Critics at Large | The New Yorker

Thank you thank you thank you to Vinson, Alex, & Naomi for helping me decompress before every weekend. I came to you as a recommendation from the Vibe Check podcast about a year ago. I recently flipped my life upside down, left a career in medicine, and moved across the country to go back to school. I’ve been steadily working my way through every CAL episode to remember what it means to be a full person. You give a new depth to authors, artists, and their work that make me see the larger world differently. The Ask a Critic episodes are my favorite but I’ve loved them all! Thank you 💛📚🎞️

I want to like this podcast, but the forced tralalala cheer rubs me the wrong way every time I put it on. We’re nearly three years into a genocide, the country is embroiled in a disastrous war, ICE is kidnapping our neighbors. Not everything has to be about politics, but some things are about politics and some efforts to ignore the political moment give off the impression of comfortable people trying their hardest to keep up a conversation about the Met Gala and drown out the sound of a child begging them for a few quarters for food.

The BTS pod cast was really limited and missed the multi-age, cross cultural positive message and belonging of this music and movement. I think it is really poor taste that they did not treat them as musicians, situating it in a musicality discussion. Nor did they even know the members names. They are the kind of KMart interpretation from within a limited interpretation as juvenile pop from an American judgement lens. I think they’ve missed what it is entirely. Watch the reception in Mexico. They did say they were new, but yet they used such limited, stereotypical lenses to look at a group of musicians. Culturally biased interpretation at its worst. My neighbor would have more useful things to say. Or any musician would have more to offer. They didn’t know they do rap? Please.

This is the podcast I recommend anyone who loves pop culture/cultural criticism. Alex, Vinson and Naomi always bring thorough context, interesting takes and varied examples across mediums (literary, film, tv, etc.) in every episode on broad topics in the zeitgeist. I never skip an episode. Feels like sitting in on the best college lecture every week. We’re so lucky to have this podcast!

I was a regular listener at the start of the pod since I’m familiar with Naomi Fry via How Long Gone. Fell off for a bit, I don’t entirely remember why, but excitedly pressed play on the BTS episode. As a BTS fan of 7+ years, I really appreciated this thoughtful conversation about the group. I’m happy you folks didn’t have an expert guest or ARMY on, as tons of pods often do, because the conversations then are afraid of being critical. It was refreshing hearing three perspectives from people entirely new to kpop and BTS, and not filtered by someone shepherding you three through it. Of course it’s also a plus that you all seemed on board with Body to Body! We need updates if Alexandra fully becomes ARMY lol