From John Cheever’s 1964 short story “The Swimmer” to Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling 2006 memoir, “Eat, Pray, Love,” our culture has long grappled with what it means to enter middle age. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz examine depictions of that tipping point—and of the crises that often come with i ... Show More
Oct 22
“You Can See Everything” and the Nathan Fielder Effect
Nathan Fielder’s onscreen persona—flat, literal-minded, and seemingly baffled by ordinary social behavior—has made him one of our most distinctive cultural figures. On his Comedy Central series “Nathan for You,” his approach collided with the eagerness of ordinary people to be ag ... Show More
53m 35s
Oct 8
“The Social Reckoning” Shows How It All Went Wrong
In 2010, Time magazine’s Person of the Year was not a world leader or entertainment icon but Mark Zuckerberg, the twenty-six-year-old creator of Facebook. That same year, Zuckerberg got the Hollywood treatment in the bio-pic “The Social Network,” directed by David Fincher and wri ... Show More
50 m
Jul 2023
The Myth of the Midlife Crisis
For years, people have been faced with the possibility of suffering a ‘midlife crisis’ when they near age 40. But is the concept scientifically sound? And now that millennials are entering midlife, is what they’re experiencing different than previous generations? In this episode, ... Show More
39m 42s
Jun 2025
Welcome to midlife, millennials. Are you in crisis?
Many millennials either are already in their 40s or are staring them down. Are they having a midlife crisis?As this generation enters midlife, their lives look really different from their parents' lives: Millennials are more educated and have a higher median net worth, but the ge ... Show More
17m 8s
Oct 2022
Ep. 413 Let's talk about midlife: how to know if you are in the club
It seems like perimenopause is a buzzing trend word right now, but how do you know if you are experiencing the signs that you’ve been initiated into the club? Midlife with Mindy and Meg is back, and this week, they are talking about the symptoms, signs, and signals that our bodie ... Show More
1h 11m
Oct 2023
Are You Having A Quarter-Life Crisis?
Kelsey Cook and Delanie Fischer are discussing the concept of a quarter-life crisis, and how they’re definitely amidst one (they thought they were passed this sh*t!?). They're sharing how this experience differs to what they went through in their 20s, what feels eerily similar, a ... Show More
1h 4m