Culture

Jafar Panahi’s Scenes From a Crime Jafar Panahi’s Scenes From a Crime

His films show how a regime’s wrongdoing can upend one’s sense of self and transform the very rhythm of daily life.

Books & the Arts / Alex Kong

The Long Shadow of the “Jewish Question” The Long Shadow of the “Jewish Question”

After the Holocaust, Israel was hailed as the solution to an essentially antisemitic debate. Now, as another genocide unfolds—in Gaza—Jews are once again questioning the question….

Feature / Joseph Dana

The Repeating History of US Intervention in Venezuela The Repeating History of US Intervention in Venezuela

A look back at The Nation’s 130 years of articles about Venezuela reveals that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Column / Richard Kreitner

Books

The Riotous Worlds of Thomas Pynchon

The Riotous Worlds of Thomas Pynchon The Riotous Worlds of Thomas Pynchon

From “The Crying Lot of 49” to his latest noirs, the American novelist has always proceeded along a track strangely parallel to our own.

Books & the Arts / Benjamin Kunkel

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Letters From the March 2026 Issue Letters From the March 2026 Issue

Basement books… Kate Wagner replies… Reading Pirandello (online only)… Gus O’Connor replies…

Our Readers, Kate Wagner, and Gus O’Connor

Taipei, June 2025.

How Taiwan Became the Chipmaker for the World How Taiwan Became the Chipmaker for the World

A new book tells the story of the island-nation’s transformation into a central hub for technological development and manufacturing.

Books & the Arts / Yangyang Cheng

Film

The Exposure Therapy of “A Private Life” The Exposure Therapy of “A Private Life”

In her new film, Jodie Foster transforms into a therapist-detective.

Books & the Arts / Lovia Gyarkye

Is it Too Late to Save Hollywood? Is it Too Late to Save Hollywood?

A conversation with A.S. Hamrah about the dispiriting state of the movie business in the post-Covid era.

Books & the Arts / Kyle Paoletta

The Melania in “Melania” Likes Her Gilded Cage Just Fine The Melania in “Melania” Likes Her Gilded Cage Just Fine

The $45 million advertorial abounds in unintended ironies.

Katha Pollitt

Melania at the Multiplex Melania at the Multiplex

Packaging a $75 million bribe from Jeff Bezos as a vapid, content-challenged biopic.

Elizabeth Spiers

Television

“The Pitt” Shows Doctoring Uncensored

“The Pitt” Shows Doctoring Uncensored “The Pitt” Shows Doctoring Uncensored

The second season tackles everything from the role of AI in medicine to Medicaid cuts. But above all, it is about burnout.

Books & the Arts / Zoe Adams

How Big Gaming Is Swallowing Up the Big Game

How Big Gaming Is Swallowing Up the Big Game How Big Gaming Is Swallowing Up the Big Game

The Super Bowl will showcase the lords of legalized betting, even as they’ve already colonized every other reach of human experience.

Matt Alston

A scene in The Paper.

“The Paper” and the Return of the Cubicle Comedy “The Paper” and the Return of the Cubicle Comedy

The new show from the creators of The Office reminds us that their comedic style does now work in every “workplace in the world.”

Books & the Arts / Jorge Cotte

Architecture

Letters Icon

Letters From the March 2026 Issue Letters From the March 2026 Issue

Basement books… Kate Wagner replies… Reading Pirandello (online only)… Gus O’Connor replies…

Our Readers, Kate Wagner, and Gus O’Connor

A migrant worker at a Riyadh construction site.

The Line, a Saudi Megaproject, Is Dead The Line, a Saudi Megaproject, Is Dead

It was always doomed to unravel, but the firms who lent their name to this folly should be held accountable.

Column / Kate Wagner

Donald Trump, October 2025.

The Remaking of Trump’s Washington, DC The Remaking of Trump’s Washington, DC

The ballroom and his other proposed building projects are many things, but they are not exactly works of architecture.

Books & the Arts / Karrie Jacobs

Music

Springsteen Defends the Promised Land Against ICE’s “Gestapo Tactics” Springsteen Defends the Promised Land Against ICE’s “Gestapo Tactics”

Mourning for Renee Nicole Good, the singer decried the Trump administration and the threat to freedom posed by “heavily armed masked federal troops invading an American city.”

John Nichols

Blood Orange’s Sonic Experiments Blood Orange’s Sonic Experiments

Dev Hynes moves between grief and joy in Essex Honey, his most personal album yet.

Books & the Arts / Bijan Stephen

Who’s the Boss? Who’s the Boss?

A bowdlerized biopic of Bruce Springsteen, starring Jeremy Allen White, flattens a musician whose politics and identity are much more complicated.

Books & the Arts / Naomi Gordon-Loebl

The Sonic Risks of PUP and Rico Nasty The Sonic Risks of PUP and Rico Nasty

On their new albums, the punk rockers and rapper break all the rules.

Books & the Arts / Bijan Stephen

Publishing

Ishmael Reed Portrait Oakland

Ishmael Reed on His Diverse Inspirations Ishmael Reed on His Diverse Inspirations

The origins of the Before Columbus Foundation.

Ishmael Reed

Chester Himes’s Harlem Noirs

Chester Himes’s Harlem Noirs Chester Himes’s Harlem Noirs

Himes helped reinvent the idea of the detective novel. He also transformed it into a powerful vehicle for social criticism.

Books & the Arts / Gene Seymour

James Baldwin’s Radical Politics of Love

James Baldwin’s Radical Politics of Love James Baldwin’s Radical Politics of Love

While Baldwin was persecuted in part because of whom he loved, it was love that impelled him to bring about a more utopian future in which such persecution was not possible.

Books & the Arts / Elias Rodriques

Latest in Culture

Molly Crabapple's Time Capsule of Resistance

Molly Crabapple’s Time Capsule of Resistance Molly Crabapple’s Time Capsule of Resistance

A new set of note cards by the artist and writer documents scenes of protest in the 21st century.

Feb 13, 2026 / Molly Crabapple

The Cartoonist, the Director, and the Sex Workers

The Cartoonist, the Director, and the Sex Workers The Cartoonist, the Director, and the Sex Workers

Sook-Yin Lee’s new romantic comedy, Paying for It, explores Platonic love and prostitution.

Jan 29, 2026 / Jeet Heer

A Living Archive of Peter Hujar

A Living Archive of Peter Hujar A Living Archive of Peter Hujar

The director Ira Sachs’s transforms an intimate interview with the photographer into a film about friendship, routine, and why we make art at all.

Jan 27, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Phoebe Chen

Left: Graham Granger after his arraignment outside the court building. Right: The art exhibit, made with the help of AI, by Nick Dwyer.

Meet the Alaska Student Arrested for Eating an AI Art Exhibit Meet the Alaska Student Arrested for Eating an AI Art Exhibit

A conversation with Graham Granger, whose combination of protest and performance art spread beyond campus. “AI chews up and spits out art made by other people.”

Jan 22, 2026 / StudentNation / Colin Warren

Seymour Hersh during his New York Times days.

The Endless Scoops of Seymour Hersh The Endless Scoops of Seymour Hersh

Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus’s Cover-Up explores the life and times of one of America’s greatest investigative reporters.

Jan 14, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Adam Hochschild

The Grand Delusions of “Marty Supreme”

The Grand Delusions of “Marty Supreme” The Grand Delusions of “Marty Supreme”

Josh Safdie’s first solo effort, an antic sports movie, revels in a darker side of the American dream.

Jan 12, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Erin Schwartz

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