Culture
The Worlds of Noam Chomsky The Worlds of Noam Chomsky
If ordinary Americans know one critic of the American Empire, it’s almost certainly Chomsky.
Jimmy Carter’s Biographer on the Late President’s Biggest Regret Jimmy Carter’s Biographer on the Late President’s Biggest Regret
Carter summoned Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat to Camp David to make peace, not apartheid, in the Middle East. But the Israeli president broke his promise to freeze settlements.
What Adorno Can Still Teach Us What Adorno Can Still Teach Us
A conversation with Peter Gordon about the enduring influence of the Frankfurt School’s leader, the future of critical theory, and his recent book, A Precarious Happiness.
What Do We Want From Bob Dylan’s Story? What Do We Want From Bob Dylan’s Story?
In James Mangold’s film A Complete Unknown, we get a cautious and reverent story of a musician who has always sought to transcend the limits imposed upon him.
Books
The Worlds of Noam Chomsky The Worlds of Noam Chomsky
If ordinary Americans know one critic of the American Empire, it’s almost certainly Chomsky.
David Montgomery and the Vitality of Labor History David Montgomery and the Vitality of Labor History
From his first book to his landmark account of the politics of the pre-WWI labor movement, Montgomery explored how people’s experiences of work shaped their political horizons.
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?”
Film
What Do We Want From Bob Dylan’s Story? What Do We Want From Bob Dylan’s Story?
In James Mangold’s film A Complete Unknown, we get a cautious and reverent story of a musician who has always sought to transcend the limits imposed upon him.
What Netflix Has Done to Movies What Netflix Has Done to Movies
On this episode of Tech Won’t Save Us, Will Tavlin on Hollywood, data and deception.
Robert Eggers’s “Nosferatu” Is a Modern Gothic Triumph Robert Eggers’s “Nosferatu” Is a Modern Gothic Triumph
The latest adaptation of the silent film classic evokes anxieties at once eternal and contemporary, using one of horror’s ur-texts to dissect race, sex, and power.
Blake Lively’s Suit Exposes the Twisted World of Hollywood Misogyny Blake Lively’s Suit Exposes the Twisted World of Hollywood Misogyny
The complaint revisits the same gaslighting tactics in the Amber Heard case, and has produced much the same social media fallout.
The Brutalist and the Hidden Work of Architecture “The Brutalist” and the Hidden Work of Architecture
A film about survival, creativity, the hypocrisies of high art, The Brutalist tells a story about an architect who does not exploit and manipulate others to achieve his grand visi…
Television
The Empty Thrills of Alfonso Cuarón’s “Disclaimer” The Empty Thrills of Alfonso Cuarón’s “Disclaimer”
Why did the great Mexican filmmaker make a soapy thriller?
“Industry”’s Gleeful Critique of Capital “Industry”’s Gleeful Critique of Capital
HBO’s investment banking drama makes a soap opera out of the “useless” but lurid nature of finance.
25 Years of Indecision With Jon Stewart 25 Years of Indecision With Jon Stewart
Before he left his post at The Daily Show, Stewart was America’s voice of reason. Times have changed. Has he?
Architecture
Trump Will Not Make Architecture Great Again Trump Will Not Make Architecture Great Again
Last term, his ill-informed embrace of “traditional” aesthetics fanned the flames of the culture wars. This time, he’s poised to do even more damage.
The Brutalist and the Hidden Work of Architecture “The Brutalist” and the Hidden Work of Architecture
A film about survival, creativity, the hypocrisies of high art, The Brutalist tells a story about an architect who does not exploit and manipulate others to achieve his grand visi…
In the Zone of the Rich In the Zone of the Rich
In The Hidden Globe, Atossa Araxia Abrahamian examines what globalization has come to look like for the wealthy.
Music
What Do We Want From Bob Dylan’s Story? What Do We Want From Bob Dylan’s Story?
In James Mangold’s film A Complete Unknown, we get a cautious and reverent story of a musician who has always sought to transcend the limits imposed upon him.
Bob Dylan’s Christmas Album Bob Dylan’s Christmas Album
On this episode of Start Making Sense, Sean Wilentz on a puzzling set of holiday songs.
The Best Albums of 2024 The Best Albums of 2024
This year’s best music, our critic thinks, defied conventions of genre and doctrine, showing how hybrid and fluid the art has become.
Esperanza Spalding and Milton Nascimento’s Endless Reinventions Esperanza Spalding and Milton Nascimento’s Endless Reinventions
In a collaborative work, the two artists find a fusion of old and new that charts a path forward for jazz and pop’s future.
How Kris Kristofferson Beat the Devil How Kris Kristofferson Beat the Devil
The country singer and actor has died at 88. His hard-won political commitments were fundamental to his closely observed, heartfelt writing.
Publishing
Novelist on a Deadline: Barry Malzberg, 1939–2024 Novelist on a Deadline: Barry Malzberg, 1939–2024
A speed demon at the typewriter, Malzberg wrote quickly and brilliantly in a variety of genres including mystery, thrillers, and erotica, but his core work was in science fiction….
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?
The Discontents of Michel Houellebecq The Discontents of Michel Houellebecq
What happened to the French novelist?
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