The word “diva” comes from the world of opera, where divinely talented singers have enraptured audiences for centuries. But preternatural gifts often go hand in hand with bad behavior—as in the case of Patti LuPone, the blunt Broadway dame whose remarks about fellow-actresses in a recent New Yorker Profile quickly became a source of scandal. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and guest host Michael Schulman examine the figure of the diva, from Miss Piggy to Maria Callas, and consider whether our culture still rewards such personalities. “I don’t think we’ll ever stop being drawn to larger-than-life characters with messy, larger-than-life personal lives,” Schulman says. “There is a line that people can cross—but it’s constantly shifting.”

Read, watch, and listen with the critics:

“On ‘Succession,’ Jeremy Strong Doesn’t Get the Joke,” by Michael Schulman (The New Yorker)
“Patti LuPone Is Done with Broadway—and Almost Everything Else,” by Michael Schulman (The New Yorker)
“The Politics of the Oscar Race” (The New Yorker)
“Evita” (1978)
“Gypsy” (1959)
“Company” (1970)
“How Maria Callas Lost her Voice,” by Will Crutchfield (The New Yorker)
“Liz & Dick” (2012)
“The Muppets Take Manhattan” (1984)
“The Problem With Ryan Murphy’s Wannabe Divas,” by Logan Scherer (The Atlantic)
“Aretha Franklin’s American Soul,” by David Remnick (The New Yorker)
“Feud: Bette and Joan” (2017)

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 that 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.

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37: Law Enforcement Standoff with the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas (1993, ATF and FBI)