Culture & Criticism

Where Modern Motherhood Meets the Page

We believe that to be a mother is to be a student of human nature. From the way a film handles grief to the rhythm of a new jazz album, culture is our classroom. Here, we don't just review; we interrogate, celebrate, and sometimes, just sit with the discomfort.

In a world that often flattens the complexity of motherhood into soundbites or sanitized advice, our culture section offers the counter-narrative. We are reading books that refuse to make mothers smaller, watching shows that acknowledge the exhaustion of the daily, and listening to music that sounds like the sound of a mind finally quieting down.

This is a space for intellectual rigor and emotional honesty. Whether you are looking for your next book club pick or just need to know if that new show is worth the 45 minutes of screen time, we've done the digging so you don't have to.

Currently

The Editor's
Shortlist

The Second Child

By Simone St. James — A gothic mystery that somehow manages to be the most comforting read you’ll have all year. The atmospheric tension will keep you up past bedtime, but the themes of found family are pure warmth.

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Anatomy of a Fall

A courtroom drama that doesn't care about winning; it cares about truth. Sandra Hüller delivers a performance that captures the exhaustion and desperate hope of a mother fighting for her son.

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The Weather Station — Ignorance

If you've ever tried to explain the noise in your head to another person and failed, listen to this album. It is lyrical, orchestral, and devastatingly raw about the difficulty of being perceived.

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Screen

Film & TV
Reviews

A scene from the film Anatomy of a Fall showing snow-covered mountains and a courtroom window
Film Review

The Language of Silence

In the new French legal drama, the courtroom is a theater of unspoken truths. We discuss how the film handles the delicate balance of evidence and intuition in parenting.

By Sarah Jenkins • 4/5 Stars
Page

Books
Roundup

Lessons in Chemistry

Re-reading Elizabeth Zott's fight for scientific authority. It’s sharp, funny, and a necessary reminder that competence is not a personality trait to be tolerated, but the default.

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The Seven Husbands

Evelyn Hugo's life is a masterclass in compartmentalization. A perfect read for the carpool lane or the quiet moments before bed, it challenges the traditional narrative of the self-made woman.

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The Midnight Library

Matt Haig’s exploration of regret and the infinite possibilities of "what if." A gentle, philosophical read that asks: which life is the one you actually want?

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Sound

Music & Art
Featured

Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving

Currently touring the V&A in London, this exhibition strips away the iconography to show the woman behind the pain and the paint. It is a visceral, unflinching look at the body and the art it produces.

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Deep Dive

All Culture Articles

Review

Why We Still Watch 'Gilmore Girls'

It’s not just the fast talking. It’s the validation of a mother's intellectual life in a world that demands she be "just" a mother.

By Elena Rostova • 2 days ago
Essay

The Mother of the Bride Who Doesn't Cry

On the pressure to be emotional at weddings and the quiet strength of holding it together.

By Maya Thorne • 1 week ago
Review

Review: 'Poor Things' is a Modern Fairy Tale

Emma Stone’s Bella Baxter is a vessel for curiosity, a scientific experiment in the art of living.

By Sarah Jenkins • 2 weeks ago
Interview

Talking with the Creator of 'Little Fires Everywhere'

A conversation about the complexities of motherhood in suburbia and the art of the cliffhanger.

By Elena Rostova • 3 weeks ago
Contributors

The Critics

Sarah Jenkins

Film Critic. Formerly of *The Atlantic*. Mother of two. She believes that a good movie should make you feel something you didn't know you had the capacity to feel.

Maya Thorne

Senior Editor. Writer and podcaster. She covers television and writes the weekly "Motherhood in Media" column. She is currently reading Proust.

Elena Rostova

Books & Art Correspondent. PhD in Comparative Literature. She reviews the books that actually matter to the intellectual life of a modern woman.