‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’: A Hit That Initially Unnerved Disney by Carlos Aguilar

I was managing a movie theater when A Nightmare Before Christmas was initially released, in the fall of 1993. Among my brethren, anticipation was high, but actual box office receipts were disappointing. At the time, it seemed likely that the film would fade into memory as a misfire. Instead, I’d argue its more enduring than the proper Disney features of the era, all of which were big hits and some that were truly fantastic films. Writing for The New York Times, Carlos Aguilar does a fine job of tracing the film’s upward trajectory in esteem. I’ll admit, though, that I’m mostly posting this as an excuse to crow about my friend Selena, who is centrally involved in producing the annual (more or less) A Nightmare Before Christmas concerts staged at the Hollywood Bowl.

The Enthrallingly Awful The Gilded Age Is Back. I’m Absolutely Elated. by David Mack

I watched every episode of the first season of The Gilded Age and wondered why I was doing it the whole time. Well, to be totally honest, I knew the reason. The reason was named Carrie Coon. Even so, it wasn’t a good show, and yet I was unaccountably excited when the date of the second season premiere was announced. Writing for Slate, David Mack effectively, entertainingly gets at why this misbegotten hunk of prestige TV held such strange appeal.

Longer Commutes, Shorter Lives: The Costs of Not Investing in America by David Leonhardt

This David Leonhardt essay is adapted from his new book, Ours Was the Shining Future. he meticulously lays out the broad societal damage wrought by the concerted retreat from the sorts of ongoing investments the United States across the made in education, infrastructure, and, well, just about everything across the middle of the twentieth century. As usual, the trouble really started when Ronald Reagan was in the White House, solidifying that administration’s place as the most resonantly destructive in the nation’s history. This piece is published by The New York Times.