A New Continuum of Art History at the Carnegie International

The long-running exhibition of international art offers an indispensable lesson in art outside the bounds of America’s reach and a different way to see history.

Barry Schwabsky

What’s the Matter With Contemporary Architecture?

In his new book, Reinier de Graaf attempts to work out why his profession appears to be at an impasse.

Marianela D’Aprile

The Hidden Treasures of Pirate Democracy

In his final book, David Graeber looks at an experiment in radical democracy and piratical justice in Madagascar.

Marcus Rediker

Brother Leaves Voicemails from CPEP 

Alexandra Watson

The Defiance of Cormac McCarthy’s Late Style

In Stella Maris and The Passenger, McCarthy invites us to consider hopelessness not just to give us hope but to compel us to make use of it.

Nicolás Medina Mora

Beautiful, Lonely, and Degraded: Gavin Lambert’s LA

In his 1979 novel The Goodby People, he finds a picturesque city defined by its sense of disconnection and immense sadness.

Kate Wolf

The Obscene Invention of California Capitalism

A conversation with Malcolm Harris about his new history of Silicon Valley, Palo Alto, the West Coast’s settler ideology, and recent turbulence in the world of tech.

Emma Hager

Down and Out in Paris With Rainer Maria Rilke

In The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge, the German poet’s only novel, a young artist contends with the contradictions of urban experience and the dream of pastoral life 

Ratik Asokan

The Reckless History of the Automobile

In The Car, Bryan Appleyard sets out to celebrate the freedom these vehicles granted. But what if they were a dangerous technology from the start?

Paris Marx

The Many Labyrinths of Alejandro Iñarritu’s Oscar-Nominated “Bardo”

Disjointed, unnerving, and divisive, Bardo challenges its viewers to make sense of it.

Ilan Stavans