A presidential candidate changing churches is hardly unusual. Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, and Rand Paul have all aligned themselves with different faiths… — Michelle Dean Candidate Copy Share Image
In an age where television is viewed as the best medium to 'tell stories,' narrative often stands in for substance on would-be… — Michelle Dean Age Copy Share Image
Beauty pageants in general are foreign and noxious to me: I can barely muster the energy to put on lip gloss and… — Michelle Dean Beauty Copy Share Image
I still think, most of the time, when people called shows like 'The Sopranos' or 'Deadwood' 'art' that they were correct. — Michelle Dean Art Copy Share Image
The Festival of Books is indeed a well-oiled machine, one which leaves most of the other literary festivals in America, including vaunted… — Michelle Dean America Copy Share Image
The children of the 1980s were the last before a lot of things changed. We were the last generation not to have… — Michelle Dean 1980s Copy Share Image
For a long time, it seemed as if podcasting was a male realm, but no longer. Sure, there are lots of men… — Michelle Dean Long Copy Share Image
The 'World Wide Web', as people quaintly called the Internet in 1996, was more or less made up of text. There was… — Michelle Dean Internet Copy Share Image
Feminists are disappointed in each other a lot, a natural side effect of being involved in a movement, which naturally implies that… — Michelle Dean Always Copy Share Image
Push the envelope too far as a female artist, and you may only earn an ocean of ink expressing concern for your… — Michelle Dean Art Copy Share Image
I like debate and argument, so I'm usually all right with disagreement, and I'm even all right if the critic doesn't come… — Michelle Dean Argument Copy Share Image
A certain kind of person in America loves to note that they're currently soldiering through the latest Pulitzer winner for history, in… — Michelle Dean America Copy Share Image
There is nothing wrong with wanting to publish - or read - books that have a wide potential audience. But it does… — Michelle Dean American Copy Share Image
While 'Twilight''s popularity was undeniable among both the teenagers they were aimed at and middle-aged women who flocked to the series in… — Michelle Dean Criticism Copy Share Image
Hollywood versions of watershed moments in American history are generally high-minded shlock. 'JFK,' 'The People vs. Larry Flynt,' even 'Lincoln': all of… — Michelle Dean American Copy Share Image
Television was not cool among the young people of my era, the last years of the '90s and the early '00s. It… — Michelle Dean Cool Copy Share Image
Television became defensible - and, frankly, worshipped - because the shows started to be so carefully structured, so attentive to language, and… — Michelle Dean Eye Copy Share Image
My parents and I - I'm an only child - are not particularly religious, but I was christened and raised in that… — Michelle Dean Canadian Copy Share Image
Bad criticism recites rote arguments. The shame of rote arguments isn't just that they're cliches, though they are, but that they tend… — Michelle Dean Bad Copy Share Image
Book awards - in America, at least - are not like the Oscars. Awards are not cumulative, and in the case of… — Michelle Dean America Copy Share Image
Great novels are maps of complication, leading nowhere in particular, taking stances only provisionally and obliquely, happy to be tangled and to… — Michelle Dean Answers Copy Share Image
We are reminded repeatedly, often by older men, that western civilization has died on the altar of social media. — Michelle Dean Civilization Copy Share Image
I read almost no romantic fiction, in part because I barely believe in romance in the age of Tinder. — Michelle Dean Age Copy Share Image
The podcast revolution has taught us that women's voices aren't just pleasurable to listen to, they are essential. — Michelle Dean Feminism Copy Share Image
I have deliberately arranged my life so that I see pictures of cute animals on the Internet every day. — Michelle Dean Animals Copy Share Image
Summer is always a tricky time to recommend new literary fiction. The big releases do not hit until fall. — Michelle Dean Always Copy Share Image
Telling a story about someone has enormous power. People forget a headline. They remember a story. — Michelle Dean Forget Copy Share Image
Self-publishing has been a dubious challenge to traditional publishers, at best. — Michelle Dean Been Copy Share Image
There are, of course, fat characters in books out there, some of them quite enduring and famous. But they tend to be… — Michelle Dean Books Copy Share Image
Few reporters get to do what Kelly McEvers does in every episode of 'Embedded': go deep into a story and tease out… — Michelle Dean Deep Copy Share Image
After living in the United States for over 10 years, here is what I have learned about the Fourth of July: it… — Michelle Dean About Copy Share Image
Prestige podcasts, like prestige television shows, tend to have an audience that believes itself literate, well-informed, and reasonable. Listening to podcasts, in… — Michelle Dean Audience Copy Share Image
A lot of people produce podcasts in which they simply ramble on for hours about themselves and their lives. There is something… — Michelle Dean Desire Copy Share Image
Literary novelists who have a strong handle on plot are often characterized as good vacation reads because they manage to transport you… — Michelle Dean Facts Copy Share Image
It's become a cliche to say that a piece of drama is about 'the nature of truth.' But 'Rectify' so openly plays… — Michelle Dean Become Copy Share Image
For a long time now, movie characters have generally been articulate, even chatty. Call it the influence of Woody Allen, but we… — Michelle Dean Influence Copy Share Image
Many people, I've noticed by informally polling friends, are prone to distinguishing a beach read by genre. Some people thought all thrillers… — Michelle Dean Beach Copy Share Image
Since the era of 'Sherlock Holmes,' private detectives had long been able to influence cases on their own. But the online detective,… — Michelle Dean Influence Copy Share Image
Podcast listening carries with it a faint aura of cultural snobbery, a notion that to cue up an episode is to do… — Michelle Dean Aura Copy Share Image
