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Critics at Large | The New Yorker

Critics at Large | The New Yorker

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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.Condé Nast 2023 Social Sciences
Episodes
  • The Golden Age of the American Idiot

    The Golden Age of the American Idiot
    Jul 23 2026
    The new game show “Nation’s Dumbest,” flips the classic “Jeopardy!” script on its head. The format: twelve famous-ish contestants are peppered with basic logic and trivia questions. The twist is that those who perform well are sent home, with the last one standing receiving the title of “Nation’s Dumbest.” On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz consider how the figure of the idiot has evolved over time, from Shakespearean fools—whose position of apparent ignorance allows them to speak difficult truths—to more recent “happy fools” like Austin Powers and the goofy, stunt-obsessed heroes of the “Jackass” franchise. Once a laughingstock, the idiot has reached new heights of influence in the era of A.I. summaries and the infinite scroll. Resisting stupidity can feel like an uphill battle. “Whatever it is to be smart, I’m doing this Sisyphean thing of continuing to push it up the hill, and the rock feels heavy,” Cunningham says. “The question is: is society a wind at your back, or going in the opposite direction?” Read, watch, and listen with the critics: “Nation’s Dumbest” (2026-) “Jeopardy!” (1984-) “Austin Powers” (1997) “Seinfeld” (1989-98) “The White Lotus” (2021-) “30 Rock” (2006-13) “Tracy Morgan Turns the Drama of His Life Into Comedy,” by Vinson Cunningham (The New Yorker) “American Humor,” by Constance Rourke “Born Yesterday” (1950) “Legally Blonde” (2001) Green Day’s “American Idiot” “Jackass: Best and Last” (2026) Shakespeare’s “King Lear” Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” “A Short History of Stupidity,” by Stuart Jeffries “The Year in Stupidity,” by Naomi Fry (The New Yorker) “A Theory of Dumb,” by Lane Brown (New York) “Naked Gun” (2025) 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    52 mins
  • Who Owns the Odyssey?

    Who Owns the Odyssey?
    Jul 16 2026
    In its nearly three-thousand-year history, the Odyssey has undergone as many twists and turns as its protagonist does on his journey home to Ithaca. Its origins as oral poetry suggest countless revisions before it was even put into text—and many more followed, as translators have wrestled with how best to express Homer’s ancient Greek verse in their own languages. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz consider the latest rendition, a film adaptation by the director Christopher Nolan. The movie’s two-hundred-and-fifty-million-dollar budget, A-list cast, and use of cutting-edge IMAX technology make it maximalist in every sense of the word. It’s elicited glowing reception from early viewers—and faced preëmptive criticism from the right. Drawing on the scholar Emily Wilson’s 2017 translation of the epic, Nolan has modernized the dialogue; his focus on the erosion of societal values also speaks directly to the anxieties of our era, in which so many norms and institutions feel newly precarious. “The Odyssey persists because the world does keep on evanescing behind us,” Cunningham says. “The question of how to move on is always fresh.” Read, watch, and listen with the critics: “The Odyssey” (2026) “Planet of the Apes” (1968) “Oppenheimer” (2023) “Troy” (2004) “Why the Odyssey Keeps Defeating Filmmakers,” by David Denby (The New Yorker) “L’Odissea” (1968) Emily Wilson’s translation of the Odyssey Robert Fagles’s translation of the Odyssey Daniel Mendelsohn’s translation of the Odyssey “The Dark Knight” (2008) Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    50 mins
  • An American Playlist

    An American Playlist
    Jul 2 2026
    This week, to commemorate two hundred and fifty years of the American experiment, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz present an American playlist. On this special episode, the hosts hear from listeners regarding the songs that best encapsulate their feelings about the U.S. today—and offer some tracks of their own. The resulting compilation reflects the country’s turbulent history, its uncertain present, and, crucially, listeners’ hopes for its future. “What we think of as nation-building—at least if you care about art, that’s not where the real action is,” Cunningham says. “The action is in our creative response to the circumstances that we’re given. And that’s what music is all about.” Listen to a playlist of songs from this episode here. Featured tracks: “Kids in America,” by Kim Wilde“Miss America,” by David Byrne“All-American Bitch,” by Olivia Rodrigo“Django Jane,” by Janelle Monáe“Help Save the Youth of America,” by Billy Bragg“Almost Cut My Hair,” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young“Free Fallin’,” by Tom Petty“America,” by Simon & Garfunkel“Battle Hymn of the Republic,” covered by Joan Baez“Sleep Now in the Fire,” by Rage Against the Machine“Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore,” by John Prine“Compared to What,” by Roberta Flack“Ohio/Machine Gun,” by The Isley Brothers“Bob Dylan's 115th Dream,” by Bob Dylan“Wild Goose Chase,” covered by Nora Brown“That’s Life,” covered by James Brown“Billy The Kid Suite,” by Aaron Copland“A Change Is Gonna Come,” by Sam Cooke 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    58 mins
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