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1. For New York’s latest issue, Maureen O’Connor broke down ten years’ worth of Pornhub data explore how streaming pornography has infiltrated our sexual imagination, creating a kind of infinite erotic feedback loop (“Pornhub Is the Kinsey Report of Our Time,” June 12–25). Digg posted the cover story, writing, “We’re all on a crazy, gross and sexy spectrum.” And Laura Italiano at the New York Post wrote, “Thanks not only for all the smut, but for all the stats, as well.” Not all readers found the statistics illuminating: “Porn is not creative. It’s built on the back of sex-trafficked girls and boys. It’s shame, humiliation and commodification of the soul,” tweeted @DebraBailey. Many commenters focused on the viewing habits of women. Paisley Gilmour at Cosmopolitan U.K. wrote, “Women are subverting the stereotype that they’re not that into sex, and only do it to keep dudes happy.” The story even made a cameo during Stephen Colbert’s Late Show monologue, where he joked, “According to the data, if you watched all of the videos on the site end to end, it would take you 173 years. Though, of those 173 years, most people only watch the first two minutes.”
2. In 2012, 18-year-old Ramarley Graham was killed, unarmed, in his bathroom by an NYPD officer. James D. Walsh reported on what happened next (“The Bullet, the Cop, the Boy,” June 12–25). “This is the most thorough account [of the Graham shooting] that I’ve yet read,” tweeted Jamil Smith, MTV News senior national correspondent. And @preciosatt added, Richard Haste “shot an unarmed teenager and still thinks he was right. The power of the mind to delude is amazing.”
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3. The issue also featured Andrew Rice’s story on the advocacy group waging a litigation war against President Trump and his business entanglements (“Is Trump Inc. the President’s Greatest Vulnerability?,” June 12–25). Michael D. Kennedy at Brown University tweeted, “When Trump et al. dismiss emoluments clause violations, they dismiss the constitution itself.” And Liz Kennedy, director of Democracy and Government Reform at the Center for American Progress, wrote, “President Trump’s conflicts of interest are dangerous, unprecedented, and unconstitutional. Every American has a right to know if the President is putting his self-interest ahead of our national interests.” For all the talk of impeachment, though, @SaykallyDerrell suggested that this route would probably be unnecessary: “You screw with Trump’s money, and he’ll drop the presidency so fast it’ll make your head spin!”
4. “The Culture Pages” took an in-depth look at the state of the series finale, including Boris Kachka on how The Leftovers’ ending came together and Matt Zoller Seitz on why sticking the landing is less important these days (“The Fine Art of the Final Episode,” June 12–25). The Leftovers’ religious consultant, Reza Aslan, tweeted, “If you are a fan of #TheLeftovers then this is a final parting gift to you.” But comparisons between the finale of The Leftovers and the controversial ending of Damon Lindelof’s other beloved series, Lost, rubbed some fans the wrong way. “Lost wasn’t ambiguous, people just didn’t like the answers,” mxxr commented. Michael F.X. Daley, a script coordinator for The Leftovers who teaches screenwriting at Loyola Marymount University, wrote, “Damon Lindelof breaks rules. Almost all of them. It has made things difficult for me as a college professor teaching students the art of TV writing. But breaking rules is what made The Leftovers a sophisticated show. I have a few friends that were unhappy with this finale. After all the insanity of the show, to go out on a conversation? It didn’t work for them. Once again, Damon broke a big rule of screenwriting: Don’t tell — show! Why didn’t they show what Nora went through? Why not see the world the Departed went to? But it was in listening to their gripes that made me realize how perfectly the ending worked. You don’t see Nora’s tale play out — because you have to take it on faith that it did.” Here, a closer look at the making of The Leftovers’ finale, including a gif guide to the series’ camera shots, a video interview with Lindelof, and a playlist of songs that almost made it into the show.