Culture
Meet the Alaska Student Arrested for Eating an AI Art Exhibit Meet the Alaska Student Arrested for Eating an AI Art Exhibit
A conversation with Graham Granger, whose combination of protest and performance art spread beyond campus. “AI chews up and spits out art made by other people.”
The Line, a Saudi Megaproject, Is Dead The Line, a Saudi Megaproject, Is Dead
It was always doomed to unravel, but the firms who lent their name to this folly should be held accountable.
Springsteen Defends the Promised Land Against ICE’s “Gestapo Tactics” Springsteen Defends the Promised Land Against ICE’s “Gestapo Tactics”
Mourning for Renee Nicole Good, the singer decried the Trump administration and the threat to freedom posed by “heavily armed masked federal troops invading an American city.”
Is It Possible for Speech to Ever Be Too Free? Is It Possible for Speech to Ever Be Too Free?
A new history explores the political limits as well as possibilities of freedom of speech.
Books
How Taiwan Became the Chipmaker for the World How Taiwan Became the Chipmaker for the World
A new book tells the story of the island-nation’s transformation into a central hub for technological development and manufacturing.
Blood Orange’s Sonic Experiments Blood Orange’s Sonic Experiments
Dev Hynes moves between grief and joy in Essex Honey, his most personal album yet.
Organized Labor at a Crossroads Organized Labor at a Crossroads
How can unions adapt to a new landscape of work?
Film
The Endless Scoops of Seymour Hersh The Endless Scoops of Seymour Hersh
Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus’s Cover-Up explores the life and times of one of America’s greatest investigative reporters.
The Grand Delusions of “Marty Supreme” The Grand Delusions of “Marty Supreme”
Josh Safdie’s first solo effort, an antic sports movie, revels in a darker side of the American dream.
The Banal Spectacle of “Avatar: Fire and Ash” The Banal Spectacle of “Avatar: Fire and Ash”
Has James Cameron’s epic sci-fi series run aground?
Why “The Voice of Hind Rajab” Will Break Your Heart Why “The Voice of Hind Rajab” Will Break Your Heart
A film dramatizing a rescue crew’s attempts to save the 5-year-old Gazan girl might be one of the most affecting movies of the year.
How Laura Poitras Finds the Truth How Laura Poitras Finds the Truth
The director has a knack for getting people to tell her things they’ve never told anyone else—including her latest subject, Seymour Hersh.
Television
“The Paper” and the Return of the Cubicle Comedy “The Paper” and the Return of the Cubicle Comedy
The new show from the creators of The Office reminds us that their comedic style does now work in every “workplace in the world.”
Bari Weiss’s Counter-Journalistic Crusade Targets “60 Minutes” Bari Weiss’s Counter-Journalistic Crusade Targets “60 Minutes”
The new editor in chief at CBS News has shown she’s not merely stupendously unqualified—she’s ideologically opposed to the practice of good journalism.
Rob Reiner’s Legacy Can’t Be Sullied by Trump’s Shameful Attacks Rob Reiner’s Legacy Can’t Be Sullied by Trump’s Shameful Attacks
The late actor and director leaves behind a roster of classic films—and a much safer and juster California.
Architecture
The Line, a Saudi Megaproject, Is Dead The Line, a Saudi Megaproject, Is Dead
It was always doomed to unravel, but the firms who lent their name to this folly should be held accountable.
The Remaking of Trump’s Washington, DC The Remaking of Trump’s Washington, DC
The ballroom and his other proposed building projects are many things, but they are not exactly works of architecture.
The Messy Campus Thriller of “After the Hunt” The Messy Campus Thriller of “After the Hunt”
Luca Guadagnino’s films have always asked viewers to turn off their brains when it comes to love and sex. In his new film, he asks the opposite.
Music
Springsteen Defends the Promised Land Against ICE’s “Gestapo Tactics” Springsteen Defends the Promised Land Against ICE’s “Gestapo Tactics”
Mourning for Renee Nicole Good, the singer decried the Trump administration and the threat to freedom posed by “heavily armed masked federal troops invading an American city.”
Blood Orange’s Sonic Experiments Blood Orange’s Sonic Experiments
Dev Hynes moves between grief and joy in Essex Honey, his most personal album yet.
Who’s the Boss? Who’s the Boss?
A bowdlerized biopic of Bruce Springsteen, starring Jeremy Allen White, flattens a musician whose politics and identity are much more complicated.
The Sonic Risks of PUP and Rico Nasty The Sonic Risks of PUP and Rico Nasty
On their new albums, the punk rockers and rapper break all the rules.
“It’s a Warning, Set to a Dance Beat”: Jon Batiste on His New Song 20 Years After Katrina “It’s a Warning, Set to a Dance Beat”: Jon Batiste on His New Song 20 Years After Katrina
The New Orleans jazz great tells Covering Climate Now, “When you make a song, you want to inspire people, but you also want to let them know what they can do.”
Publishing
Chester Himes’s Harlem Noirs Chester Himes’s Harlem Noirs
Himes helped reinvent the idea of the detective novel. He also transformed it into a powerful vehicle for social criticism.
James Baldwin’s Radical Politics of Love James Baldwin’s Radical Politics of Love
While Baldwin was persecuted in part because of whom he loved, it was love that impelled him to bring about a more utopian future in which such persecution was not possible.
Militarism Has Long Worked to Shield Antisemitism Militarism Has Long Worked to Shield Antisemitism
From the Cold War till Donald Trump, there’s always been a special dispensation for hawkish bigots.
Latest in Culture
Did We Get the History of Modern American Art Wrong? Did We Get the History of Modern American Art Wrong?
The standard story of 1960s arts is one of Abstract Expressionism leading into Pop Art and minimalism. A Whitney show proposes an altogether different one centered on surrealism.
Jan 7, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky
John Wilson at the Met John Wilson at the Met
Drawing from the depths.
Dec 23, 2025 / Margaret Spillane
Helen DeWitt and Ilya Gridneff’s Sweeping Anti-War Novel Helen DeWitt and Ilya Gridneff’s Sweeping Anti-War Novel
Your Name Here dramatizes the tensions and possibilities of political art.
Dec 16, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Jess Bergman
The Slop of Things to Come The Slop of Things to Come
This past week boasted many overhyped AI breakthroughs, but the healthiest one was the fierce repudiation of a contemptuous McDonald’s ad.
Dec 12, 2025 / Matt Alston
One Buyout After Another One Buyout After Another
The multibillion-dollar takeover bids targeting Warner Bros. Discovery show how Trump’s corrupt model of governance-by-payback could destroy Hollywood.
Dec 10, 2025 / Ben Schwartz