Culture

Tom Tomorrow Cartoon

The Donald Trump Decoder Ring! The Donald Trump Decoder Ring!

What did he really mean when he said “Go back to where you're from”? Now you can find out!

Jul 23, 2019 / Tom Tomorrow

A Forgotten Urdu Epic Is Essential Reading for Understanding the Indian Political Situation

A Forgotten Urdu Epic Is Essential Reading for Understanding the Indian Political Situation A Forgotten Urdu Epic Is Essential Reading for Understanding the Indian Political Situation

Qurratulain Hyder’s newly reissued novel, River of Fire, looks at 2500 years of history to reveal how the subcontinent’s nationalist myths formed and why the region fractured.

Jul 22, 2019 / Kamil Ahsan

The Whitney Biennial’s Flimsy Promises

The Whitney Biennial’s Flimsy Promises The Whitney Biennial’s Flimsy Promises

The show claims to explore questions of sincerity amid a world of fakes, but the shallow results end up reinforcing long-held problems about the museum as an institution.

Jul 22, 2019 / Barry Schwabsky

Philip Roth’s Great American Estate Sale

Philip Roth’s Great American Estate Sale Philip Roth’s Great American Estate Sale

The bidding is sparse, but the late author’s modest effects are revealing.

Jul 19, 2019 / Elizabeth Pochoda

Colson Whitehead Opens Up

Colson Whitehead Opens Up Colson Whitehead Opens Up

In a wide-ranging conversation with The Nation, the author talks about political writing, zombies and horror stories, American history, and his new novel The Nickel Boys.

Jul 19, 2019 / Nawal Arjini

Caroline Shaw and the Shock of the New

Caroline Shaw and the Shock of the New Caroline Shaw and the Shock of the New

The Pulitzer Prize–winning composer turns the history of the string quartet upside down, turning a once fusty form into something adventurous. 

Jul 18, 2019 / David Hajdu

Jackie Robinson

Half a Century Before Colin Kaepernick, Jackie Robinson Said, ‘I Cannot Stand and Sing the Anthem.’ Half a Century Before Colin Kaepernick, Jackie Robinson Said, ‘I Cannot Stand and Sing the Anthem.’

A segregationist senator tried to use Robinson to destroy Paul Robeson. Instead, Robinson called out racism.

Jul 18, 2019 / Peter Dreier

With Its Nuanced Portrayal of Asian American Life, ‘The Farewell’ Shines

With Its Nuanced Portrayal of Asian American Life, ‘The Farewell’ Shines With Its Nuanced Portrayal of Asian American Life, ‘The Farewell’ Shines

Lulu Wang and Awkwafina’s new film shows that complex and diverse Asian American films can succeed in the mainstream.

Jul 17, 2019 / Kristen Yoonsoo Kim

The Migrant Crisis, Through the Eyes of Human Traffickers

The Migrant Crisis, Through the Eyes of Human Traffickers The Migrant Crisis, Through the Eyes of Human Traffickers

Emiliano Monge’s novel Among the Lost leads a reader through the hellish migrant trail from the perspective of its most amoral agents.

Jul 17, 2019 / Books & the Arts / John Washington

Solvitur Ambulando

Solvitur Ambulando Solvitur Ambulando

After the impossibility of the movement of any object through time was raised in light of the fact that, in time’s smallest unit, no motion can take place (which is to say, that an…

Jul 16, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Timothy Donnelly

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