Books and Ideas

Donald Trump speaks before a crowd of supporters.

The Dickensian Politics of Trump and His Fellow Scrooges The Dickensian Politics of Trump and His Fellow Scrooges

Political misers still refuse to make it their business to improve the lot of the working poor.

Dec 24, 2015 / John Nichols

Shahab Ahmed.

How Has Islamic Orthodoxy Changed Over Time? How Has Islamic Orthodoxy Changed Over Time?

A new book by the late scholar Shahab Ahmed reveals the capaciousness, complexity, and contradictions of Islam.

Dec 23, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Elias Muhanna

Joseph LeDoux.

Is Anxiety the Price We Pay For Freedom? Is Anxiety the Price We Pay For Freedom?

The neuroscience of fear is incomplete without an account of philosophy and politics.

Dec 23, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Simon Wolfe Taylor

Dreamers, Drifters, Mopers, and Defeatists

Dreamers, Drifters, Mopers, and Defeatists Dreamers, Drifters, Mopers, and Defeatists

Adrian Tomine’s universe features a society of contingent values, ill-defined expectations, and diminishing options.

Dec 23, 2015 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu

This Modern World

This Modern World This Modern World

ignore this…

Dec 23, 2015 / Tom Tomorrow

Representative-elect Bernie Sanders at an orientation for Congressional freshmen, November 28, 1990.

When the Berlin Wall Fell, Bernie Sanders Didn’t Respond Like Other Politicians When the Berlin Wall Fell, Bernie Sanders Didn’t Respond Like Other Politicians

Instead of heralding “the end of history,” Sanders called on Americans to take the revolutions of 1989 as a model.

Dec 22, 2015 / Richard Kreitner

December 21, 1892: Rebecca West Is Born

December 21, 1892: Rebecca West Is Born December 21, 1892: Rebecca West Is Born

“Pleasure is not arbitrary; it is the sign by which the human organization shows that it is performing a function which it finds appropriate to its means and ends.”

Dec 21, 2015 / Richard Kreitner

December 20, 1968: John Steinbeck Dies

December 20, 1968: John Steinbeck Dies December 20, 1968: John Steinbeck Dies

“I have no doubt that, being human, he enjoys praise, but he has consistently shunned the mechanics and functionaries of publicity.”

Dec 20, 2015 / Richard Kreitner

Tony Kushner, Eve Ensler, Bill McKibben, and Calvin Trillin Join Katrina vanden Heuvel for a Stunning Tribute to the 150th Anniversary of ‘The Nation’

Tony Kushner, Eve Ensler, Bill McKibben, and Calvin Trillin Join Katrina vanden Heuvel for a Stunning Tribute to the 150th Anniversary of ‘The Nation’ Tony Kushner, Eve Ensler, Bill McKibben, and Calvin Trillin Join Katrina vanden Heuvel for a Stunning Tribute to the 150th Anniversary of ‘The Nation’

Watch the sold-out show at St. Ann’s Warehouse, recorded on October 24, 2015.

Dec 17, 2015 / The Nation

US Army Joint Chiefs General William C. Westmoreland, 1972.

Support the Troops… and Support Me Support the Troops… and Support Me

A new history of the military welfare state shows how politicians and military leaders have draped themselves in yellow ribbons to advance their own careers.

Dec 17, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Martha Saxton

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