Alissa Wilkinson
@alissawilkinson.bsky.social
Critic @nytimes.com. Author AFTERGLOW (forthcoming), WE TELL OURSELVES STORIES (Liveright) and SALTY (Broadleaf). Teaching writing and criticism (Whitworth MFA, NYU XE).
Reposted by Alissa Wilkinson
Love this from Guillermo del Toro
January 5, 2026 at 2:16 AM
Love this from Guillermo del Toro
On that point, if you read one book this year, make it this one:
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/567075...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/567075...
January 2, 2026 at 11:19 PM
On that point, if you read one book this year, make it this one:
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/567075...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/567075...
This is why, as a college English composition teacher, I insisted on correct usage of "that" vs "who." Doesn't fix everything but clarifies some mental models.
(Headlines are character-restricted, but should say something like "Grok generated text that mimicked an apology")
(Headlines are character-restricted, but should say something like "Grok generated text that mimicked an apology")
A real news outlet publishing the phrase "Grok apologized" should result in like a week-long timeout. Think about what you've done.
January 2, 2026 at 11:17 PM
This is why, as a college English composition teacher, I insisted on correct usage of "that" vs "who." Doesn't fix everything but clarifies some mental models.
(Headlines are character-restricted, but should say something like "Grok generated text that mimicked an apology")
(Headlines are character-restricted, but should say something like "Grok generated text that mimicked an apology")
The Shaker Heritage Society (on the site of the original settlement) is also quite wonderful. It’s basically directly behind the Albany Airport:
home.shakerheritage.org
home.shakerheritage.org
January 2, 2026 at 4:08 PM
The Shaker Heritage Society (on the site of the original settlement) is also quite wonderful. It’s basically directly behind the Albany Airport:
home.shakerheritage.org
home.shakerheritage.org
Yeah, or rented/borrowed (I haven’t rented much because until recently I couldn’t fit any standard sizes and still mostly can’t, but when it works it works). People are so out of touch with how things actually work, it’s so weird
brainmatterbygkj.substack.com/p/rama-duwaj...
brainmatterbygkj.substack.com/p/rama-duwaj...
January 2, 2026 at 4:15 AM
Yeah, or rented/borrowed (I haven’t rented much because until recently I couldn’t fit any standard sizes and still mostly can’t, but when it works it works). People are so out of touch with how things actually work, it’s so weird
brainmatterbygkj.substack.com/p/rama-duwaj...
brainmatterbygkj.substack.com/p/rama-duwaj...
Just noticing two of the best docs ever — THE HOTTEST AUGUST and THE PRISON IN TWELVE LANDSCAPES — are leaving the Criterion Channel on Jan 31. You must make a point of seeing them. PRISON was on my Sight & Sound ballot. It’s that good. (It has also not been easy to see for years.)
January 2, 2026 at 3:44 AM
Just noticing two of the best docs ever — THE HOTTEST AUGUST and THE PRISON IN TWELVE LANDSCAPES — are leaving the Criterion Channel on Jan 31. You must make a point of seeing them. PRISON was on my Sight & Sound ballot. It’s that good. (It has also not been easy to see for years.)
Reposted by Alissa Wilkinson
hello I am simultaneous bacterial and viral pneumonia
Introduce yourself with what almost killed you.
Hi, I'm toothpaste.
Hi, I'm toothpaste.
January 2, 2026 at 1:31 AM
hello I am simultaneous bacterial and viral pneumonia
For those of us who would in fact pick the Bible, which book of the Bible you’d pick if you only picked one?
(If I wasn’t picking the Bible I’d probably pick Capon’s The Supper of the Lamb, which sounds like the Bible but actually is a book about how awesome food and drink and being alive is)
(If I wasn’t picking the Bible I’d probably pick Capon’s The Supper of the Lamb, which sounds like the Bible but actually is a book about how awesome food and drink and being alive is)
Strange takes on Mayor Zamdani swearing his oath on the Qu’ran. It has nothing to do with church & state. The point of the oath is for the person swearing in to do so upon some text that is sacred TO THEM. Some Presidents swore in w/o any book. John Quincy Adams was sworn on a law book. His choice.
January 2, 2026 at 12:37 AM
For those of us who would in fact pick the Bible, which book of the Bible you’d pick if you only picked one?
(If I wasn’t picking the Bible I’d probably pick Capon’s The Supper of the Lamb, which sounds like the Bible but actually is a book about how awesome food and drink and being alive is)
(If I wasn’t picking the Bible I’d probably pick Capon’s The Supper of the Lamb, which sounds like the Bible but actually is a book about how awesome food and drink and being alive is)
It cannot hurt that his mother is Mira Nair
This man's media team is a bunch of goddamned geniuses, someone scouted for locations and figured out they could set up this very shot. Look at it, it's incredible. Look up pics of Adams being sworn in at the ball drop, which look chaotic, cheap, and undignified in comparison.
