Culture

A man takes a photograph at Deng Xiaoping Portrait Square in Shenzhen, China, 2020.

How China Engineered the Next Century How China Engineered the Next Century

Dan Wang argues that the battle between China and the United States is simply a conflict between engineers and lawyers. The situation is much more complicated than that.

Aug 26, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Rollin Hu

A worker in a coal yard inside a coal mine in the Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh, India, 2021.

The Myth of Clean Energy The Myth of Clean Energy

Is all the hope placed in renewables an illusion?

Aug 25, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Trevor Jackson

Trump Wants to Make Art Into a Tool of the State

Trump Wants to Make Art Into a Tool of the State Trump Wants to Make Art Into a Tool of the State

In ordering a review of the Smithsonian, the White House wants to use its power to remake our culture—or to reinvigorate a strain in the culture that has been dormant for a long t...

Aug 22, 2025 / Barry Schwabsky

The Empty Provocations of “Eddington”

The Empty Provocations of “Eddington” The Empty Provocations of “Eddington”

Ari Aster’s farcical western is billed as a send-up of the puerile politics of the Covid years. In reality, it’s a film that seems to have no politics at all.

Aug 21, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Kelli Weston

The Revolutionary Politics of “Andor”

The Revolutionary Politics of “Andor” The Revolutionary Politics of “Andor”

The latest addition to the Star Wars series offers an intricate tale of radicalization and its costs.

Aug 19, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Jorge Cotte

Billy Wilder walks down a London street during the 1969 filming of The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes.

Billy Wilder’s Battle With the Past Billy Wilder’s Battle With the Past

How the fabled Hollywood director confronted survivor’s guilt, the legacies of the Holocaust, and the paradoxes of Zionism.

Aug 18, 2025 / Ben Schwartz

An effigy of President Donald Trump is lowered outside the Pennsylvania State Capitol.

On the Power of Small Acts of Noncompliance On the Power of Small Acts of Noncompliance

At a moment when large-scale resistance can feel futile,
there are other ways to oppose, engage, and fight back.

Aug 18, 2025 / Column / Elie Mystal

Lorna Simpson’s “For Beryl Wright,” 2021.

The Art and Genius of Lorna Simpson The Art and Genius of Lorna Simpson

A new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art tracks what has changed and what has remained the same in the artist’s work.

Aug 18, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Rachel Hunter Himes

Old Ties

Old Ties Old Ties

The hang out route.

Aug 15, 2025 / OppArt / David Plunkert

The Bookstores Bridging Divides in Israel

The Bookstores Bridging Divides in Israel The Bookstores Bridging Divides in Israel

People of goodwill on either side of the horror find unity in the search for a good read.

Aug 15, 2025 / Feature / Eric Orner

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