10 Best Articles on Pop Culture
The most useful articles on pop culture from around the web—beginners to advanced—curated by thought leaders and our community. We focus on timeless pieces and update the list whenever we discover new, must-read articles or videos—make sure to bookmark and revisit this page.
Top 5 Pop Culture Articles
At a glance: these are the articles that have been most read, shared, and saved on pop culture by Refind users in 2023 so far.
Short Articles
Short on time? Check out these useful short articles on pop culture—all under 10 minutes.
The Psychology of Cringe Comedy: Why We Love to Watch What Hurts Us
From ‘Da Ali G Show’ to viral TikTok videos, cringe comedy persists within pop culture. And oftentimes, the genre’s appeal is as much about the way we perceive ourselves than the comics we watch…
How Alcohol Lost Its Cool
A third of pub visits are now alcohol-free, but drinking has been losing its cred in pop culture for a while now.
How Korean Culture Went Global
From BTS to Squid Game to high-end beauty standards, South Korea reigns as a global exporter of pop culture and entertainment. How does a country go from a war-decimated state just 70 years ago, to a…
This Is Not the Apocalypse You Were Looking For
Pop culture has been inundated with catastrophe porn for decades. None of it has prepared us for our new reality.
Pop Culture’s Problem with Middle-Aged Women
Women of a certain age are still largely left out of our narratives—or else, she’s a very particular type of middle-aged woman.
Long Articles
These are some of the most-read long-form articles on pop culture.
Why so much Obama-era pop culture feels so cringe now
How Hamilton, Parks and Recreation, and Harry Potter lost cultural cachet.
A Meaty Look At Pop Culture's Dicksplosion
From Euphoria to The Power of the Dog, it feels like dicks are everywhere these days. That's because they kind of are.
Who Actually Gets to Create Black Pop Culture? ❧ Current Affairs
A closer look at the economics of Black pop culture reveals that most Black creators (outside music) come from middle-to-upper middle class backgrounds, while the Black poor are written about but…
Why is pop culture obsessed with battles between good and evil?
Pop culture today is obsessed with the battle between good and evil. Traditional folktales never were. What changed?
Against popular culture
For Adorno, popular culture is not just bad art – it enslaves us to repetition and robs us of our aesthetic freedom
Publications
We monitor hundreds of publications, blogs, newsletters, and news sources in Pop Culture, including:
The Ringer
Sports. TV. Movies. Pop Culture. Music.
Current Affairs
A magazine of political commentary, analysis, and amusements.
Catapult
fiction | non-fiction | craft books
Longreads
Sharing and publishing the best longform stories since 2009. An @automattic publication and the sister site of @Atavist. @longreads@mastodon.world
Jezebel
Sex. Celebrity. Politics. With Teeth
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We monitor hundreds of sources on pop culture, including The Ringer, Current Affairs, Catapult, Longreads, Jezebel, and many more.
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