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Rerun: #429 Vinson Cunningham (Feb 2021)

Overview

Shownote

Highlights

Transcript

Chapters

Pins

Rerun: #429 Vinson Cunningham (Feb 2021)

Longform

2024/04/10
Longform

Longform

2024/04/10
OverviewShownoteHighlightsTranscriptChaptersPins

Shownote

Vinson Cunningham is a staff writer for The New Yorker. His novel, published in March 2024, is Great Expectations. “I think the job is just paying a bunch of attention. If you're a person like me, where thoughts and worries are intruding on your consciousn...

Highlights

Vinson Cunningham, staff writer for The New Yorker and author of the 2024 novel 'Great Expectations,' reflects on his unconventional path into cultural criticism—from tutoring and White House work to theater reviewing and profile writing.
03:14
Chad's step-mother knew Barack Obama
07:06
The New Yorker’s theater reviews are more influential on my perception of theater than seeing plays
09:04
My job is to democratize the theater experience for those who won't see the shows
11:04
The pandemic has made digital theater more accessible, revealing an opportunity to champion democratic theater work
23:49
Turning visual or other experiences into sound is a core challenge for critics
25:02
Critics present opinions as aesthetic objects
27:03
Sometimes make the font big when lost to get a closer perspective, believing angles of approach change how one thinks about writing
28:02
It was serendipitous: winning a McSweeney's column contest in 2014 launched their career in longform cultural writing
29:07
People are most interesting when trying to communicate themselves
34:37
A good profile functions like criticism and takes the show's auteurist nature seriously
36:03
Different ways to hang out with the subject help justify the reporter's presence and gather necessary information
40:38
When an opportunity arose to interview Tracy Morgan, it emerged organically from years of shared curiosity rather than a reactive booking.
41:01
Writing magazine pieces and columns is an excuse to write about topics they're interested in
42:06
In 20 years, The New Yorker might have a video game section instead of a theater section

Chapters

From Tutoring to the White House and The New Yorker
00:00
’The Suit’ at BAM
04:00
circlejerk.live
09:00
Jeremy O. Harris’ plays
11:00
The Season of Russell Westbrook and a New Era in N.B.A. Fandom
18:00
Cunningham's McSweeney’s archive
25:00
Stephon Marbury Has His Own Story to Tell
27:00
The Playful, Political Art of Sanford Biggers
28:00
WTF with Marc Maron
29:00
Tracy Morgan Turns the Drama of His Life into Comedy
32:00
Redd Foxx party albums
36:00
Alexandra Schwartz’ New Yorker archive
38:00
Simon Parkin on Longform
41:00
The Many Lives of Steven Yeun
42:00

Transcript

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