Books & the Arts

Paul Thomas Anderson’s Wild American Epic

Paul Thomas Anderson’s Wild American Epic Paul Thomas Anderson’s Wild American Epic

One Battle After Another, a sensational adaptation of a Thomas Pynchon novel, captures the manic energies of a country on the brink.

Sep 25, 2025 / Books & the Arts / John Semley

A 35mm film photo shows an automobile making its way down an empty dirt road in Badlands National Park, 1940.

On the Road With Joe Westmoreland On the Road With Joe Westmoreland

The writer’s only novel, Tramps Like Us, is a classic of queer literature—one that crystallizes the agony and the ecstasy of coming of age during the HIV era.

Sep 25, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Sasha Geffen

A Social Democratic leaflet against capitalism, 1905.

How Capitalism Survives How Capitalism Survives

According to John Cassidy’s century-spanning history Capitalism and Its Critics, the system lives on because of its antagonists.

Sep 24, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Erik Baker

The Problem of Green Capitalism

The Problem of Green Capitalism The Problem of Green Capitalism

A conversation with Thea Riofrancos about her new book Extraction and the hidden cost and obscured history of the capitalist push to monetize the energy transition.

Sep 23, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins

A lithograph illustrating the discovery of iguanodon fossils in Bernissart, Belgium, 1878 (c. 1880).

The Fight Over the Meaning of Fossils The Fight Over the Meaning of Fossils

When the remains of prehistoric creatures were discovered in Europe and the United States, it opened up a vociferous debate on the nature of time and the purpose of science.

Sep 22, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Andrew Katzenstein

Open AI CEO Sam Altman speaks during a talk session with SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son at an event titled “Transforming Business through AI” in Tokyo, Japan, 2025.

The True Threat of OpenAI The True Threat of OpenAI

Karen Hao’s recent book on the company argues that its ambitions are not merely about scale or the market but the creation of a global force that rivals a colonial power of old.

Sep 17, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Andrew Deck

The Lost Souls of the Internet

The Lost Souls of the Internet The Lost Souls of the Internet

In Searches, Vauhini Vara probes the ways that we rely on the Internet and how we periodically attempt to free ourselves from its grip.

Sep 10, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Laila Lalami

Susan Choi’s Big Novel of History

Susan Choi’s Big Novel of History Susan Choi’s Big Novel of History

In Flashlight, Choi examines the tragedies—past and present—that haunt a family living in Japan.

Sep 10, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Sarah Chihaya

The Ghosts of Ingeborg Bachmann

The Ghosts of Ingeborg Bachmann The Ghosts of Ingeborg Bachmann

Haunted by a dark past, the poet and novelist tried to explore the limits of language itself.

Sep 9, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Becca Rothfeld

Joe Biden at a cabinet meeting in 2021.

The Catastrophe of Democratic Foreign Policy The Catastrophe of Democratic Foreign Policy

A new book on the Biden’s wars serves as a stark reminder that the Democrats need to formulate a new foreign policy—as well as reckon with the one they had.

Sep 9, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Matthew Duss

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