Books and Ideas

Screenshot of Richard Hanania talking to Bryan Caplan

Why Does This Racist Keep Getting Silicon Valley Money? Why Does This Racist Keep Getting Silicon Valley Money?

The charmed life of Richard Hanania.

Aug 11, 2023 / Jeet Heer

Tom Hanks backstage at Late Night With Seth Meyers, 2022.

Why Did Tom Hanks Write a Novel? Why Did Tom Hanks Write a Novel?

And can we understand his vision of Hollywood from this strange artifact?

Aug 10, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Adam Nayman

Walter Benjamin, by Joe Ciardiello.

Walter Benjamin’s Radio Years Walter Benjamin’s Radio Years

After the faculty of philosophy in Frankfurt rejected his dissertation and dashed his hopes for an academic career, the Marxist critic found work as a radio broadcaster. 

Aug 8, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Peter E. Gordon

Brandon Taylor’s Sweeping Novel of Class and Campuses

Brandon Taylor’s Sweeping Novel of Class and Campuses Brandon Taylor’s Sweeping Novel of Class and Campuses

The Late Americans works the way that university towns do. People move in, move out, move on—not everyone gets to meet, but everyone temporarily occupies the same spaces. 

Aug 7, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Sarah Chihaya

The Small-Town Library That Became a Culture War Battleground

The Small-Town Library That Became a Culture War Battleground The Small-Town Library That Became a Culture War Battleground

Throughout the country, far-right groups are trying to control what books kids can read. In Dayton, Wash., they tried to shut down the library altogether.

Aug 7, 2023 / Feature / Sasha Abramsky

When Phallocrats Go Limp

When Phallocrats Go Limp When Phallocrats Go Limp

Adrian Tomine’s dark comedy of ethnic self-hatred and male inadequacy.

Aug 4, 2023 / Jeet Heer

Black Refuge and the Novel of Ideas: A Conversation With Maya Binyam

Black Refuge and the Novel of Ideas: A Conversation With Maya Binyam Black Refuge and the Novel of Ideas: A Conversation With Maya Binyam

“Fiction is so incredibly rife with ethical questions.”

Aug 3, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Rosemarie Ho

A mural by street artist Jorit Agoch, depicting Pier Paolo Pasolini, in the Scampia district of Naples, 2019.

Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Eye Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Eye

For the Italian filmmaker, the act of seeing was its own kind of art.

Aug 2, 2023 / Books & the Arts / T.J. Clark

Sinéad-O'Connor

Sinéad O’Connor (1966–2023): Premature Anti-Fascist Sinéad O’Connor (1966–2023): Premature Anti-Fascist

For years, O’Connor had been raising an alarm about pedophile priests exploiting children with impunity while an enabling Vatican hierarchy looked the other way.

Aug 1, 2023 / Obituary / Margaret Spillane

Cornel West speaking at a lectern

Cornel West: The Christian Socialist Running for President Cornel West: The Christian Socialist Running for President

In an exclusive interview with The Nation, the candidate talks church, state, prophecy—and politics.

Jul 31, 2023 / Q&A / Wen Stephenson

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