Books & the Arts
The Cruel World According to Stephen Miller The Cruel World According to Stephen Miller
How did he become the Trump era’s architect of hate?
The Making of a Cold War Spy The Making of a Cold War Spy
The life and work of Frank Wisner, one of the CIA’s founding officers, offers us a portrait of American intelligence’s excesses.
The Workplace Nightmares of “Severance” The Workplace Nightmares of “Severance”
The appeal of the Apple TV+ series is how it dramatizes our alienation from labor.
How Atlanta Became a Walkable City How Atlanta Became a Walkable City
The Beltline and Georgia’s experiment in pedestrian spaces.
From the Magazine
The Making and Remaking of Karl Marx’s “Capital” The Making and Remaking of Karl Marx’s “Capital”
In the first English translation in half a century, Paul Reitter and Paul North distill the essence of the Marxist masterpiece by going back to basics.
The Art and Automatons of Kara Walker The Art and Automatons of Kara Walker
Walker’s new installation at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art offers us visions from both the past and future.
What Happened to the Democratic Party? What Happened to the Democratic Party?
The squalid state of our present political institutions points to a failure of not just individuals but the system as a whole.
Literary Criticism
Isabella Hammad and the Politics of Recognition Isabella Hammad and the Politics of Recognition
In her capacious book of criticism, Recognizing the Stranger, Isabella Hammad asks: “How large is the gulf between us?”
The Discontents of Michel Houellebecq The Discontents of Michel Houellebecq
What happened to the French novelist?
Fady Joudah’s Poetry of Dislocation Fady Joudah’s Poetry of Dislocation
In his new book of poetry, […], the poet, translator, and ER doctor explores Palestinians’ experiences of exile and displacement—and the difficulty of healing amid the ongoing Nak…
History & Politics
The Intractable Puzzle of Growth The Intractable Puzzle of Growth
For more than a century, the key measure of a healthy economy has been its capacity to grow and yet if production and consumption continues to expand at their current rate we migh…
The Radical Past and Future of Debt Resistance The Radical Past and Future of Debt Resistance
The deep roots of debt relief activism in the United States.
The Impossible Story of Communism The Impossible Story of Communism
How do you tell the history of a global movement in all its hope and contradiction?
Art & Architecture
The Cosmopolitan Modernism of the Harlem Renaissance The Cosmopolitan Modernism of the Harlem Renaissance
A new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art explores the world-spanning art of the Harlem Renaissance.
Rain and Mountains Rain and Mountains
Pages from a novelist’s notebook.
What’s the Deal With Manhattan’s Pencil-Thin High Rises? What’s the Deal With Manhattan’s Pencil-Thin High Rises?
A walk along 57th Street.
Film & Television
The Empty Promise of “Megalopolis” The Empty Promise of “Megalopolis”
Francis Ford Coppola’s long-awaited magnum opus is a flop.
“Anora,” an American Fantasia “Anora,” an American Fantasia
In Sean Baker’s tragicomic film of a sex worker’s brush with wealth, he evokes auteurs of yore, who focused on the social realities of the country’s outcasts.
The Apprenticeship of Donald Trump The Apprenticeship of Donald Trump
A new film examines Trump’s formative years under the tutelage of Roy Cohn.
Latest in Books & the Arts
The Poetic Life of the Online Shopper The Poetic Life of the Online Shopper
Kevin Killian’s Selected Amazon Reviews is a tender-hearted look at the art and pathos of consumerism.
Apr 23, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Lauren Stroh
Want to Understand the New Cold War? Look to Huawei. Want to Understand the New Cold War? Look to Huawei.
The tech company has come to symbolize the ongoing struggle between America and China.
Apr 22, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Brett Christophers
The Impossibly Intertwined History of the Americas The Impossibly Intertwined History of the Americas
A conversation with Greg Grandin about his groundbreaking new book America, América: A New History of the New World.
Apr 21, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins
David Cronenberg, Transformed David Cronenberg, Transformed
Two works—a new film, The Shrouds, and a career-spanning monograph by the film critic Violet Lucca—present a more sanguine image of the master of body horror.
Apr 17, 2025 / Books & the Arts / John Semley
Will There Ever Be Another “Great Gatsby”? Will There Ever Be Another “Great Gatsby”?
A century on, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s great Jazz Age novel still speaks to what ails America.
Apr 15, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Mark Chiusano
Sigrid Nunez On and Off the Big Screen Sigrid Nunez On and Off the Big Screen
Two new films—Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door and Scott McGehee and David Siegel’s The Friend—attempt to adapt her work. Do they succeed?
Apr 9, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Sarah Chihaya