Stephanie Bai Discusses Books, Film and Art in Atlantic Culture Edition

Stephanie Bai, senior associate editor at The Atlantic, shared cultural recommendations in the newsletter's Sunday edition published on May 10, 2026. Bai first discussed the Netflix movie Nimona, which one of her children introduced to her. The film features a spunky heroine and two knights in love.

It includes commentary on how authoritarians exploit fear. Bai said she will read anything by author Lauren Groff. While on a hike this spring with two Atlantic colleagues, she recounted the full plot of Groff's story "Between the Shadow and the Soul" from the collection Brawler.

She noted that Groff commands the passage of time effectively and that the story's understanding of the characters' relationship shifts until the end. " — Lauren Groff in Matrix (The Atlantic) Bai wrote one of her favorite openings in recent literature for Groff's novel Matrix. The paperback edition of Bai's own novel Sleep is scheduled for release next week.

She received a copy and noted that the paperback is small and fits well in the hand. The story centers on a mother-daughter relationship and a woman parenting differently from how she was raised. Bai said she is looking forward to the talent show at her children's school.

Her daughter is participating as the silent partner in a magic show. The work depicts Zeus as a swan.

She described the statue as appearing snuggly with the swan tucked under Leda's arm. Bai is currently watching the HBO show Rooster starring Steve Carell. Carell plays Greg Russo, an author who teaches a college course to be closer to his daughter.

The series is set on a campus and includes jokes about cancel culture. Bai also spends time viewing old pictures that appear in Google Photos. The app shows memories from years earlier, which she often screenshots and sends to friends.

She mentioned looking forward to reading A Tender Age by the author of The Names, which was recommended in an interview. Bai is working on a new novel and expressed interest in the book's approach to language. Bai described enjoying videos that rate horses with detailed, humorous personality descriptions.

The ratings are always 10 out of 10. She shared the videos with friends and children over spring break. The newsletter also included a section on the rise of emotional surveillance featuring AI tools such as MorphCast that analyze human emotion.