Books and Ideas

The Gilded Age of Magazines

The Gilded Age of Magazines The Gilded Age of Magazines

The decline and fall of the glossy.

Jul 12, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Kevin Lozano

The Democrats at a Crossroads

The Democrats at a Crossroads The Democrats at a Crossroads

Michael Kazin’s new book examines the contradictory past and uncertain future of the Democratic Party.

Jul 11, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Nicholas Lemann

Tom Cruise poses in a navy tuxedo with black bow tie.

The Rise of Bad Art and the Decline of Political Candor The Rise of Bad Art and the Decline of Political Candor

Though the language of cliché has switched from the middle-class respectability of the 1950s to our current obsessions with “inclusion” and concern for the marginalized, the practi...

Jul 11, 2022 / Column / David Bromwich

totem pole shadow

A Different Kind of Trans Book: On Imogen Binnie’s “Nevada” A Different Kind of Trans Book: On Imogen Binnie’s “Nevada”

A classic of new trans lit, this novel wasn’t written to appease a non-trans readership. 

Jul 7, 2022 / Books & the Arts / McKenzie Wark

When Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank Came Out

When Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank Came Out When Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank Came Out

An excerpt from Smahtguy, a graphic biography.

Jul 5, 2022 / Feature / Eric Orner

Cadets at a city festival in Guatemala City

Miguel Ángel Asturias’s Struggle Between Good and Evil Miguel Ángel Asturias’s Struggle Between Good and Evil

His novel Mr. President is a masterwork of political fiction and a prime example of linguistic beauty in the Latin American tradition. 

Jul 5, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Mario Vargas Llosa

The Tricky Politics of Ecological Restoration

The Tricky Politics of Ecological Restoration The Tricky Politics of Ecological Restoration

A conversation with Laura J. Martin about the Cold War origins of environmental management and her book Wild by Design: The Rise of Ecological Restoration. 

Jul 4, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Naomi Elias

Elif Batuman Answers Our Burning Questions About the State of the Novel

Elif Batuman Answers Our Burning Questions About the State of the Novel Elif Batuman Answers Our Burning Questions About the State of the Novel

A conversation about her new book Either/Or, the limits of aesthetic life, and much more. 

Jul 1, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Najwa Jamal

Toe to Toe With “Moby-Dick”

Toe to Toe With “Moby-Dick” Toe to Toe With “Moby-Dick”

Pierre Senges’s avant-garde retelling of Melville's great work asks us what the limits of the novel are. 

Jun 29, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Ryan Ruby

Election Night at the Trump White House

Election Night at the Trump White House Election Night at the Trump White House

’Twas said that finding wise advice Was something Donald Trump had mastered. So who’d he listen to that night? Just Rudy Giuliani, plastered.

Jun 28, 2022 / Column / Calvin Trillin

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