Movies about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have failed to connect with viewers, but video games on the topic have broken sales records.

Where crazy things seem normal and normal things seem crazy.

How a childhood gorilla-hunting safari and a string of sexless marriages led Alice Sheldon to become reclusive sci-fi legend James Tiptree Jr.

Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, on the eve of the release of The Social Network, believed to be a deeply unflattering portrait of him and the genesis of his company.

Scenes from Madonna’s first major tour and an author struggling to explain the 26-year-old’s massive, surging appeal.

A profile of Jon Stewart, who’s now run The Daily Show for more than a decade.

David Foster Wallace’s struggle to surpass “Infinite Jest.”

Our debt, conscious or unconscious, to what has come before, and what it can tell us about copyright, the public domain, and the complicated relationship between creators and consumers.

An interview with William Gibson on the “dark, dark world of marketing, advertising, and trend forecasting.”

David Chang’s manic quest for a flawless restaurant.

Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong tabloid tycoon, thinks he’s found the future of journalism: an animation assembly line that can crank out clips recreating–or anticipating, or imagining–breaking news.

The poet and his love affair with Italian motorbikes (and also lots of women.)

A profile of Kanye West written in the style of an all-access magazine piece - using only quotes and statements that Kanye West has made on Twitter and other web outlets.

Horror-rap’s annual festival draws thousands of clown-makeup wearing Juggalos - devotees of Insane Clown Posse - for a weekend devoted to spraying Faygo soda, rioting, and discussions of the occult.

Why our entire understanding of copyright is due for an overhaul.

When Bob Dylan met Allen Ginsberg; a chapter from Sean Wilentz’s forthcoming Bob Dylan in America.

Soap operas, enrollment in multiple graduate programs at once, student films alongside Hollywood blockbusters. Is James Franco’s entire career a piece of performance art?

In the early 1960s, Middle Eastern guys in Brooklyn introduced America to Arabic rock-and-roll.

For nearly a decade, Laura Albert lived a double life as troubled teen turned cult writer J.T. Leroy, writing books, chatting constantly with celebrities, and convincing another woman to appear as J.T. Leroy in public.

A new Egyptian TV channel called 4Shbab—“for youth” in Arabic—aims to get young people interested in Islam through music videos and reality shows.

Slumdog Millionaire, the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and the arrival of “New India” in the American imagination.

An interview with Greil Marcus on the songs of Van Morrison and why people are afraid of imagined things.

An excerpt from a new biography explores the trio of tragedies that struck Dahl’s family just as his career was taking off.

There is someone whose job it is to try to extract royalty money from anyone who plays music in a place of business. Most people do not react well to this request.

A Pynchon conference in Lublin, Poland may say more about the men (yes, only men) who attend Thomas Pynchon conferences than the works of the reclusive author.