Michael Lovito
editor@thepostrider.com
Civil War Feels Exploitative. That’s the Point.
In March 1993, South African photojournalist Kevin Carter captured the chilling image of a young Sudanese boy (misidentified as a girl at the time) collapsed in hunger as a hooded vulture watched patiently. A few days later, it was sold ...
Politics Express: 2024 Republican Primary Draft – Crowning the Winner
The Republican primary comes to an end not with a bang, but with a whimper, as all major candidates but former President Donald Trump have dropped out and he has accumulated the delegates necessary to receive the nomination. After it ...
How Folk and Country Became the Hottest Sounds in Indie Rock
One of the reasons I like seeing bands play live, outside of the fact that it gives me a reason to leave the house, is that it also gives me a way to develop a deeper connection with the music ...
Love Lies Bleeding is Thrilling, Grisly, and Subversive
We all have that one actor and actress who just… doesn’t work for us. For my mom, it’s Julianne Moore. For my dad, it’s Adam Sandler. For me, it’s Kristen Stewart. My distaste for Stewart wasn’t fully apparent to me ...
What is the County Line, and Why Is Everyone in New Jersey Talking About It?
Lets face it: this has been a pretty boring primary season. Despite the best efforts of Dean Phillips, Nikki Haley, and a few political columnists, Donald Trump and Joe Biden easily won the nominations of their respective parties, passing the ...
The Postrider’s 96th Academy Awards Preview
Are dynasties good for pro sports? It’s a question that was asked a lot by sports media in the mid-2010s, not only because the Golden State Warriors met the Cleveland Cavaliers in four straight NBA Finals, but because the Warriors ...
Jess Williamson Brings Her Mix of Indie and Country to the Bowery Ballroom
Over the past three years or so, I’ve found myself listening to a lot more country and country-influenced music, both voluntarily and involuntarily. The involuntarily piece should be familiar to anyone who’s currently living in the United States: country’s chart ...
Democrats Do Not, In Fact, Have a Better Option Than Biden
On Friday, New York Times opinion columnist Ezra Klein published an audio essay in which he praises the accomplishments of President Joe Biden while simultaneously arguing that he should end his 2024 reelection campaign. You can listen to (or read) ...
Politics Express: Redrawing the Dollar
The Postrider‘s Politics Editor Lars Emerson and Editor-in-Chief Michael Lovito present their own visions for how to redesign U.S. currency. Who would we put on coins? What denominations would we add or subtract? And how can America use its money ...
The Postrider’s 2024 Grammys Preview
The first time I ever wrote about the Grammys was when I was in high school, when I had a dinky little Blogger site that has apparently been wiped from the Internet. The year was 2011, and it would turn ...
Politics Express: Trump, the Presumptive Nominee?
The Postrider‘s Politics Editor Lars Emerson and Editor-in-Chief Michael Lovito hop on to talk about whether Donald Trump should be considered the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee already, after just two primary contests; how he can power through to the general ...
The Curse Is the Best Social Satire and Relationship Drama in Years
Why was satire made during the Trump administration so bad? It’s a question I’ve found myself asking as we move further and further away from the late 2010s and the historiography of the era begins to take shape. My early ...
Politics Express: The Best (and Worst) of Politics in 2023
The Postrider‘s Politics Editor Lars Emerson and Editor-in-Chief Michael Lovito are here to recap 2023 in our first episode of the new year — who were the most improved, weirdest, and most embarassing figures in 2023, and what moments stand ...
The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks is Senationalism Disguised as Justice
Last summer, I wrote a review of The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, an Investigation Discovery (ID) documentary series about Natalia Grace Mans (formerly Natalia Grace Barnett, we’ll get into the name change later), a Ukrainian orphan with dwarfism who ...
The Postrider’s Top 15 Albums of 2023, Part 2
As I mentioned in my intro blurb for my songs of the year list, my listening habits weren’t exactly expansive this year. I tended to lean on a lot of the same albums and genres throughout the past 12 months, ...
The Postrider’s Top 15 Albums of 2023, Part 1
As I mentioned in my intro blurb for my songs of the year list, my listening habits weren’t exactly expansive this year. I tended to lean on a lot of the same albums and genres throughout the past 12 months, ...
The Postrider’s Top 20 Songs of the Year, Part 2
For whatever reason, this 2023 list was the most difficult I’ve ever put together. And yet, it was also the easiest list for me to write. That might be because it’s also not a very adventurous list – it mainly ...
The Postrider’s Top 20 Songs of 2023, Part 1
I’ve been compiling lists of my favorite songs of the year since at least 2013. For whatever reason, this 2023 list was the most difficult I’ve ever put together. Part of that is that my relationship to music has changed ...
Godzilla Minus One is So Much More than a Kaiju Movie
One of my earliest memories is being home sick from school, watching Mothra vs. Godzilla on VHS. I don’t know why my mom chose that particular movie to rent for me that day (RIP West Coast Video), but it kicked ...
In The Killer, Gen X’s Nihilism Grows Up
David Fincher’s The Killer opens up with the kind of scene one might expect from a movie about an international assassin. Our steely, unnamed lead (Michael Fassbender) waits for days in a gutted Paris building (later revealed to be a ...
Politics Express: 2024 Republican Primary Draft – Debates, Dropouts, and Iowa Incoming
It’s been a whirlwind of debates, mugshots, dropouts, and notable moments; with the Iowa caucuses in spitting distance, Lars, Michael, and Chris hop back in to check on their primary draft and talk about where the race is going! Check ...
The Winners and Losers of the 2023 Elections
Using midterm elections as a tool to predict the results of the next presidential election is never a good idea. Voter turnout is usually lower, local idiosyncrasies play a bigger role, and a lot can change in a mere two ...