Portside

Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy introduced us to a working-class kid from Queens struggling to both save his city and pay the rent. Disney has wealthy new benefactors rewriting just what it means to be a superhero.

Betty Crocker's name was invented as a customer service tool that would sound friendly and personal; also it seemed more likely that female customers would trust a woman.

At its best, the original Sex and the City took the romantic lives of its characters seriously while presenting them hilariously. But its reboot, And Just Like That…, has sucked all the fun out of its stories.

The power of song to literally transform the brain and move people to action has given it a place of privilege in mass political actions. Almost every revolutionary movement in modern history has had an accompanying singing culture.

Tongo Eisen-Martin’s latest book of poems challenges whiteness and the status quo with a strong revolutionary practice.

Looking for something other than sappy Christmas movies to watch over the holidays? There is no greater and more prescient skewering of the absurdity of the American national security state than Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head Do America.

Many of America’s favorite recipes today were born from commercial incentives--from the obvious Rice Krispies Treats and Jell-O salads, to beloved condensed-soup casserole and stuffing recipes passed down for generations.

Emily St. John Mandel’s beloved novel should be difficult to adapt for TV. The HBO Max version reinvents it.

“We think what we can’t see can’t hurt us,” says poet Ann Hudson about environmental pollution. Think again.

What every driver dreads, a traffic stop, in the words of poet Pankaj Khemka comes to a peaceful end, a holiday gift.