Fiona Apple was only 18 when she released her debut album Tidal 30 years ago in July of 1996. The decades since then have found Apple employing an evermore freewheeling approach—see the scattered percussion, homemade instrumentals, and dolphin whistle vocal trills of "I Want You To Love Me" from 2020’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters. In light of the freedom she currently enjoys, the seasoned session musicianship and restraint that defines the album can feel like a taming presence, a bit like bumpers at a bowling alley. But comparison in this case is the thief of joy; though Apple's music has only grown stranger and rougher-hewn in the decades since Tidal, her debut still holds up as a bracingly direct—and powerful–introduction to her purposed contralto and bass-heavy piano thundering.

During its run, The Bear established itself as a show with great taste in music. The show’s music supervisors, Josh Senior and Christopher Storer (the latter of whom is also the show’s creator), have been sure to sprinkle an array of flavors onto the soundtrack, adding in recordings by actual Chicagoans (Mavis Staples, Serengeti), songs closely associated with the city (a demo version of Sufjan’s Stevens’ “Chicago,” “Love On A Real Train” from Tangerine Dream’s Risky Business score), icons of alternative and classic rock (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Kim Deal, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison), and one very meaningful selection from the reigning queen of pop.

Meredith Hobbs Coons and Carolyn Zaldivar Snow of The Tonearm compare notes on 'Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery,' the documentary film that turns feminist music history into something closer to evidence.

Since its debut in 2021, Abbott Elementary has managed to tackle issues related to class, race, and even the complexity of charter schools’ influence on education—and all without sacrificing its commitment to character development and ability to find humor in the public-school system.

The groundbreaking Marvel Spotlight miniseries Echo, which debuted earlier this month on Disney+ and Hulu, centers around Maya Lopez, a Deaf Choctaw superhero. However, as many fans know, this series isn’t the first time Marvel has introduced a Deaf or disabled character.

Thanksgiving gets totally bulldozed by Christmas, doesn’t it? There are certainly far fewer shows and movies to watch to get in the spirit of the thing. Sure, we’ve got some Thanksgiving episodes and a handful of films explicitly or tangentially about the holiday, including the beloved-but-dated classic Planes, Trains And Automobiles, as well as a new slasher. 

In my little family, we love a good seasonal watch—but some we abandon. Just last year, I asked my kids as they opted to squirm and joke rather than pay attention to Mickey’s Twice Upon A Christmas, “Do we like this anymore?” And just like that, a seven-year tradition of ours ended.

I was no stranger to being trapped at home prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic: I’m a parent. Getting out has often been a struggle. As vaccines have become widely available, infections less deadly, and the landscape more open, the social relevance of livestreaming appears to be fading. But mine meant the world to me. Now after two years, 100 episodes, many meaningful friendships and countless valuable lessons about accessibility, community, and the structure of our world online, I’m ending it.

As queer parents and educators, we always expected to encounter and work to affirm LGBTQ+ youth in our lives. But the current social climate has presented challenges beyond what we anticipated. Legislation targeting transgender children and families keeps coming, and right-wing politicians and pundits remain laser focused on eroding LGBTQ+ protections for power. We are angry. We want our children safe.

I’d love to go back to school for audio, but I owe a lot of money to the federal government. Okay fine, it’s student loan debt. For a long time, I felt like that huge and haunting sum meant that I could never pursue an education beyond the degrees I already hold. Debt, lack of funds, an overabundance of responsibilities: they all present very real barriers for many of us wishing to acquire new skills.

Banished. That’s where my kids would be when I recorded at home pre-pandemic. Not banished to their knowledge, just hanging with their grandparents for at least an entire day, at most overnight. The point is they would be gone, and I’d have sent our dog with them, too, if I’d had my way.

There are two songs that I remember having written at age six: a rock n’ roll wonder called “Thunder and Lightning” (thunder and lightning/ yeah yeah/ thunder and lightning/ oh yeah) and a narrative style ballad about a little cat that emerged from a mysterious magical flowerbed to become my pet.