FLOOD

George Saunders’ first novel, “Lincoln in the Bardo,” follows in the footsteps of “Kindred” and “Cloud Atlas” in attempting to create a new kind of hell for the secular world—and in the process, it shows how fiction can still make a difference in Donald Trump’s America.

What once started as a series of essays about the ruins of civilization eventually turned into a full-blown graphic memoir—”Imagine Wanting Only This.” But it’s not as apocalyptic as it sounds.

A sincere celebration of principled people and the art they produce.

“The Salesman,” the latest film from the acclaimed director of “A Separation,” offers a timely portrait of people and places on the verge of collapse­—and an important reminder of the moral power of art.

Sober-minded classics for coping with a day of boozy bloodlust.

The things that you want are not necessarily the things that are good.

Prescriptions for coping with your very rational fears.

Now’s probably a good time to celebrate some people who are actually experts in their chosen professions.

Todd Haynes’s breakout feature from 1995 is also his masterpiece.

Because 2017 is definitely trying to kill us.

Serene entertainments to help draw out what little time we have left.

Jeff Nichols is one of the most exciting directors working today, not just because of his own artistic vision, but…

The graphic novelist talks about his first book, out this month from Nobrow, and shares a few pages.

Prepare for the worst by spending some time with the very best families in the history of popular culture.

Now seems like a good time to remind ourselves of the beautiful things that we have the power to create.

America lies in an anguished state of uncertainty as we enter the last few days before the election. But just because we don’t know the future doesn’t mean that the future is always unknowable. We now take solace in stories that begin at the end.

The graphic novelist talks about her latest book, out this month from Fantagraphics, and shares exclusive pages.

Uh…boo! It’s everyone’s favorite Halloween topic: the effectiveness of ghost stories. Two of our spookiest contributors make their case using the preferred forum of pop-culture enthusiasts everywhere: Slack.

Some suggestions about what else you might do if you’re hungry for some cultural edification but can’t stomach another two hours with Robert Langdon.

The launch of the new TCM/Criterion streaming service FilmStruck got pushed to November, but that doesn’t mean that we have to wait to get our share of quirky classics.

Colson Whitehead’s latest novel brings America’s subterranean history up into the light.

Using rotoscope animation and imagined talking-head interviews with survivors and victims, the Austin director brings us back to the scene of the 1966 massacre at the University of Texas.

Enough with creepy clowns, slender men, and other viral freak-shows. Let’s focus instead on more enduring horrors.

It’s a little more than a month until the United States will have an election that has the capacity to literally make Donald Trump the most powerful man in the world. But right now, today, we simply wait. We are not there yet. And these first acts celebrate that vibrating moment before the plot thickens.

Because no human being should be made to look like a contestant on “Celebrity Jeopardy.”

Brad and Angelina are Brangelinathingofthepast, but rather than brooding upon the ephemerality of romantic relationships or the fragility of human projects as a whole, let’s celebrate, instead.

The 2012 film adaptation of David Mitchell’s grand story has its share of flaws, but it exceeds Mitchell’s work in the novel’s grandest ambition: being a moral work of art.

On a network overflowing with jaded takes on everyday life, “Better Things” stands out as a show that’s serious about its laughs.

“The Great British Bake Off” is losing its two lovely hosts, but [author has something in eye, pauses, swears, composes self, resumes] there are more where those came from!

The Guardian artist—and author of Goliath—talks about his new book, due out later this month from Drawn + Quarterly.

A supplement to the BFI’s (very white, very male) list of the the twenty-first century’s 100 Greatest Films.

We get cultish with the “Wet Hot American Summer” actor, who played Manson girl Susan Atkins in the 2004 version of “Helter Skelter.”

Just a reminder: We don’t have to shackle ourselves to the past when we stand on the shoulders of giants.

Pop culture recommendations for those of us who may have big dreams, but who lack the ability to climb up the face of a glass-fronted skyscraper in order to pursue them.

What do you do when you’re tired of being a film critic but you still love the movies? If you’re Karina Longworth, you turn the history of film into a longform podcast series.

Olympic telecasts go heavy on human-interest content, but not every human being is interesting—and many, in fact, are dull (and many of those have a monomaniacal devotion to sport). So let’s put away our thirst for meaning and medals for a moment and just enjoy some lives well lived.

Sean Ellis’s WWII drama tells the story of how the Czech resistance managed to assassinate Nazi general Reinhard Heydrich (a.k.a. “The Butcher of Prague”) and shows what they suffered as a result—but it fails to answer the question of why this story matters.

“BoJack Horseman” is a show that’s about a lot of things—adulthood, ambition, depression, Los Angeles, legacies, and more—but the recent “Fish Out of Water” episode shows how it can deliver profundities even when it isn’t trying, simply by plumbing the depths of its utterly original world.

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are threatening the evil friendships genre by implicating it in their anarchic plot to destabilize the world; but that doesn’t mean that all diabolical friendships are bad. Let us count the ways.

We’ve all spent a lot of time in Cleveland this past week, metaphorically speaking; let’s remedy that with some R&R at these pop cultural paradises.

You’ll need to wait two full months before seeing the climax of HBO’s new series, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait to get your daily dose of great procedural entertainment.

Hot dogs, flags, and fireworks lose some of their appeal in light of the nativist hysteria gripping America at the moment, but this list will help you think America’s kind of great again.

“Game of Thrones” is striving admirably to carry its abundance of characters, territories, and plotlines. But it doesn’t have to.

First, a bit of context: I’m confident that I could watch eighty-six minutes of Lonely Island digital shorts and feel…

Pop cultural deaths that occurred back before death was cool.

Pop culture recommendations to aid with your blockbuster fatigue.

Pop culture recommendations to aid with your justified sense of inadequacy.

Two of our editors discuss their use (and abuse) of the online encyclopedia using the preferred forum of pop-culture enthusiasts everywhere: G-chat.

Pop culture recommendations to aid in coping with the Donald.

The “Green Room” director is slashing his way to the top.

Even a slaughterhouse has its rules. But is that enough?

Jeff Nichols’ latest film gamely shifts across genres without signaling.

The multi-hyphenate star of “Silicon Valley” joins us ahead of the show’s April 24 season premiere to discuss birthdays, podcasts, Donald Trump, and ketchup.

The winner of the Director’s Award at last year’s Sundance burns slowly—and brightly.

The New York–based writer plays tennis with history.

Kaufman’s puppet-play allows us to find grace in the despair of everyday life.

A critic’s documentary about an iconic dialogue gives new life to old debates.

Supernatural terrors conspire with the evils of war in this bold new adaptation.

The film adaptation of Colm Tóibín’s novel burns quietly.

The celebrated British novelist returns with his followup to 2014’s “The Bone Clocks.”