Personal essays from a veteran filmmaker, covering film history such as Hearst's campaign against Citizen Kane, AI tools in everyday life, and reflections on ageing, Buddhism and the need for others' approval. Readers get sharp, self-aware prose that mixes cultural criticism with memoir.

Each issue traces the history and cultural meaning of a recurring American joke figure or trope, such as Lawrence Welk, the fat kid playing the tuba, or the philandering milkman. It opens with a quoted joke and then explains where the premise came from and why it persists.

Rigged is a Ghost newsletter that profiles the people, firms and tactics behind industry-funded disinformation, from corporate propaganda in schools to PR operators like Rick Berman and Harold Burson. Readers get well-sourced historical accounts that trace how public relations shaped public opinion on tobacco, oil and other contested issues.