Culture

Separation of Church and State: America’s Best Idea Separation of Church and State: America’s Best Idea

Christian nationalists keep forgetting what the country’s founders kept writing down.

Feature / John Fugelsang

The Bald Eagle Perfectly Embodies America’s Flaws The Bald Eagle Perfectly Embodies America’s Flaws

Our national bird isn’t what we believe it to be—but it is the perfect bird for an imperfect country.

Alexandra Tey

The Art of the American Revolution Across the Generations The Art of the American Revolution Across the Generations

The United States’ founding moment from Washington Crossing the Delaware to the paintings of Jacob Lawrence, Kara Walker, and Kent Monkman.

Books & the Arts / Rachel Hunter Himes

Books

The New York Mets celebrating their game 7 win during the 1986 World Series.

The Cruel Optimism of Being a Mets Fan The Cruel Optimism of Being a Mets Fan

A new book by A.M. Gittlitz tells the story of a beloved baseball team.

Books & the Arts / Will Harrison

The Radical Genius of Álvaro Enrigue

The Radical Genius of Álvaro Enrigue The Radical Genius of Álvaro Enrigue

His new novel is as much a work of political philosophy as it is one of fiction.

Books & the Arts / Nicolás Medina Mora

What Happened to Tucker Carlson?

What Happened to Tucker Carlson? What Happened to Tucker Carlson?

The transformation of a once promising, if conservative, magazine journalist into a conspiracy-minded talking head.

Books & the Arts / Chris Lehmann

Film

How Much On-Screen Violence Is Too Much? How Much On-Screen Violence Is Too Much?

I’ve always been a little sensitive about films that depict school shootings. But Kristoffer Borgli’s The Drama was an outlier.

Vikram Murthi

Claire Denis’s Haunting Neocolonial Drama Claire Denis’s Haunting Neocolonial Drama

Compared to her other films, The Fence is a minor work. But it contains within it a set of expansive themes.

Books & the Arts / Lovia Gyarkye

Why Barbara Kopple’s Labor Films Remain As Urgent as Ever Why Barbara Kopple’s Labor Films Remain As Urgent as Ever

As her Oscar-winning labor documentaries return to theaters, Kopple reflects on union-busting, gig work, and her latest film on unions.

Q&A / Ben Schwartz

May Day Films to Inspire You With Solidarity May Day Films to Inspire You With Solidarity

From Modern Times to Harlan County, USA.

Erik Loomis

Television

What’s Behind the Corporate Pillaging of “60 Minutes”

What’s Behind the Corporate Pillaging of “60 Minutes” What’s Behind the Corporate Pillaging of “60 Minutes”

By firing veteran correspondent Scott Pelley, the leaders of CBS News have elevated toadying over truth-telling.

Ben Schwartz

Stephen Colbert on the set of “The Late Show” on CBS on the last night of the show.

Why Losing Colbert Hurts So Much Why Losing Colbert Hurts So Much

Trump would have all his comedian critics fired if he could. But Colbert represents a particular loss.

Ben Schwartz

Right-wing culture-war mascot Shane Gillis at the Netflix comedy roast for Kevin Hart.

How Netflix Cashes In on the Comedy Culture Wars How Netflix Cashes In on the Comedy Culture Wars

The streamer managed to make a celebrity roast for the innocuous comedian Kevin Hart into an ideological free-fire zone—another sign of the Trumpification of pop culture.

Ben Schwartz

Architecture

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shows an artist’s rendering of the arch.

How Trump Got His Tacky Arch Approved How Trump Got His Tacky Arch Approved

Neoclassical revivalists had to sell their souls.

Kate Wagner

The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge spanning New York Harbor.

What Would Happen if You Walked All of New York’s Shoreline? What Would Happen if You Walked All of New York’s Shoreline?

The art and architecture of New York’s vast and sweeping waterfront.

