"We all see where this is going, correct?" www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

@skornhaber.bsky.social: “If we are, as is frequently said, living in an era of extraordinary political violence, it cannot be understood as separate from the rising cultural hunger to reach out and touch—or do much worse to—the people on our screens.”

For the magazine, here's my grand theory of Taylor Swift—why her music works, how she's made pop new, and where she might go next. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

Long live indie rock!!! Loved taking a tour back through the twee 2000s with @chrisdeville's new book— www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

The summer of headphones-on, lala it's not happening, it's-all-I-can-take easy listening (thank you Bieber) — www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

Wrote about Ozzy Osbourne's antipathy for the devil— www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

Even as Diddy and his supporters celebrate his partial acquittal, the disturbing implications of his case grow, writes @skornhaber.bsky.social: https://theatln.tc/Ntp6gKsJ

@skornhaber.bsky.social: “The conversation about the case isn’t likely to focus on technical matters for very long. Popular culture loves martyrs; it loves comeback stories; frankly, it loves men.”

Has the internet sucked all the fun out of the physical world, or has it merely concentrated it in Washington Square Park? @skornhaber.bsky.social on Lorde: www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

Yes to the yuck, yes the noise, hell yes to "Shapeshifter," but I fear we need to start moving on from memoir pop. Lorde 'Virgin' review— www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

"Down to Be Wrong"—feels so right! (I think the Haim album's pretty good) www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

I spoke with the great Kim Gordon about turning Trump's banned words into experimental rap metal www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

The case for Addison Rae: Producers rock! (This piece also includes a Miley review.) www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

Have you ever really listened to “Surfer Girl”? Jeeeeeeez. My Brian Wilson obit— www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

Hey, SEE FRIENDSHIP has been out for three months, during which it has been purchased in many airport bookstores and spotted on many "new and noteworthy American fiction" displays — thank you for the support, and PLEASE tap in if you haven't already bookshop.org/p/books/see-...

@skornhaber.bsky.social: “Demonic Hollywood cabals offer a simple, clear-cut narrative that doesn’t ask us to reflect on how domestic violence and sexual coercion really get perpetuated.”

The sheer giddiness with which conspiracist thinking has eclipsed the details of Diddy’s case confirms some bleak realities about America’s psyche, writes @skornhaber.bsky.social:

"There’s a lot of fists in the air in our culture, and I’m a little fatigued in the arm area." I spoke with Ezra Furman about protest music, defeat music, and life as a trans person right now: www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

Today on Studio 2: Does pop culture kinda suck now? Or has our nostalgic pessimism just been sent into overdrive? We discuss with Spencer Kornhaber from the Atlantic (@skornhaber.bsky.social). Tune in at noon on WHYY or You Tube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvPN...

An emerging critical consensus argues that we’ve entered a cultural dark age—but @skornhaber.bsky.social isn’t so sure. Kornhaber surveyed a number of prominent critics who believe popular culture is at an all-time low point. He thinks there’s another story to be told: https://theatln.tc/m7lOysa0

Last year, @skornhaber.bsky.social visited the music historian Ted Gioia to talk about civilization’s death. “Music is turning into a rights-management business,” he told Kornhaber—and it’s destroying true artistry. Has America’s creative energy really been sapped?

I’ve never believed in cultural decline! But throughout the 2020s, the arts have been in a strange state that does look a lot like malaise. I spent the last year learning the causes for pessimism, trying to see if another story could be told. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

Benson Boone, the latest of pop music’s anointed It Boys, seems to be learning the limits of his charm in real time, writes @skornhaber.bsky.social: https://theatln.tc/yhYLkr9i

Trump’s second term has made it even clearer how video-game culture is bleeding into everyday politics, writes @skornhaber.bsky.social:

Playboi Carti, the most influential rapper of his generation, sounds like he isn’t saying much. But there’s a story to his music, @skornhaber.bsky.social writes:

I went inside Jubilee Media, whose empire of hot-topic debate videos explain the cultural realignment we're living through: www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

I did *not* describe Lady Gaga's Mayhem as a 'Proustian pop opus'—but I could have! www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

The artist formerly known as Kanye West thinks this is a great time for a comeback—and he may be right, Spencer Kornhaber writes. Ye is testing how numb America has become to shock tactics:

Civilization 7: same addiction, with all new dread! www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

Staff writer @skornhaber.bsky.social joined @wbur.org's Here & Now to discuss the Super Bowl halftime show and his piece, “What Kendrick Lamar’s Halftime Show Said.” Listen here: www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...

Interesting halftime show! Picked through what Kendrick Lamar was definitely saying, and only sorta saying, and definitely not saying: www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance signaled protest and patriotism at once, provoking without necessarily saying much, writes @skornhaber.bsky.social: theatln.tc/m5OFksUA

The Grammys: actually fairly watchable this time! www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

FKA Twigs banger album review time! www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

I went inside Jubilee Media, whose empire of hot-topic debate videos explain the cultural realignment we're living through: www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

Jubilee Media calls itself “the Disney of empathy.” It might also be an agent of chaos, @skornhaber.bsky.social writes:

insightful @skornhaber.bsky.social joint on Trump, the Village People, and 2025: theatln.tc/f3Ec0nmT

From standout television to record-breaking tours, Atlantic writers and editors offer their picks for the best culture of the year:

No movie about unconventionality should be as blandly conventional as “A Complete Unknown,” writes @skornhaber.bsky.social: theatln.tc/jUO43TGT

Spoke with @skornhaber.bsky.social about his brilliant @TheAtlantic piece on @jakepaul / Mike Tyson (theatln.tc/OfgR9LqG) and how it perfectly complimented the 2024 election: shorturl.at/0ekHV

WE HAVE A DEAL: We are thrilled to announce that we have a tentative, three-year deal with @theatlantic.com, pending ratification by our members. Here are just a few highlights of the deal…

Album time! After a very Brat year for me, another album, my number 1, blew in, reworked my soul, etc. www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

Diet Kendrick is still better than many things! www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

I am honored and proud to be launching my 2028 campaign with a bold proposal for a better America www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

Nick Cave’s Wild God album is one of the best things that came alive in 2024. I can recommend reading this fine long read by @skornhaber.bsky.social in @theatlantic.bsky.social. ⬇️ www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc... Private photo from the recent Cave concert in Copenhagen.

@theatlantic.bsky.social’s writers and editors are on Bluesky. Follow us for ambitious, essential reporting and storytelling: go.bsky.app/NVbMa2Y

“Cher has never met an obstacle without theatrically raising a middle finger,” @sophiegilbert.bsky.social writes. The singer’s new memoir—peppered with caustic quips and self-effacing anecdotes, but fundamentally frank—embraces this brassy ethos:

Took a crash course on Jake and Logan Paul; emerged understanding what the bros of the internet are really compensating for. www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

Jake Paul wants to be taken seriously—but his novelty boxing matches reveal something sad about how highly online men look for identity, writes @skornhaber.bsky.social: