Books & the Arts

White Lotus.

Who’s to Blame in “The White Lotus”? Who’s to Blame in “The White Lotus”?

In the weeks since the release of Mike White’s latest HBO series, debate has centered on the show’s politics. Is it liberal satire or spectacle? 

Sep 15, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Vikram Murthi

blizzard protest video games

How Making Video Games Became a No-Win Situation How Making Video Games Became a No-Win Situation

Jason Schreier’s Press Reset investigates how labor conditions in a booming industry became so volatile and precarious.

Sep 14, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Lewis Gordon

Adalbert Stifter’s View of Oberplan

Adalbert Stifter’s Disappearing World Adalbert Stifter’s Disappearing World

His uncanny writing bears witness to the early stages of capitalism offering a glimpse of the natural world before modernity.

Sep 13, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Ratik Asokan

Nation Poetry

The Board Meeting The Board Meeting

There was a meeting. They had an agenda. It was time to talk about loving a man in the supermarket, how that might affect sales of imported candy and levels of light in the produce…

Sep 9, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Heather Christle

What Is Owed

What Is Owed What Is Owed

William Darity and A. Kirsten Mullen’s case for reparations.

Sep 8, 2021 / Books & the Arts / William P. Jones

In the Shadow of 9/11

In the Shadow of 9/11 In the Shadow of 9/11

Did the War on Terror put our democracy at risk—or reveal its flaws?

Sep 7, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Samuel Moyn

The Politics of Viruses

The Politics of Viruses The Politics of Viruses

Carl Zimmer and what popular science writing often misses.

Sep 7, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Danielle Carr

Can “Lottocracy” Save Democracy From Itself?

Can “Lottocracy” Save Democracy From Itself? Can “Lottocracy” Save Democracy From Itself?

Hélène Landemore’s new book argues that we need a new, more inclusive system of governance that is less elitist and more participatory to cure what ails democracy.

Sep 1, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins

Paradise fire

How Do You Tell the Story of a Fire? How Do You Tell the Story of a Fire?

A conversation with reporter Lizzie Johnson about the aftermath of wildfires and the human cost of neglected infrastructure.     

Sep 1, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Emma Hager

Fantastical creatures inflicting pain upon the head of a man.

The Rhetoric of Pop Psychology The Rhetoric of Pop Psychology

Jesse Singal’s takedown of trendy science aimed at fixing human behavior in The Quick Fix reveals the limits of a certain strand of journalism.

Aug 31, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Jeremy Gordon

x