How Country Music Turned the Ford F-150 Into a Luxury Ride

Image credit: Texas Monthly | Courtesy of Ford

Once upon a time, pickup trucks were strictly utility vehicles, used primarily for picking up and hauling stuff. Not so anymore, says Rose McMackin, a Texas writer whose work focuses on the American West. Nowadays, she says, pickup trucks are “aspirational,” used to project how the drivers want to be seen. So how on earth did that happen? According to McMackin, it’s a change that’s been largely fueled by country music. Read all about it (and listen to it) in an article she wrote for Texas Monthly  in August 2025. 

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Wicked Review—Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande Make the Magic Happen

Image credit: Universal Pictures/AP

Spectacular! Visually stunning! Way too long! Good, but not great! Exhausting! This is just some of what’s been said about Wicked. Have you seen it? If so, what did you think of it? If you loved it, what did you love about it? If not, why not? Or maybe you liked some of it but not all of it. See what Wendy Ide, the chief film critic of the Observer, says in a review published in The Guardian on November 24, 2024.

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How Bluey Became the Best Kids’ Show of Our Time

Image credit: Ludo Studios 2019

What was your favorite TV show when you were 5 or 6 years old? Did it essentially tell the same story over and over again? Just what was it about the show that kept you watching episode after episode? According to Kathryn VanArendonk, a critic who writes about TV, what makes Bluey the “best kids’ show of our time” is its refusal to take such a formulaic approach. Instead, Bluey’s unpredictability and quirky humor convince her that “these are real children,” ones she can learn grown-up lessons from. This review was first published in Vulture in 2021; this updated version was published on April 15, 2024, as Bluey’s popularity in the US reached a new peak.

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Astro Bot Review: All History Lessons Should Be This Fun

Image credit: Team Asobi

Think you’ve seen everything imaginable in video games? If so, you might want to read Harold Goldberg’s review of Sony’s Astro Bot. Goldberg speaks as an expert who has been playing, analyzing, and reviewing video games for over 15 years, most recently in this regular column for the New York Times that was launched in 2024. Let’s see if he intrigues you enough to give this game a try!

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