Atlantic Staff Writer Shares Culture Recommendations

Michael Scherer, a staff writer at The Atlantic, listed several books, music, television programs, and other media he currently enjoys in the publication's Sunday culture newsletter. Scherer recommended reading columns by George Will and watching the HBO Max documentary series The Dark Wizard.

He also mentioned listening to uninterrupted electronic-music sets on SoundCloud, including a 2020 Dekmantel Podcast episode with DJ Djrum.

Scherer said he recently watched the Netflix live-action adaptation of the manga One Piece and described its blend of pirate adventure, 1990s sitcom elements, and high-school theater style. He noted that the show's sets resemble a theme park and that the actors wear printed T-shirts and plastic jewelry while handling muskets and katanas.

He added that he has been listening to Avalon Emerson's new album Written Into Changes, which he characterized as a mix of bedroom pop and emo influences.

Scherer said he subscribes to the bimonthly broadsheet County Highway. He also stated that he deleted Instagram and TikTok from his phone and keeps X and Bluesky accounts for work. The writer mentioned that the final scene of the film Train Dreams, an adaptation of Denis Johnson's novella, was the last piece of media that made him cry.

He further cited a 2024 documentary, Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat, as a work that changed his perspective on Cold War cultural diplomacy.