The Unfortunate Ugliness of ‘The Last Dance’ The Unfortunate Ugliness of ‘The Last Dance’
Michael Jordan is compelling, but not when his bullying is portrayed as a positive part of his brand.
Apr 22, 2020 / Dave Zirin
Lorraine Hansberry’s Radicalism Lorraine Hansberry’s Radicalism
For the playwright and activist, neither liberal reform nor countercultural art were enough. The very foundations of American democracy needed to be transformed.
Apr 21, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Elias Rodriques
The Making of France’s Presidential System The Making of France’s Presidential System
Focusing on the tensions between top-down reforms and bottom-up democratic discontent, Herrick Chapman’s new history tells a very different story about postwar France.
Feb 18, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Hugo Drochon
John Berger’s Life Between Art and Politics John Berger’s Life Between Art and Politics
Caught between town and country, love and criticism, the English writer’s work tracks the political evolution of his generation.
Feb 3, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Bruce Robbins
Advice, From One Giant of 20th Century Literature to Another Advice, From One Giant of 20th Century Literature to Another
Kurt Vonnegut’s 1967 entreaty to José Donoso.
Dec 16, 2019 / Kurt Vonnegut
Whose Side Is Clarence Thomas On? Whose Side Is Clarence Thomas On?
A new book argues that the Supreme Court justice’s early embrace of black nationalism is central to understanding his politics and jurisprudence. But perhaps far better guides are ...
Oct 29, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Randall Kennedy
Bowe Bergdahl’s Story Was Never Just About One Soldier’s Desertion Bowe Bergdahl’s Story Was Never Just About One Soldier’s Desertion
Matt Farwell and Michael Ames’s American Cipher goes behind the Bergdahl saga to probe America’s imperial past.
Oct 23, 2019 / Lyle Jeremy Rubin
The Contradictions of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. The Contradictions of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
The Supreme Court justice may have been heralded by many of his progressive peers, but the legacy he left behind is far more ambiguous.
Aug 13, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Brenda Wineapple
Richard Holbrooke and the Lost Idealism of a Generation Richard Holbrooke and the Lost Idealism of a Generation
Holbrooke’s public and personal life captures the contradictions of a cohort of liberals that came of age in the 1960s.
Aug 13, 2019 / Books & the Arts / David Klion
The Ugly Myth of the Welfare Queen The Ugly Myth of the Welfare Queen
Josh Levin’s The Queen examines how politicians and the media used Taylor's story to change public opinion around government aid and the poor.
Jul 2, 2019 / Jeremy Lybarger