Books & the Arts

Jürgen Habermas in Berlin, Germany, 2018.

Jürgen Habermas Still Believes in Modernity Jürgen Habermas Still Believes in Modernity

A conversation with the German theorist about the history of Western philosophy and more.

Jul 7, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins

A police officer cordons the entrance to the criminal courts building in New York, where demonstrators protested the acquittal of six transit police officers in the death of graffiti artist Michael Stewart, 1985.

Michael Stewart’s Death Still Haunts New York Michael Stewart’s Death Still Haunts New York

In 1985, police were acquitted in the killing of a graffiti artist and painter, a grisly act that galvanized the city’s art underground. Why has he been forgotten?

Jul 3, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Michael Shorris

Joan Didion, 2007.

Joan Didion Undone Joan Didion Undone

Notes to John, posthumously published journal entries chronicling Didion’s therapy sessions, is a peek into the myths and fears that animated her writing life.

Jul 2, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Emma Hager

Seth Rogen’s Toothless Hollywood Satire

Seth Rogen’s Toothless Hollywood Satire Seth Rogen’s Toothless Hollywood Satire

The Studio is pitched as a send-up of the idiocy of the entertainment industry, but its potshots are harmless, even friendly.

Jun 25, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Vikram Murthi

Exterior of The Bitter End coffee house, a venue specializing in live acoustic folk music, Greenwich Village, New York City, 1960s.

J. Hoberman’s Lost New York J. Hoberman’s Lost New York

In Everything Is Now, the veteran film critic looks back at the downtown art scene of the 1960s.

Jun 24, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Andrew Marzoni

Excerpted from the book “Spent,” provided courtesy of Mariner Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Copyright © 2025 by Alison Bechdel. Reprinted by permission.

Alison Bechdel’s Next Step Alison Bechdel’s Next Step

In Spent, the graphic novelist confronts aging, politics, sex, and what it means to succeed under capitalism.

Jun 23, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Jillian Steinhauer

Wolfgang Streeck, 2024.

The World Wolfgang Streeck Wants The World Wolfgang Streeck Wants

A conversation with the German sociologist about the challenges that face Europe and his polarizing views on how to roll back the excesses of globalization.

Jun 18, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins

Brian Wilson, 1968.

Brian Wilson’s Endless Summer Brian Wilson’s Endless Summer

His music, by turns joyous and melancholy, wide-eyed and masterful, transformed the meaning of pop.

Jun 17, 2025 / Books & the Arts / James Marcus

Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh in “Deli Boys.”

The Slapstick Criminality of Hulu’s “Deli Boys” The Slapstick Criminality of Hulu’s “Deli Boys”

The show is at once a succession story, a riches-to-rags tale, and a buddy comedy about two hapless brothers trying to save their father’s convenience-store empire.

Jun 16, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Jorge Cotte

270 Park Avenue in New York City.

Norman Foster’s 270 Park and the Rise of the New Office Building Norman Foster’s 270 Park and the Rise of the New Office Building

The building's dramatic and dazzling feats of architecture make it appear as if it were hovering above the street. But is that a good thing?

Jun 16, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Karrie Jacobs

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