Books & the Arts / Karrie Jacobs

America’s True Fascist Architectural Legacy

America’s True Fascist Architectural Legacy America’s True Fascist Architectural Legacy

It’s not the kitschy White House ballroom—it’s logistics warehouses converted to ICE detention centers.

Column / Kate Wagner

Music

Bruce Springsteen Gave Us Exactly What We Need Right Now Bruce Springsteen Gave Us Exactly What We Need Right Now

His just-finished tour was a cleansing, healing experience—and a morale-boosting call to arms for everyone fighting for our democracy.

Joan Walsh

How De La Soul Changed Hip Hop And The World How De La Soul Changed Hip Hop And The World

Austin McCoy joins the show to discuss his new book on De La Soul

Edge of Sports / Dave Zirin

Drowning Out the Noise Drowning Out the Noise

How music became the cathartic refuge for my political frustration.

Andrew Marzoni

The Intermediate States of Éliane Radigue The Intermediate States of Éliane Radigue

On the life and work of the pathbreaking French composer.

Books & the Arts / Nate Wooley

Publishing

Israeli director Nadav Lapid at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.

The Curious Case of the Nadav Lapid Boycott Campaign The Curious Case of the Nadav Lapid Boycott Campaign

In seeking to punish artists for ties to Israeli organizations, are boycotters choosing the right targets?

Ben Schwartz

Louis Marcoussis, “Le Lecteur,” 1937.

The Rise of the Sensitivity Reader The Rise of the Sensitivity Reader

Adam Szetela’s That Book Is Dangerous! examines the emergence of a new job in publishing—secondary readers who comb through books for possible offenses.

Books & the Arts / Kyle Paoletta

Customers shop for books at the Argosy Book Store, New York City’s oldest independent bookstore, founded in 1925.

Did You Know There’s an Independent Bookstore Revival Underway? Did You Know There’s an Independent Bookstore Revival Underway?

Americans fight back against big tech.

Katrina vanden Heuvel

Latest in Culture

Young Bryce Crawford fans posing in his “I Love Jesus” Waffle House merch.

Why Gen Z Is Turning to Christian Influencers Why Gen Z Is Turning to Christian Influencers

Bryce Crawford, a tattooed Evangelical influencer, built a devoted young following out of algorithms, TikTok despair, and generational loneliness.

May 22, 2026 / StudentNation / Jax Preyer

A copy of the diary of Anne Frank on exhibit Frankfurt, Germany, on March 24, 2017.

The Magical, Mysterious World of Archives The Magical, Mysterious World of Archives

Archives are where forgotten lives, hidden histories, and unfinished stories wait to be rediscovered.

May 20, 2026 / Michele Willens

Washington Wizards' John Wall, left, and NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum, pose for photos after Tatum announced that the Wizards had won the first pick in the NBA basketball draft lottery in Chicago, Sunday, May 10, 2026.

The NBA Lottery, Those Nova Knicks, and Movies We Love to Hate The NBA Lottery, Those Nova Knicks, and Movies We Love to Hate

Arya Shirazi joins the show to talk NBA lottery and movies.

May 13, 2026 / Dave Zirin

Patrisse Cullors: Art Is Liberation

Patrisse Cullors: Art Is Liberation Patrisse Cullors: Art Is Liberation


Black Lives Matter cofounder Patrisse Cullors says cultural work will be the key to shifting the system and imagining a world after MAGA.

May 5, 2026 / Feature / Rebekah Sager

Early movie house interior with audience and piano player, 1913.

Esther Kinsky’s Celluloid Dreams Esther Kinsky’s Celluloid Dreams

In Seeing Further, a novel obsessed with the tactile feeling of arthouse cinema, the sad state of our moviegoing comes into focus.

Apr 28, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Walker Rutter-Bowman

Susan Te Kahurangi King’s “Untitled,” 2022.

Revisiting the Advent of the Abstract Revisiting the Advent of the Abstract

A recent gallery exhibition on abstract art and self-taught artists proposes a new story for the rise of abstraction.

Apr 23, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky

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