Books and Ideas

A man fights a losing battle with insomnia by counting sheep, 1940.

A Dispatch From the Land of the “Sleepless” A Dispatch From the Land of the “Sleepless”

A French writer’s memoir of her insomnia tries to understand how central sleep is to cultural and intellectual history.

Mar 28, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Alyse Burnside

Nation Poetry

Remembering a honeymoon hike near Drakes Bay, California, while I cook our dinner at the feet of Colorado's Front Range Remembering a honeymoon hike near Drakes Bay, California, while I cook our dinner at the feet of Colorado's Front Range

Mar 27, 2024 / no-paywall / Camille T. Dungy

The Many Faces of Viet Thanh Nguyen

The Many Faces of Viet Thanh Nguyen The Many Faces of Viet Thanh Nguyen

The Vietnamese American writer’s leap to the mainstream comes at a moment that demands his anti-colonialist perspective.

Mar 25, 2024 / Feature / Mari Uyehara

“The Ricotta Eaters,” Vincenzo Campi (c.1585). Found in the Collection of Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon.

At Mathias Énard’s Table At Mathias Énard’s Table

Set between the 16th and 22nd centuries, The Annual Banquet of the Gravediggers’ Guild is a work of political comedy, fixated on class, climate, food, wine, and the afterlife.

Mar 25, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Dustin Illingworth

Nation Poetry

Walking the Land Walking the Land

Mar 25, 2024 / no-paywall / Paul Guest

Jonathan Glazer holds an Oscars statuette

Hit Dogs Holler: What the Backlash Against Jonathan Glazer Says About Israel’s Defenders Hit Dogs Holler: What the Backlash Against Jonathan Glazer Says About Israel’s Defenders

The Zone of Interest was never a film of purely historical relevance. But when the director made that obvious in his Oscar acceptance, supporters of Israel’s war in Gaza erupted.

Mar 22, 2024 / David Klion

President Trump Hosts Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban At The White House

Far From a Kink, Donald Trump’s Dictator Fetish Puts Him Squarely in the Mainstream Far From a Kink, Donald Trump’s Dictator Fetish Puts Him Squarely in the Mainstream

The American elite has long had a soft spot for “our sons of bitches” like those Trump now befriends.

Mar 22, 2024 / Jeet Heer

The United Farm Worker's 1,000 Mile March, 1975.

How Unions Are Made How Unions Are Made

A new history of labor organizing in Coachella tells us not only the story of the United Farm Workers but also how its rank-and-file members drove the union to success.

Mar 19, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Juan Ignacio Mora

Lucy Sante

Lucy Sante and the Solitude and Solidarity of Transitioning Lucy Sante and the Solitude and Solidarity of Transitioning

In her new memoir, I Heard Her Call My Name, Sante dissects her past in order to understand her future.

Mar 18, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Stephanie Burt

x