The New York Times - USA (2020-06-28)

2 AR THE NEW YORK TIMES, SUNDAY, JUNE 28, 2020

HELEN VERONGOS,an editor on the

Culture desk, hasn’t found her

TikTok niche, but she embraces

pop-culture tips from her kids.

Her daughter, Clare, 17, introduced

two of these picks and actually

endorsed a few (OK, one) of hers.

OVER THE GARDEN WALL

TELEVISION

With fun-size episodes, high-speed credits

and a hand-tinted 1930s-animation vibe,

this series (available on Hulu) finds the

lost and quaintly clad stepbrothers Greg

and Wirt in an autumnal fever dream of

pumpkin people, a Beast and a cynical

bluebird. An eerie, mostly minor-key

soundtrack by the Blasting Company

accompanies them.

THE AMELIA PROJECT

PODCAST

Each episode’s drama stars a “client” who

wants to disappear, à la Amelia Earhart.

The project’s signature product: a custom-

designed faked demise and chance to start

over, no dithering allowed. Shivery and

funny. Find it online at ameliapodcast.com.

IT CAN’T HAPPEN HERE

BOOK

Toxic populism isn’t new. Sinclair Lewis

lanced it mercilessly in this 1935 portrait

of a Depression-walloped America as

vulnerable to fascism as Germany was.

Lewis’s novel is the perfect chaser to “The

Plot Against America” (the series, the

Philip Roth novel, or both). Hungry for

more? Dip into Robert Penn Warren’s “All

the King’s Men” (1946).

THE INCREDIBLE

SHRINKING MAN

MOVIE

It’s clear who wears the pants in this 1957

household — until they get progressively

bigger. Blame it on radiation, and better

living through chemistry, but the corpo-

real Scott Carey (Grant Williams), and his

midcentury bonhomie, are shriveling.

Soon, bereft of hope, smaller than a Ken

doll and still shrinking, he’s totally de-

pendent on his wife, Louise. You’ll cheer

as he defends his life in a primal war,

wielding — and combating — everyday

objects. (Rent or buy on Amazon Prime

Video.)

THE MOVIN’ AND THE LIVIN’

MUSIC

The only album by the string trio Uncle

Remus turned up on YouTube just when I

needed it. (Thank you, Take’s Bluegrass

Album Channel.) Listen to their smooth

up-tempo arrangements of the Beatles

and Duke Ellington, their bittersweet

Americana and their dreamy original

songs — first imbibed over pitchers at a

Bloomington, Ind., beer joint. Any chance

of a reunion, guys?

THE QUEUE

From “Over the Garden Wall.”

CARTOON NETWORK

LAURA MORTON FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Grant Williams and foe in

“The Incredible Shrinking Man.”

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

An article on June 7 about an arts market in

New Mexico misstated its name. It is the Santa

Fe Indian Market, not the Indian Market.

CORRECTION

New York City is known for its graffiti, but it also has eye-catching murals. With this in mind, Jessie

Wender, a photo editor, went through the archives of The New York Times to find examples. From top:

In 1986, Keith Haring prepared his “Crack Is Wack” message in East Harlem; in 1982, a man passed by

a mural on East 57th Street, left, and in 1962, students at Downtown Community School worked on a

mosaic; in 1956, children at the Morningside Community Center on 131st Street painted together.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

LARRY C. MORRIS/THE NEW YORK TIMES

ALLYN BAUM/THE NEW YORK TIMES

PETER POLYMENAKOS STEVE SCHAPIRO

Inside Culture

THIS WEEK FROM THE ARTS DESK