Emily Nussbaum: I Like to Watch

The Pulitzer Prize-winning culture critic, Emily Nussbaum, went from graduate student to TV superfan after watching an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Since then, Nussbaum’s criticism rejects the idea that there is a hierarchy that elevates certain types of TV (dramatic, gritty, violent) over another (joyful, funny, stylized). She embraces the idea that there are many types of beauty, complexity and nuance in a variety of artistic visions and voices. Her collection of essays, I Like to Watch, celebrates television for what it is, even as the way we consume it changes constantly. Emily Nussbaum has written for The New Yorker since 2011. She is the winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for criticism and the 2014 National Magazine Award for Columns and Commentary. Previously, she was the TV critic and editor of the Culture Pages for New York magazine, where she created the Approval Matrix, the playful cultural charticle that closes each issue. Nussbaum has written for The New York Times, Slate and Lingua Franca. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Clive Thompson, and their two children. Rachel Giese is an award-winning journalist and the editorial director of Xtra, the world’s oldest LGBTQ2 media organization. Her book, Boys: What it Means to Become a Man, was named one of the Globe and Mail’s 100 favourite books of 2018. For years, her weekly column on politics, pop culture and feminism appeared in Chatelaine, where she was the editor-at-large. She is also a regular contributor to CBC Radio and the Globe and Mail. Giese has taught journalism at Ryerson University, and U of T’s Munk School of Global Affairs. She lives in Toronto with her wife and son.

Episode 12 of the Live Mic: Best of TPL Conversations podcast, hosted by Toronto Public Library, titled "Emily Nussbaum: I Like to Watch" was published on April 22, 2020 and runs 45 minutes.

April 22, 2020 ·45m · Live Mic: Best of TPL Conversations

Summary

The Pulitzer Prize-winning culture critic, Emily Nussbaum, went from graduate student to TV superfan after watching an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Since then, Nussbaum’s criticism rejects the idea that there is a hierarchy that elevates certain types of TV (dramatic, gritty, violent) over another (joyful, funny, stylized). She embraces the idea that there are many types of beauty, complexity and nuance in a variety of artistic visions and voices. Her collection of essays, I Like to Watch, celebrates television for what it is, even as the way we consume it changes constantly. Emily Nussbaum has written for The New Yorker since 2011. She is the winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for criticism and the 2014 National Magazine Award for Columns and Commentary. Previously, she was the TV critic and editor of the Culture Pages for New York magazine, where she created the Approval Matrix, the playful cultural charticle that closes each issue. Nussbaum has written for The New York Times, Slate and Lingua Franca. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Clive Thompson, and their two children. Rachel Giese is an award-winning journalist and the editorial director of Xtra, the world’s oldest LGBTQ2 media organization. Her book, Boys: What it Means to Become a Man, was named one of the Globe and Mail’s 100 favourite books of 2018. For years, her weekly column on politics, pop culture and feminism appeared in Chatelaine, where she was the editor-at-large. She is also a regular contributor to CBC Radio and the Globe and Mail. Giese has taught journalism at Ryerson University, and U of T’s Munk School of Global Affairs. She lives in Toronto with her wife and son.

Episode Description