James Wolcott
Vanity Fair
New York, NY, United States
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Past articles by James:
James Wolcott on the Shelf Life of a Deplorable
Alex Jones, Candace Owens, Tomi Lahren—even the most incorrigible can’t blather forever. → Read More
Bada Bing’s Big Bang: How The Sopranos Defined White America’s Cultural Shift
HBO’s iconic drama remade TV, but its griping, middle-aged mobsters gave us Trumpiness on training wheels. → Read More
James Wolcott on the Return of the Scuzzies: #MeToo’d Men Like Matt Lauer and Louis C.K.
Despite society’s Whac-a-Mole vigilance, the men whose abuses have been exposed will continue to creep back into the spotlight. → Read More
The “Left Behind” Trump Voter Has Nothing More to Tell Us
The 2016 election led reporters to revive a classic pastime: accosting patrons in small-town diners for their political opinions. Let’s make it stop. → Read More
Roseanne Barr, Tim Allen, and the Myth of Hollywood’s Conservative Blacklist
The right might be lower in numbers in Tinseltown, but they have many woes to keep them company. → Read More
Murder, So Rote: How True Crimes and Traumas Are Endlessly Mined for Your Viewing Pleasure
From O.J. and Versace to Tupac and Tonya Harding, America’s most sordid tabloid episodes are endlessly mined for true-crime entertainment. But the same traumas can be redrawn only so many times before, morbidly, we yearn for something fresh. → Read More
The Joy of Reading Philip Roth, Riffer, Rhetorical Flamethrower, Super-Monologuist
The novelist, who died this week at age 85, entered the pantheon long ago, but the laurels can obscure the most dizzying heights of indignation. → Read More
Confessions of a Suits Fan: Why the Legal Drama That Launched Meghan Markle Works
The USA Network show that launched Markle’s career is an unpretentious tournament of wit and cunning. Once her character’s real-life counterpart goes royal, can the show survive Season 8 without driven paralegal Rachel Zane? → Read More
Can Obama Rescue the Democrats?
While Barack Obama revels in the perks of post-presidency, the Democratic base longingly wonders if he’ll ever again direct his gaze their way. → Read More
Why The Americans Is the Quintessential Spy Thriller for Our Anxious Age
Thanks to Vladimir Putin, the Cold War is hot again. Nowhere has it seemed more real than in FX’s 1980s-set espionage drama, which is about to kick off its final season. → Read More
The Decline (and Rise) of the Cinema Revival House
Revival houses dotted 1960s and 70s New York City, making it a beacon for movie lovers, but a few decades later, only two had survived. A new generation of revival houses brings back the old cinema spirit. → Read More
Can Lena Dunham Recover from Her High-Profile Mistakes?
Lena Dunham’s early success turned her into a media gadfly. James Wolcott reviews her history in gaffes, and wonders if she can learn from her mistakes without losing her voice. → Read More
Will Mark Halperin’s Harassment Scandal Be a Game Changer?
Halperin, who has proven to be one of Trump’s many enablers, is now dealing with the aftermath of his own scandal that has cost him a publishing deal and his reputation. → Read More
Vanity Fair Hall of Fame: The Times Reporters Who Brought Sexual Harassment Out of the Shadows
James Wolcott spotlights four New York Times journalists—Jodi Kantor, Michael Schmidt, Emily Steel, and Megan Twohey—who followed the trail of settlements and set off a national reckoning. → Read More
What Donald Trump Learned from Hugh Hefner
In 1990 Trump graced the cover of Playboy, which is something Cooper Hefner, Hugh’s son and Playboy Enterprises’ chief creative officer, now regrets. But that’s not the only way the pro-choice, pro-civil-rights publication diverges from the former cover star who is now president. → Read More
Will We Ever Return to Normal After Trump?
There is plenty of ugly fight left in Donald Trump’s presidency, which has already warped American culture. But it’s not too soon to contemplate a post-Trump challenge: tyrant-proofing the country, in case the next one isn’t such a clown. → Read More
How The Deuce Gets Gritty, Grimy, Glorious 70s New York Right
James Wolcott cheers David Simon’s new series for expertly capturing a period that was seminal, in more ways than one. → Read More
Why Women Journalists Are Ascendant in the Age of Trump
From television to newspapers, women are occupying more visible and powerful roles in the ranks of journalists. How has the Trump administration contributed to this changing state of affairs? → Read More
The Bromance of Justin Trudeau and Emmanuel Macron, Gen X Dynamos of Democracy
While the U.S. and the U.K. are turning to Baby Boomers for political salvation Canada and France have found solace with two Generation Xers, who seem to be developing a budding bromance, and flipping the political script as leaders. → Read More
Netflix’s Charming GLOW and Showtime’s Glowless I’m Dying Up Here
Two summer series search for meaning in the pop culture of the past, with mixed results. → Read More