New York City has a new mayor
January 1, 2026 at 9:42 PM
It cannot hurt that his mother is Mira Nair
When they asked us to contribute I knew what I wanted to say and then laughed when I checked on what I said *last* year, as you will see
Christopher Nolan goes (even more) epic. Lisa Kudrow makes a new season of “The Comeback.” Marcel Duchamp gets an overdue retrospective. Here’s what our culture critics are looking forward to in 2026.
8 Things Our Critics Are Looking Forward to in 2026
Christopher Nolan goes (even more) epic, Lisa Kudrow makes another “Comeback” and Marcel Duchamp gets an overdue retrospective.
nyti.ms
January 1, 2026 at 9:33 PM
When they asked us to contribute I knew what I wanted to say and then laughed when I checked on what I said *last* year, as you will see
This may just be my priors but if I see anyone under the age of 30 wearing something chic and well-made I automatically assume they thrifted / got it from Poshmark or The RealReal or whatever, because buying new is not very cool anymore
January 1, 2026 at 7:16 PM
This may just be my priors but if I see anyone under the age of 30 wearing something chic and well-made I automatically assume they thrifted / got it from Poshmark or The RealReal or whatever, because buying new is not very cool anymore
Reposted by Alissa Wilkinson
Happy publication anniversary to Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus!
January 1, 2026 at 4:25 PM
Happy publication anniversary to Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus!
Happy 96th (!!) birthday to the subject of this piece, the greatest living American filmmaker.
Ten non-review pieces I'm especially proud of from this year.
(1) On the films of the great Frederick Wiseman (on the occasion of the three-city retrospective of his work), and also Instagram Reels, with particularly terrific art:
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/08/m...
(1) On the films of the great Frederick Wiseman (on the occasion of the three-city retrospective of his work), and also Instagram Reels, with particularly terrific art:
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/08/m...
What an Instagram Reel Has in Common With a 4-Hour Documentary
www.nytimes.com
January 1, 2026 at 4:15 PM
Happy 96th (!!) birthday to the subject of this piece, the greatest living American filmmaker.
If you want to make something extremely delicious and nourishing in the next few days (and maybe freeze some of it), I highly recommend this, based on a Laurie Colwin recipe. I’m going to do it tomorrow (but with pork because that is what I have):
cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023...
cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023...
Slow-Cooker Beef and Barley Soup (Published 2022)
cooking.nytimes.com
January 1, 2026 at 4:13 PM
If you want to make something extremely delicious and nourishing in the next few days (and maybe freeze some of it), I highly recommend this, based on a Laurie Colwin recipe. I’m going to do it tomorrow (but with pork because that is what I have):
cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023...
cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023...
Reposted by Alissa Wilkinson
"7 a.m. (New Year's Morning)," László Moholy-Nagy (c. 1930)
January 1, 2024 at 4:48 PM
"7 a.m. (New Year's Morning)," László Moholy-Nagy (c. 1930)
Tonight I found myself explaining to a man I did not know what the difference between a goal and a resolution is. A goal, I said, is something you want to achieve but you have limited agency over.
January 1, 2026 at 7:05 AM
Tonight I found myself explaining to a man I did not know what the difference between a goal and a resolution is. A goal, I said, is something you want to achieve but you have limited agency over.
Reposted by Alissa Wilkinson
Just making sure that 2025 is definitely over
January 1, 2026 at 4:43 AM
Just making sure that 2025 is definitely over
We got on the 2 train to go home post-party and there was approximately 2/3c of dried lentils scattered everywhere, which is kind of the least offensive debris possible but also a little baffling?
January 1, 2026 at 5:51 AM
We got on the 2 train to go home post-party and there was approximately 2/3c of dried lentils scattered everywhere, which is kind of the least offensive debris possible but also a little baffling?
it’s me, the spirit of 2026
January 1, 2026 at 5:36 AM
it’s me, the spirit of 2026
Reposted by Alissa Wilkinson
New York City has a new mayor
January 1, 2026 at 5:04 AM
New York City has a new mayor
The closed captions on “these vagabond shoes” translated it “this bag of orange orange shoes”
January 1, 2026 at 5:03 AM
The closed captions on “these vagabond shoes” translated it “this bag of orange orange shoes”
It reminds me of one of those popsicles you get from the ice cream man
January 1, 2026 at 1:13 AM
It reminds me of one of those popsicles you get from the ice cream man
Headed into 2026 like
December 31, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Headed into 2026 like