Critics at Large | The New Yorker
The New Yorker
Critics at Large is a weekly culture podcast from The New Yorker. Every Thursday, the staff writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss current obsessions, classic texts they’re revisiting with fresh eyes, and trends that are emerging across books, television, film, and more. The show runs the gamut of the arts and pop culture, with lively, surprising conversations about everything from Salman Rushdie to “The Real Housewives.” Through rigorous analysis and behind-the-scenes insights into The New Yorker’s reporting, the magazine’s critics help listeners make sense of our moment—and how we got here.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 22, 2026 • 54min
“You Can See Everything” and the Nathan Fielder Effect
Nathan Fielder’s deadpan persona meets Elizabeth Holmes in a documentary about performance, deception, and the elusive nature of truth. The discussion explores reenactment, secrecy, audience complicity, and the uncanny mirror between Fielder’s performed bluntness and Holmes’s constructed innocence. It also asks why Fielder feels so vital in an age of simulation, social confusion, and desperate faith in authenticity.
12 snips
Oct 8, 2026 • 50min
“The Social Reckoning” Shows How It All Went Wrong
A lively comparison of two films about Facebook’s rise and reckoning. The critics revisit the sleek betrayal drama of The Social Network, then examine a whistleblower’s disclosures, the Wall Street Journal investigation, and Facebook’s pursuit of engagement over safety. They also discuss Silicon Valley’s fall from hopeful innovation to villainous power, and why whistleblowers now occupy the role of cultural heroes.
20 snips
Oct 1, 2026 • 57min
Tom Cruise-a-Palooza
Tyler Foggatt, a senior editor at The New Yorker and devoted Tom Cruise admirer, charts the actor’s journey from heartthrob to prestige performer and stunt-driven action icon. The conversation explores Cruise’s magnetic screen persona, Scientology controversy, Oscar ambitions, and recurring savior roles. They also examine Digger, his daring turn as an aging oil tycoon, and whether he remains Hollywood’s last true movie star.
9 snips
Sep 24, 2026 • 50min
What Survival Stories Tell Us (and Should We Listen?)
Why do we love stories about people battling nature alone? From Robinson Crusoe and Cast Away to Survivor, Alone, and Apocalypse, the discussion explores wilderness myths, coming-of-age fantasies, practical survival skills, and the psychological cost of isolation. It also asks whether solitary heroics reflect real crises, where cooperation, community, and collective resilience matter most.
Sep 20, 2026 • 57min
Introducing: “The Journey,” from In the Dark
Ava Kofman, an investigative journalist at The New Yorker, introduces her probing audio investigation into a wealthy Los Angeles couple who obtained dozens of children through surrogacy. She recounts one surrogate’s journey from hopeful opportunity to alarm, as women uncover a secret agency, disturbing allegations, and 21 children placed in foster care. The story explores medical risks, emotional fallout, and a dangerously unregulated industry.
Sep 17, 2026 • 47min
That Back-to-School Feeling
As a new school year begins, three critics revisit the thrills and anxieties of classrooms. They field requests for literature that might rouse apathetic students, portray teaching’s emotional stakes, and make poetry feel urgent. Along the way, they explore teaching as performance and recommend books, films, television, and poems that turn education into art, connection, and discovery.
Sep 3, 2026 • 54min
Remembering Dolly Parton
Lauren Michele Jackson, a critic and professor; Amanda Petrusich, a music writer; and Pulitzer Prize winner Kathryn Schulz celebrate Dolly Parton’s life and legacy. They explore her songwriting, three essential tracks, entrepreneurial brilliance, philanthropy, Appalachian roots, and carefully crafted femininity. The conversation also examines her influence on working-class style, queer iconography, and generations of pop stars.
15 snips
Aug 27, 2026 • 54min
What is Gen Z Afraid Of?
Alex Barish, The New Yorker culture editor and horror correspondent, maps the rise of Gen Z horror. He discusses breakout low-budget hits, filmmakers who learned on YouTube, and how pandemic-era anxieties and online life shape a new, audience-native strain of horror. The conversation also warns about Hollywood rushing to co-opt this fresh, youth-driven sensibility.
Aug 20, 2026 • 41min
Critics’ Cult Classics: Emily Nussbaum on “Slings & Arrows”
Emily Nussbaum, longtime TV critic turned theatre writer, champions the little-known Canadian series Slings & Arrows. She traces how its blend of comedy and drama, theatrical madness, and Hamlet parallels shaped prestige TV. Conversation covers the show’s cult status, distribution hurdles, and why its backstage world still resonates with today’s creators.
20 snips
Aug 13, 2026 • 39min
Critics’ Cult Classics: Hannah Goldfield on the Food World’s Secret Tastemakers
Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker staff writer and food critic, delves into culinary cult classics and what makes certain foods and books obsessively beloved. She explores specialty ingredients, secretive restaurants and how virality reshapes taste. She champions Judy Rodgers’s Zuni Café Cookbook and explains why its dense, instructional style endures among devoted cooks.
