Rhiannon Corby

The co-star of ABC’s “Black-ish” discusses the ways that black women are and aren’t allowed to be funny onscreen.    

Beth Newell and Sarah Pappalardo founded a satirical Web site that finds plenty of fodder in the way women’s magazines speak to their readers.      

The film producer Christine Vachon has helped make some of the most influential movies of our time.    

The writer and director Noah Baumbach on unhappy families and why they are that way.

Rather than simply excoriate male sexual aggression, bell hooks has tried to find its roots in the psyches of men damaged by abuse.

The singer, songwriter, and old-school guitar shredder St. Vincent talks about the toll of stardom.

An ESPN contributor on the history of black athletes bringing politics onto the field.

A staff writer explains how the rapper Cardi B is shaking up the music industry.    

David Simon is sympathetic to the sex workers he depicts in “The Deuce,” but unambiguously critical of porn’s effect on America.

Critic Amanda Petrusich picks a book, a T.V. show, and an album for the end of summer.    

Jelani Cobb talks with the musician and civil-rights icon Harry Belafonte about a life of activism  

The author of “Gone Girl” and other books puts on a frozen-yogurt costume and wanders the mall, looking for victims.    

Mistaken for a man, the cartoonist Alison Bechdel was offered a few bucks to move a piece of furniture. She took it.

Before becoming a writer, Akhil Sharma lied his way into a lucrative job as a banker, spinning stories that played into ethnic stereotypes.

Aging and mortality are on the singer-songwriter’s mind, and he wants to make great rock and roll out of them.

An Irish writer explores friendship and adultery in the digital age in her debut novel.

Once celebrated by the government, Ai Weiwei is China’s most famous artist. Now he is persona non grata in his country, but won’t stop speaking out.    

Virtual reality used to be the technology of the future. Now it’s here. How will artists use the young medium to tell stories?

While many comedians see themselves as social critics, Jerrod Carmichael finds humor in apathy and ambivalence.

The poet Ellen Bass explores the habits that take us through life and death.