Books and Ideas

The Finger Lakes Are Being Poisoned

The Finger Lakes Are Being Poisoned The Finger Lakes Are Being Poisoned

The birthplace of American feminism is being buried under a mountain of garbage.

Dec 14, 2021 / Susan Brind Morrow

Stop the Steal rally

A Year on a Hinge of History A Year on a Hinge of History

If we want to save the republic, we will have to do it ourselves.

Dec 13, 2021 / D.D. Guttenplan

The Making of Tom Stoppard

The Making of Tom Stoppard The Making of Tom Stoppard

How mistaken identity and acts of reinvention define the life and work of the British playwright.

Dec 13, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Hannah Gold

Protect Human Rights Day, Every Day

Protect Human Rights Day, Every Day Protect Human Rights Day, Every Day

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed on December 10, 1948. This year’s theme is Equality.

Dec 9, 2021 / OppArt / Andrea Arroyo

The Puzzle of Eco-Fiction

The Puzzle of Eco-Fiction The Puzzle of Eco-Fiction

George R. Stewart’s Storm gives us an ideal model for how to approach the narrative challenges of a story about climate catastrophe.

Dec 9, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Clinton Williamson

Elizabeth Hardwick

Elizabeth Hardwick’s Life of the Mind Elizabeth Hardwick’s Life of the Mind

The first biography of the critic and novelist examines the personal costs of devoting oneself to intellectual pursuit.

Dec 8, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Sarah Wang

When Did Postmodernism End?

When Did Postmodernism End? When Did Postmodernism End?

A new book by Stuart Jeffries claims we never left behind this heady, late-20th-century period of cultural and political expression.

Dec 7, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Andrew Marzoni

The Question Dave Hickey Dared to Ask

The Question Dave Hickey Dared to Ask The Question Dave Hickey Dared to Ask

His work and life were committed to the trickiest of queries: Why do people despise critics?

Dec 6, 2021 / Books & the Arts / David Schurman Wallace

Book Burning in India

The Hindu Right and Attacks on Academic Freedom in the US The Hindu Right and Attacks on Academic Freedom in the US

Every scholar who conducts research on India is aware that their publications are probably being monitored—and that taking a critical position can lead to threats, beatings, and ev...

Dec 1, 2021 / Vinayak Chaturvedi

Stephen Sondheim’s Art

Stephen Sondheim’s Art Stephen Sondheim’s Art

Despite beginning his career at the end of musical theater’s golden age, Sondheim helped bring the form to its artistic zenith.

Dec 1, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Shuja Haider

x