Articles

Trump wearing a mask

Why Trump Doesn’t Wear a Mask Why Trump Doesn’t Wear a Mask

“As any woman can tell you, the masks smear makeup. The president is afraid of makeup stains on his mask and unsightly smears on his photographed face.” —letter to The New York Ti…

Oct 6, 2020 / Column / Calvin Trillin

Yaa Gyasi’s Family Chronicle

Yaa Gyasi’s Family Chronicle Yaa Gyasi’s Family Chronicle

At the center of Gyasi's new novel are the unspoken bonds and tensions between mothers and daughters.

Oct 6, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Lovia Gyarkye

Richard Hofstadter’s Discontents

Richard Hofstadter’s Discontents Richard Hofstadter’s Discontents

Why did the historian come to fear the very movements he once would have celebrated?

Oct 6, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Jeet Heer

America’s Unending Struggle Between Oligarchy and Democracy

America’s Unending Struggle Between Oligarchy and Democracy America’s Unending Struggle Between Oligarchy and Democracy

A new history charts the three-centuries long contest between elites seeking to uphold a racial and economic order that benefits them alone and the forces of democracy seeking to d...

Oct 6, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Manisha Sinha

Nicholson Baker’s Maddening Search for the Truth

Nicholson Baker’s Maddening Search for the Truth Nicholson Baker’s Maddening Search for the Truth

Denied access to files about the use of biological weapons during the Cold War, the novelist transformed his new book into a study of how America keeps its secrets.

Oct 6, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Charlie Savage

Who Will Save the News?

Who Will Save the News? Who Will Save the News?

Victor Pickard’s new book argues that without a public intervention American journalism faces a dire future.

Oct 6, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Anya Schiffrin

Claudia Rankine’s Dialogue With America

Claudia Rankine’s Dialogue With America Claudia Rankine’s Dialogue With America

In Just Us, the poet offers a searing assessment of racism and loneliness in today’s America. But while she’s pessimistic about the present, she’s also hopeful about the future.

Oct 6, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Elias Rodriques

Chinatown Will Recover From the Coronavirus

Chinatown Will Recover From the Coronavirus Chinatown Will Recover From the Coronavirus

But it won’t be the same.

Oct 6, 2020 / Photo Essay / Alan Chin and Magnum Foundation

Trump

Trump Is Getting Away With Much More Than Murder Trump Is Getting Away With Much More Than Murder

Trump boasted in 2016 that he could get away with murder. In the 4 years since, his administration has been responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths.

Oct 6, 2020 / Tom Engelhardt

After Abolition

After Abolition After Abolition

Prisons and cops survive only in tales for the young like twin Atlantises or two drowned boogeymen. A cop’s as harmless a Halloween getup as any monster, while a prisoner costume’s…

Oct 6, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Kyle Carrero Lopez

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