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Many of this year’s most talked-about releases were, in some sense, diagnostic: from Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” to Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” films offered up assessments of the nation’s ills. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss these and other reflections of American life, which arrive at a time when reality itself feels more nebulous than ever. Then, the hosts consider the “broken mirror” of A.I., and how the second Trump Administration’s effort to erase unflattering chapters of U.S. history has further muddied the distinction between fact and fiction. Despite these dark developments, the art that’s emerged from this moment, much of it focussed on activists and renegades seeking change, also functions as a warning against stasis. Cunningham says, of the cultural shift: “This fixation on democracy on the ground—whether it’s violent or not, whether it’s misguided or not—I hope describes a yearning for more action. A move away from the mirror, and out into the streets.” 

Read, watch, and listen with the critics:

“Sinners” (2025)
“Fruitvale Station” (2013)
“ ‘Sinners’ Is a Virtuosic Fusion of Historical Realism and Horror,” by Richard Brody (The New Yorker)
“Eddington” (2025)
“ ‘Eddington’ and the American Berserk” (The New Yorker)
“Gimme Shelter” (1970)
“One Battle After Another” (2025)
“One Paul Thomas Anderson Film After Another” (The New Yorker)
“Bugonia” (2025)
“Art in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” (The New Yorker)
“Our Fads, Ourselves” (The New Yorker)

New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts.

Critics at Large is a weekly discussion from The New Yorker which explores the latest trends in books, television, film, and more. Join us every Thursday as we make unexpected connections between classic texts and pop culture.