Sitemap - 2024 - Read Max

What is A.I.-generated audio good for?

Is A.I. generated audio good for anything? (Besides shitposts)

What I'm reading about student protests, a nerdy period drama about watch-making and anarchism, and a cool Celtic folk-jazz album

One weird trick for fixing Hollywood

One weird trick for fixing Hollywood

A unique gothic horror novel, a great recent samurai flick, and a perfect Spotify playlist

What is the civil war in 'Civil War' about?

A great new Ted Chiang-ish sci-fi novel, a strange and wonderful early comedy sketch, and a Kate Bush-esque avant-folk album

Why do we use social media?

Readers recommend "apocalyptic systems thrillers" and an "American giallo" movie for fans of 'Road House'

What is "Substackism" and where does wellness fit in?

A great American spy novel; six amazing, weird gangster flicks; and vibes from Tblisi

Threads is the gas-leak social network

A fascinating book about an 18th-century "madman" and the influencing technology that tormented him, a tense Spanish thriller, and more

Should we just ban *all* social media?

The greatest compendium of conspiracies in existence, an excellent proto-Dad Thriller, and some post-vaporwave bangers

Four unpersuasive arguments against TikTok

A cool alt-history noir set in a Native American city, a great conspiracy documentary, and ... Bruce Hornsby doing Brazilian leftfield house?

'Dune: Part 2,' annotated

Pre-'Dune 2' reading, a sick Korean cop movie, and four new songs I like

Google made an A.I. so woke it drove men mad

A good new Scandinavian mystery, a le Carré-ish English political thriller,

"Dune" (the movie), annotated

An eerie, witchy '90s fantasy masterpiece; an transcendentally stupid YouTube comedy; gorgeous Irish art pop

The anti-woke hero's journey

What I'm reading about the crisis in media; a great, overlooked '90s crime thriller; and a wonderful compilation of new-sound folk covers

Massachusetts Chevy dealership's A.I. chatbot predicts Chiefs to win and also Niners to win

A great sci-fi novel about dark guilds on a moving city; an incredibly fun blaxploitation conspiracy flick; and David Sylvian on Ryuichi Sakamoto's radio show

Are "algorithms" making us boring?

A cool 2000s techno-thriller; a beautiful alt-history novel about art and architecture; and a great ambient album

Is there a 'Godzilla' of 9/11? Part Two

Music newsletters to read after Pitchfork, a sick Japanese martial-arts noir, and some songs I'm listening to

A housekeeping note about Substack and Nazis

An all-time great sci-fi story about bears, a wild nun-sex movie that makes me think of Dimes Square, and some great songs

Is there a 'Godzilla' of 9/11?

A cool Mesoamerican alt-history novel, a "good 9/11 movie" (lol), and some great singles I've been listening to

Eight predictions for 2024