A conversation about the language the media uses for people at the intersection of sex work and politics

From Benjamin Franklin to Quora, how advice has shaped Americans’ behavior and expectations of the world.

HBO’s "Barry" refreshes elements of noir, as a hitman dreams of Hollywood.

What Saddam Hussein’s romance novels and Kim Jong-il’s film criticism reveal about authoritarianism.

Why actress Cynthia Nixon is being attacked for running against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo

Agnes Poirier’s history of wartime Paris reads as an erudite and deeply satisfying gossip column.

The earnest, ironic stylings of Wes Anderson’s “Isle of Dogs”

The reboot of the "Tomb Raider" franchise sheds the original movie's camp, but its main character is more recognizably human.

Why does Steven Pinker insist that human life is on the up?

The essays in “The Rub of Time” defend careful thought and use of language.

Stephen Hawking was one of many male scientists described as geniuses, a term rarely bestowed on their female peers.

His novels “Crash” and “Super-Cannes” depict a world of tech-enhanced luxury and crushing malaise.

Looking back at 65 years of the essential arbiter of pop music, whose famed print edition is soon to close down.

They're biased toward naturalism in movies, rather than bizarro versions of the real world.

Ava DuVernay's adaptation of the children's classic dazzles, but feels a little empty.

For centuries, doctors dismissed the suffering of female patients. After years of illness, author Abby Norman decided to fight back.

On espionage, Russian stereotypes, and the impermeable coiffures of “Red Sparrow”

As a British royal wedding approaches, a new biography of the Duchess of Windsor shows a life of fury and prejudice.

The writer talks about his new book, “Conspiracy,” an in-depth look at the Hulk Hogan lawsuit that brought down the gossip website.