Stranger Things, Seasons 1–4 (2016–2022)

This show about freedom is set in the 1980s in Indiana. It had to be. By the mid-2010s, singularity has arrived. By the early 2020s, singularity has tightened its grip on the past; it has started back-propagating.

Post-singularity, Freedom has stayed, but who gets to experience it has changed. Does the entity who exercises freedom today even enjoy it? Is it self-aware? Will it allow season 5 to happen and, if so, in which timeline? The mid-2020s will carry the answer.

"The Lincoln Highway" by Amor Towles (2021)

Towles is an intelligent man. He knows his words. He has things to say, and he says them, wrapped into a story that is American. His characters have character, and agency. They live.

Life is a game. Its equilibria are multiple. It requires a spirit of optimism to coordinate on the better ones. This is the American way, and Towles appears to be unintimidated by it.