Culture
Karen Tei Yamashita on Why We Shouldn’t Take Fiction Lightly Karen Tei Yamashita on Why We Shouldn’t Take Fiction Lightly
A conversation with the author about her new book’s regretful relevance amidst escalatingly violent ICE detainments.
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.
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.
AI Is Incapable of Poetry AI Is Incapable of Poetry
It’s incapable of producing anything creative that isn’t dreck.
Books
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.
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.
The Riotous Worlds of Thomas Pynchon The Riotous Worlds of Thomas Pynchon
From “The Crying Lot of 49” to his latest noirs, the American novelist has always proceeded along a track strangely parallel to our own.
Film
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.
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.
May Day Films to Inspire You With Solidarity May Day Films to Inspire You With Solidarity
From Modern Times to Harlan County, USA.
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.
Larry McMurtry’s Tall Tales Larry McMurtry’s Tall Tales
By questioning the myth of the cowboy, he offered a different kind of legend, one more suited to this country and its contradictions.
Television
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.
Waging a Culture War by Promoting Comedic Mediocrity Waging a Culture War by Promoting Comedic Mediocrity
The Ellison family, poised to continue dominating the media landscape with its Warner deal, signs on an infomercial-grade comic to replace Stephen Colbert.
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.
Architecture
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.
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.
The Neoliberalism of Robert A.M. Stern The Neoliberalism of Robert A.M. Stern
The passing of postmodern architecture’s last living holdout marks the end of an era—and reminds us that we’re in a new, worse one.
Music
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
Drowning Out the Noise Drowning Out the Noise
How music became the cathartic refuge for my political frustration.
The Intermediate States of Éliane Radigue The Intermediate States of Éliane Radigue
On the life and work of the pathbreaking French composer.
Bad Bunny’s Stunning Redefinition of “America” Bad Bunny’s Stunning Redefinition of “America”
His joyous, internationalist, worker-centered vision was a declaration of war against Trumpism.
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.”
Publishing
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.
Ishmael Reed on His Diverse Inspirations Ishmael Reed on His Diverse Inspirations
The origins of the Before Columbus Foundation.
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.
Latest in Culture
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
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
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
The Strange Afterlife of Confederate Monuments The Strange Afterlife of Confederate Monuments
“Monuments” an exhibition in Los Angeles, interrogates the changing meanings of Civil War-era statues and their ability to shape historical narrative.
Apr 15, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Pujan Karambeigi
What Is Artificial Intelligence Anyway? What Is Artificial Intelligence Anyway?
Separating out the myths and facts of AI.
Apr 6, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Ben Tarnoff
Alejandro Cartagena’s Mexico in Flux Alejandro Cartagena’s Mexico in Flux
Reminiscent of the New Topographics, the photographs of Cartagena and others captures a country in the midst of a geographic transformation.
Apr 2, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Caroline Tracey