The managing editor of Meduza English, an independent Russian news outlet, discusses media coverage of the war in Ukraine Below is an abridged transcript of my conversation with Kevin Rothrock, a Russian analyst and the managing editor of Meduza English, an independent Russian news online outlet based in Latvia. …

On a cold December morning, 30 people left their homes and descended upon Central Park. Wrapped in winter coats, the group of strangers, many of whom carried empty shopping bags and notepads, quietly congregated at the West 86th Street entrance. Everyone here paid to see the park through a new…

Despite the sub-zero temperature, throngs of people waited in lines outside flower shops around town. It was Valentine’s Day in New York City, and Amy Van Doran, a well-established matchmaker with a bright orange bob, was joining the last-minute spree. But unlike most buyers, her purchases would be gifted to…

Playground, an Oscar-shortlisted 2021 Belgian drama directed by Laura Wandel, portrays schoolyard bullying from the vantage point of a seven-year-old girl. The subject matter is admirable, and the cinematography is certainly unique, but the film feels like an uncomfortably long public service announcement. When the credits rolled, I half-expected to…

I swear I’m not crazy. I’m not untethered from reality like the folks on MTV’s Catfish who are brave enough to broadcast their fictitious relationships to the world. I’m also not socially awkward. That being said, I’ve never met my best friend. We’ve known each other for three years, we…

Pablo Larraín’s “Jackie” takes place in the moments and days following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and is the story of the former first lady’s attempt to suppress her shock and grief so that she might hastily construct her husband’s legacy. At the opening, a reporter (Billy Crudup) approaches…

Director Josh Trank’s “Capone” stars Tom Hardy as the eponymous American mobster in the twilight year of his life. Capone, who is referred to almost exclusively as “Fonse,” has recently been released from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary on account of his late-stage syphilis, and lives in exile, and under government surveillance…

What is the role of the first lady of the United States? Technically? Nothing. She is not mentioned in the Constitution, nor does she have any explicit, official duties. She is not a public servant. But, practically speaking, she acts as an unofficial advisor to the president; hosts state functions…

I recently watched Luca Guadagnino’s “Call Me by Your Name” and was struck by its uncanny resemblance to life during the coronavirus pandemic. It is unhurried, isolated, and seemingly suspended in time. The film’s protagonist, Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet), is a 17-year-old bored, angsty Italian-American who is spending the summer…