culture

President Barack Obama arrived at the annual South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, on Friday to call on the tech industry and other digitally savvy folks to help with solving some of the country’s biggest problems. Obama took the stage and fielded questions from Evan Smith, the co-founder and editor of the Texas Tribune.…

What is Joe’s Crab Shack? Joe’s Crab Shack was, until Wednesday, the place you took a date if she was in the mood for chain store crabmeat but thought Red Lobster was too bougie. Since Wednesday, however, I’m sure it’ll be the preferred space for Donald Trump rally after-parties. Why? What happened Wednesday? While dining…

Editor’s note: This article contains tweets that some may find offensive. In the Ghostbusters reboot, Saturday Night Live’s Leslie Jones plays a street-savvy transit worker in New York City who joins a merry band of scientists played by Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy and Kate McKinnon. Notable for both its nostalgia and its all-female ensemble cast, the film…

Last week Zootopia, the 55th animated Disney film, debuted in theaters to critical appraise and a huge box office. The previous 54 were mostly about either plucky young girls or talking animals, and Zootopia is no different in that regard, except this time it’s a plucky young girl who happens to be a talking animal.…

This week’s episode of Scandal operated in a twilight zone where slut-shaming was OK, sneaking into women’s bedrooms at midnight was all good and no one cared about a dead hooker. Fitz’s endorsement. First, let’s level set. Fitz has been busy, guys. Busy gettin’ busy. He’s picking women out of the rope line at events and having them delivered…

The advent of the social media era has brought about a great many things—some good, some bad—and notably, it has facilitated the emergence of safe and thriving spaces for underrepresented people of color, both men and women. Worldwide, communities of black women have been able to stand in their glory and showcase their worth in…

I am a fan of Kanye West.* I love his music and like to have discussions about his cultural relevance, and I look forward to hearing new music from the Louis Vuitton Don with the best of them. Aside from the many leather-bound books that adorn my home, I have physical copies of all his…

Spring is on the horizon, and festival season is much closer than you may think. This year, festivalgoers can catch some of the best acts in hip-hop, R&B and jazz at one of hundreds of festivals happening across the country. With new festivals popping up every year and so many options to choose from, we’ve…

Born in Nigeria in 1984, author Helen Oyeyemi has lived in the United Kingdom since age 4. Oyeyemi made a name for herself as a writer early on—winning the 2010 Somerset Maugham Award and a 2012 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and being named one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists in 2013. Oyeyemi, who wrote her…

Sherrell Dorsey is a social-impact storyteller who started coding at the age of 14 and now speaks and writes frequently on the intersections of sustainability, technology and digital inclusion. Follow her on Twitter.