The Irresistible Myth of Las Vegas

The city was designed to be an entertainment capital—and shows up across our entertainment landscape, from “Hacks” to “The Hangover.” How do such cultural overlays shape our understanding of the very real place underneath?

Find anything you save across the site in your account Download a transcript. Listen and subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Wherever You Listen Sign up to receive our weekly cultural-recommendations newsletter. Cities have always been romanticized, but few of them have embraced—or actively engineered—their reputations as thoroughly as Las Vegas. On the second in a series of Critics at Large interview episodes, Alexandra Schwartz talks with her fellow staff writer Nick Paumgarten about how the desert town first branded itself as an entertainment capital, and how that image has been reified in pop culture ever since. The two consider seminal Vegas texts, from Hunter S. Thompson’s 1971 novel, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” to the bro comedy “The Hangover,” and Paumgarten reflects on his recent pilgrimage to see Dead & Company, the latest iteration of the Grateful Dead, during the band’s residency at the Sphere. In theory, a Vegas residency should be a career high—but the expectations around them can also leave an artist trapped in amber. It’s a danger that applies to places as much as people. “How do you reinvent yourself when you’ve achieved this cultural-icon status?” Schwartz asks. “In some ways, I wonder if that’s also a question for the city itself.” Read, watch, and listen with the critics: “Reckoning with the Dead at the Sphere,” by Nick Paumgarten (The New Yorker)“Swingers” (1996)“Double or Quits,” by Dave Hickey (Frieze)“Learning from Las Vegas,” by Robert Venturi, Steven Izenour, and Denise Scott Brown“Viva Las Vegas” (1964)“Leaving Las Vegas” (1995)“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” by Hunter S. Thompson“The Hangover” (2009)“Viva Las Vegas: Elvis Returns to the Stage,” by Ellen Willis (The New Yorker)“Elvis” (2022)“Hacks” (2021-)“Sex and the City” (1998-2004)“Friends” (1994-2004)“Seinfeld” (1989-98) New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. They thought that they’d found the perfect apartment. They weren’t alone. The world’s oldest temple and the dawn of civilization. What happened to the whale from “Free Willy.” It was one of the oldest buildings left downtown. Why not try to save it? The religious right’s leading ghostwriter. After high-school football stars were accused of rape, online vigilantes demanded that justice be served. A comic strip by Alison Bechdel: the seven-minute semi-sadistic workout. Sign up for our daily newsletter to receive the best stories from The New Yorker. Sections More © 2024 Condé Nast. All rights reserved. The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Ad Choices

https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/critics-at-large/the-irresistible-myth-of-las-vegas