{"podcast":{"title":"Critics at Large | The New Yorker","slug":"critics-at-large-the-new-yorker-6612611","podcast_index_feed_id":6612611,"rss_url":"https://publicfeeds.net/f/5868/critics-at-large","website_url":"https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/critics-at-large","image_url":"https://f.prxu.org/5868/images/d31d50f8-9222-4f9e-85c3-069b023d7612/CAL-TILE-FINAL.jpg","author":"The New Yorker (audio_production@condenast.com)","episode_count":136,"summary":"Critics at Large is a weekly culture podcast from The New Yorker. Every Thursday, the staff writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss current obsessions, classic texts they’re revisiting with fresh eyes, and trends that are emerging across books, television, film, and more. The show runs the gamut of the arts and pop culture, with lively, surprising conversations about everything from Salman Rushdie to “The Real Housewives.” Through rigorous analysis and behind-the-scenes insights into The New Yorker’s reporting, the magazine’s critics help listeners make sense of our moment—and how we got here.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-02T18:19:04.282547+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/critics-at-large-the-new-yorker-6612611"},"episode":{"title":"The Guilty Pleasure of the Heist","slug":"the-guilty-pleasure-of-the-heist","published_at":"2026-04-09T09:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/critics-at-large-the-new-yorker-6612611/the-guilty-pleasure-of-the-heist","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/critics-at-large-the-new-yorker-6612611","url":"https://play.prx.org/listen?ge=prx_5868_5d55d41a-2f28-41d5-b753-e043541298a5&uf=https%3A%2F%2Fpublicfeeds.net%2Ff%2F5868%2Fcritics-at-large","audio_url":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/pdrl.fm/cf3795/tracking.swap.fm/track/uJwtcKQUPuqBQPfusm59/dovetail.prxu.org/5868/5d55d41a-2f28-41d5-b753-e043541298a5/tnycriticsatlarge_040926_RR_heists_v1.mp3","summary":"Last fall, a group of masked men broke into the Louvre in broad daylight and made off with some of France’s crown jewels. The stunt swiftly became an online phenomenon. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss the sordid satisfaction of watching a heist play out, both onscreen and off. They dive into the debacle at the Louvre, along with a range of fictional depictions, from the fantasy of hyper-competence in “ Ocean’s Eleven ” to the theft that goes woefully awry in Kelly Reichardt’s “ The Mastermind .” Part of the fun, it seems, lies in rooting for those who identify and exploit the blind spots of an institution. “Someone else, just like me, is seeing that everybody is an idiot. But, unlike me, they’re able to best those people in charge,” Fry says. “It’s an alternative morality—a morality of wits.” This episode originally aired on November 13, 2025. Read, watch, and listen with the critics: “The Mastermind” (2025) “Ocean’s Eleven” (2001) Stella Webb’s impression of “the Louvre heist Creative Director” Jake Schroeder’s “ Ballad for the Louvre ” “ Showing Up ” (2022) “The Italian Job” (1969) “How to Beat the High Cost of Living” (1980) “Drive” (2011) “ Le Cercle Rouge ” (1970) “This Is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist” (2021) “ Good Time ” (2017) “ George Santos and the Art of the Scam ” ( The New Yorker ) New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts . Critics at Large is a weekly discussion from The New Yorker which explores the latest trends in books, television, film, and more. Join us every Thursday as we make unexpected connections between classic texts and pop culture. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices","meta_description":"Last fall, a group of masked men broke into the Louvre in broad daylight and made off with some of France’s crown jewels. The stunt swiftly became an onli…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2729,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/critics-at-large-the-new-yorker-6612611/episodes/the-guilty-pleasure-of-the-heist/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/critics-at-large-the-new-yorker-6612611/the-guilty-pleasure-of-the-heist.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}