popular culture

The Sisters are an order of self-named queer nuns who parody Roman Catholicism, and at the same time make an earnest and very serious claim to be nuns—just not Roman Catholic ones.

The following is an exclusive excerpt from Kaleidoscope, a podcast featuring conversations on religion with the people often left out of conversations on religion and politics hosted by Deborah Jian…

This week, Emmy Award-winning actor Hank Azaria finally offered to stop doing the voice of Apu, the Indian caricature on The Simpsons. It only took nearly 30 years. While Azaria is getting some kudos…

Nothing like a Handmaid’s Tale revolution is going to happen. Probably.

The following was originally published on April 25, 2017. The upcoming release of Hulu’s Handmaid’s Tale miniseries is an opportunity to appreciate the cultural significance—and political prescience…

What’s the message, Bishop? That question, asked by the church’s closeted gay music director, Reggie (a convincing Lakeith Stanfield), provides the hinge for the whole Carlton Pearson story in the…

Recently, I made a lot of people angry with my piece, ” Why I’m not an Organ Donor,” with comments generally falling into two broad categories: ad hominem attacks and sincere questions about my…

On the Monday after Easter, the Trump White House hosted the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn. Described by the White House as a “ timeless tradition dating back to 1878 ” the event has been…

Over the past six decades, rock ‘n’ roll music has played a central role in American popular culture. Armed with a fun-loving and rebellious ethos, rock has had a liberating effect on generations of…

Fifty years ago, on April 4, 1968, the transformation of my life began with the volcanic news that Dr. Martin Luther King had been killed. Just a week later—a week of upheaval in my city and our…