Post-Industrial Ohio
It’s in unassuming towns like Ashtabula that we learn to love place and community.
A Generation of Prufrocks, a Crisis of Single Men
T.S. Eliot’s famous poem predicted today’s Millennial generation, undeveloped and adrift.
Netflix’s ‘Anne With an E’ is a PC Fail
The show tosses the treasured Avonlea plot lines in favor of confronting racism and gender roles, cross-dressing, and a ‘queer soirée.’
Trust No One: The X-Files at 25
The series not only foreshadowed creeping empire and the New World Order, but the dangers of an intrusive security state.
Good Riddance, Jerry Springer
TV’s king of trash finally signs off, leaving us more like him than we’d care to admit.
Defending Men Who Want to Woo
‘Superman’ Henry Cavill is besieged by feminists after he says he likes to chase women. Is this what we’ve come to?
The Strange Decline of H.L. Mencken
No American writer has wielded such influence. So why is he so little known today?
Does Anyone Remember the Spirit of ‘76?
This TAC writer does, recalling how his Kansas hometown, ‘tired and sick and angry’ took the bicentennial into their own hands.