Cultural Criticism and Analysis

Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, enjoy music by members of the marching band at Liberty County High School in Hinesville, Georgia, August 28, 2024, as they travel across the state on a two-day campaign bus tour.

The Democrats Are Finally Running a Teacher. What Took Them So Long? The Democrats Are Finally Running a Teacher. What Took Them So Long?

After decades of serving as a punching bag for the party’s neoliberals, public schools and the people who work in them are back in fashion.

Sep 3, 2024 / Jennifer C. Berkshire and Jack Schneider

Two women stand in uniform with their hands behind their back.

Why We Should Honor the Chicano Moratorium Against the War Why We Should Honor the Chicano Moratorium Against the War

On this date 54 years ago, the largest ethnically focussed action in the movement against the Vietnam War took place—offering an important example of the power of a people united....

Aug 29, 2024 / Bill Gallegos

The Genius of Garth Greenwell

The Genius of Garth Greenwell The Genius of Garth Greenwell

Set abroad or at home, in unfamiliar worlds an ocean away or in an intensive care unit in Iowa, Greenwell's novels are songs of the self and of the United States as a whole.

Aug 28, 2024 / Hannah Gold

Buffy (Darren Robinson) of the Fat Boys in Chicago, 1985.

Questlove’s Personal History of Hip-Hop Questlove’s Personal History of Hip-Hop

An elegiac retelling of rap's origins, Hip-Hop Is History also ends with a sense of hope.

Aug 27, 2024 / Bijan Stephen

Then–US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testifying before the Senate Budget Committee in 2009.

The Intractable Puzzle of Growth The Intractable Puzzle of Growth

For more than a century, the key measure of a healthy economy has been its capacity to grow and yet if production and consumption continues to expand at their current rate we migh...

Aug 26, 2024 / Benjamin Kunkel

Guy Davenport, 1997.

Guy Davenport—the Last High Modernist Guy Davenport—the Last High Modernist

In the essays collected in Geography of the Imagination, one can glimpse the inner workings of the mind of a 20th-century literary genius.

Aug 21, 2024 / David Schurman Wallace

One of the bridges over the Gowanus Canal.

The Transformation of Gowanus The Transformation of Gowanus

Can a Superfund site be remade into an experiment for equitable housing and eco-friendly development?

Jul 31, 2024 / Karrie Jacobs

Who let the cats out? Republican vice-presidential nominee J.D. Vance.

J.D. Vance’s Hatred of Cat Ladies Is Weirder and More Dangerous Than You Think J.D. Vance’s Hatred of Cat Ladies Is Weirder and More Dangerous Than You Think

Patriarchy, plutocracy, and ethnonationalism fuel the vice-presidential candidate’s bizarre slur.

Jul 26, 2024 / Jeet Heer

In a 1881 political cartoon, Charles Julius Guiteau approaches President Garfield at the White House to ask for a diplomatic post. Guiteau assassinated Garfield in 1881.

Why Are Presidential Assassins Such Sad Sacks? Why Are Presidential Assassins Such Sad Sacks?

What would-be killers of the US commander in chief have in common is that they aren’t fervent ideologues; they’re outcasts.

Jul 22, 2024 / Zack Budryk

The Radical Politics of the Garden

The Radical Politics of the Garden The Radical Politics of the Garden

An interview with author Olivia Laing.

Jul 1, 2024 / Q&A / Sara Franklin

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