Capitalism Is Coming for Your Literal Dreams
You Need This, a new documentary produced by Adam McKay, tracks the long march of consumer society from postwar suburbia to the sleeping mind.
76 Article(s) by: Ryan Zickgraf
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Ryan Zickgraf is a journalist based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Dems Claim to Want a Hasan Piker — Then Try to Cancel Him
Democrats spent the last year asking where their Joe Rogan was. Hasan Piker is one of the few left-wing figures with the audience they covet — but the party is deeply hostile to the spontaneity and independence that make figures like him appealing.
The Trump Library Is Going Full-On Supervillain
Eight million people showed up at last weekend’s No Kings protests. Donald Trump’s response? Release footage of a skyscraper bearing his name, a golden statue of himself, and a throne room with paid parking — and call it a “presidential library.”
Behind MrBeast’s Cold, Dead Eyes
Twenty-five years ago, someone like Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson would have had little to offer the world. His rise to global phenomenon suggests that virality is emptier than even pessimists thought possible.
With Chuck Norris, the Meme Was the Message
Twenty years before Donald Trump was posting AI images of himself as a king, the internet learned how to meme by exaggerating the masculine superiority of Chuck Norris. What began innocently with “Chuck Norris Facts” has evolved into MAGA’s empire of slop.
America’s Holy War in Iran
For roughly half a century, a certain strain of American evangelical theology has taught millions of believers to read conflicts like Trump’s war with Iran not simply as geopolitics in action but as prophecy unfolding in real time. I was one of them.
The Class War on White-Collar Workers Is Just More Capitalism
Thanks to AI, white-collar workers are discovering what blue-collar workers learned a half-century ago: they’re disposable.
In Melania, the Emperor Has a Lot of Clothes
It’s hard to imagine viewers who end up tuning in to the new hagiographic Melania Trump documentary, Melania, having a reaction other than “time to sharpen our guillotines.”
Bryan Johnson Is Silicon Valley’s Sexless Vampire Future
Bryan Johnson’s sexless brand of “wellness vampirism” is the perfect metaphor for Silicon Valley. It’s a utopian promise of a limitless future disguising a brutal, extractive reality that leaves us all drained.
Whatever Happened to #Abolish ICE?
In 2018, #AbolishICE was everywhere. Seven years later, the agency is bigger than ever, yet the slogan’s champions are nowhere to be found.
The Rise and Fall of the Bob Ross NFT King
How one artist rode the NFT wave to fame — and then crashed with it.
“Pink Slime Journalism” Takes Aim at Greenpeace
The Dakota Access Pipeline company just won a landmark suit against Greenpeace worth over $660 million. At the heart of the case is a new and particularly sleazy form of partisan communications masquerading as journalism.
The Meaning of Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan built his empire by presenting himself as an entertaining, independent commentator. He gave it up for the 2024 election.
The Case for Social Drinking
Americans are trading bar culture for wellness apps and mocktails. But despite alcohol’s many shortcomings, our national sobering up is not a simple cause for celebration. We’re also losing social spaces and traditions in an increasingly alienated society.
Why Air America Failed
The liberal attempt to counter Rush Limbaugh on the airwaves was too little, too late.
Dems’ Glitzy Celebrity Strategy Was an Embarrassing Failure
Democrats had a billion dollars to pull off a Kamala Harris victory. They hurled much of that money at celebrities and designing lavish environments to say the word “joy” in. It was one big A-list party, and Americans didn’t feel invited.
Working-Class Men Are Not Okay
Working-class American men are getting lonelier and sicker, and their lives are getting shorter. It’s not just a sad state of affairs; it’s a full-blown crisis that demands policy solutions.
Justice Warriors Is Funny, but in a Way That Hurts
The indie comic Justice Warriors: Vote Harder is a heartening sign that genuinely subversive political satire remains possible, even in a world that feels like satire itself sometimes. And like the best of the genre, it hits a little too close to home.
The 2024 DNC: All Vibes, Little Substance
The DNC revealed a Democratic Party still in love with the Obamas. The fantasy is that Kamala Harris will be a reboot. Brat summer is cooling — are you ready for an Obama autumn, heavy on feeling good and light on political substance?
J. D. Vance’s “Forgotten” Ohio Hometown Is on the Upswing
J. D. Vance portrays his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, as a dying backwater with a culture of irresponsibility and laziness. It’s actually seeing a revival — thanks not to a mindset change but to massive public investment of the type the GOP opposes.