Counter Arts

A mirror and a serpent

The psychology behind comfort crime and controlled chaos

How hard is it to get tech bros to behave themselves? Very.

Joseph Kosinski’s racecar sports movie has its problems, but its technical qualities tip the scale

The bestselling crime novelist discusses her craft, compulsive creativity, and fascination with the worst of humanity

Solvej Balle’s monumental work continues in a second installment that continues to deepen the elements we know about time, and how it…

How a groundbreaking film brought Loretta Lynn’s story and country music into the American mainstream

Homer’s epic tale reflects our lifelong quest for balance

The paradox of having just enough ambition to play the game — and just enough conscience to question it.

This is what happens when society stops watching: you discover the freedom of living without an audience.

How it felt to watch Britpop’s best band perform in Manchester while my home country bombed Iran

The triumph of freedom through the infinite murmur

Sentimentality, taste, and the politics of loving the ‘wrong’ book

The story of how Alfred Hitchcock created Psycho and the wife who put up with him

But I’m beginning to understand what it has to offer

Leo McCarey’s Depression-era drama, beloved since its 1937 release, remains emotionally powerful and frighteningly relevant

Time apart from an old friend revealed contrasting beliefs and reminded me that some things are best left in the past.

One last walk through the city

Classified as a complex author, his novels are the perfect example of a work that explores the limits of what it means to be human and its…

A nostalgic ritual turned cultural X-ray — examining the alien blockbuster that shaped our Fourths and reflected more than we realized.

This is how a lifetime of reading taught me to listen when stories whisper back.

When a film wants to be a movie

Experiments show that people learn best when they handle objects.

Mirrored echoes of ‘Frankenstein’ (1818) by Mary Shelley