The Criterion Channel streaming service is celebrating its one-year anniversary this week and it has been a shelter in a storm for movie lovers during quarantine. To celebrate, we’ve asked 15 friends of The Big Picture—writers, filmmakers, and critics—to explain why the Channel is so crucial and suggest one must-watch from its massive and essential library.

Introducing a special three-part podcast miniseries with Quentin Tarantino that will explore his career, life, and movie obsessions.

Alex and Bobby touch on Bally Sports making way for blackout-free baseball in San Diego, then welcome on journalist and stadium economics expert Neil deMause to try and dream up the ideal community-integrated ballpark, exploring the history of baseball in urban areas, the long shadow of mallparks, the ruthless efficiency of today’s mixed-used development stadiums, what ethical engagement with surrounding neighborhoods looks like, and much more. Follow Neil on Twitter @neildemause.

With ‘Triple Frontier’ now streaming on Netflix, we launch the first episode in a series of career retrospectives on Hollywood’s biggest stars. From ‘Good Will Hunting’ to ‘Gone Girl,’ ‘Armageddon’ to ‘The Town,’ ‘Justice League’ to the "Jenny From the Block" video, we identify Affleck’s breakthrough moments and peak performances before breaking down his latest movie.

Every week, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert—movie critics and Chicago newspaper rivals—sat in an empty theater, showed a few clips from the latest releases, and talked. That’s it. No big-star interviews. No goofy trailer reactions. Just two smart, middle-aged

A narrative telling of the history of Backyard Baseball, featuring Nick Mirkovich, the game's creator.

I’m outside in the middle of nowhere on the outskirts of Orlando, Florida. There are buzzards circling overhead, maybe a dozen of them. A faint smell of burnt rubber lingers in the air, and the pavement all around me is literally on fire. I’m surrounded b

For their classically on-brand roundup of the 2022 season, Bobby and Alex bring on Stephen Hesson, Lauren Walker, and Jane Ost to run down the dumbest things that happened in baseball this year, including the emergence of Roger Maris, Jr., Dave Kaval yelling at a seagull, The Tony La Russa Experience, an ill-conceived hologram, scoring at the Coliseum, the Great Sunflower Seed Incident That Wasn’t, Phil Castellini’s honesty, and much more.