Ep. 127 - Criticism as a Way of Life

Vinson Cunningham is one of the most dynamic critics working today. Best known as the New Yorker’s theater critic and co-host of the weekly podcast Critics at Large, he’s also the author of the novel Great Expectations, based on his experience working for the Obama campaign in 2008. On this episode, Cunningham joins Commonweal contributing writer Anthony Domestico for a discussion about criticism—engaging deeply with a work of art on a personal level, and then responding in writing and speech—as a way of life. Along the way, they also touch on the theological dimensions of Great Expectations. Anybody, Cunningham argues, can be a critic. All it takes is curiosity, and the willingness to share your observations with others. For further reading: Vinson Cunningham on Pope Francis’s Fratelli tutti William Giraldi on criticism as an act of love Paul Baumann reviews Barack Obama’s memoir