The Strange State of the Novel in the “Age of Amazon” The Strange State of the Novel in the “Age of Amazon”
A conversation with Mark McGurl about how the company changed the way books are written and the consequences of a service oriented reading culture.
Oct 28, 2021 / Q&A / Hannah Gold
John Keats’s Politics of Pain and Renewal John Keats’s Politics of Pain and Renewal
Anahid Nersessian offers a radical and unforgettable reading of the British writer’s odes—one that upends our sense of his poetic project.
Oct 21, 2021 / Books & the Arts / David B. Hobbs
Jonathan Franzen’s God Jonathan Franzen’s God
A multigenerational saga about a Midwestern family, Crossroads is like most of Franzen novels—with one exception: Every plotline leads to the big guy himself.
Oct 18, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Rumaan Alam
The Unsure State of Asian America The Unsure State of Asian America
A conversation with Jay Caspian Kang about how the term “Asian American” became “mostly meaningless.”
Oct 13, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Rosemarie Ho
Eric Williams and the Tangled History of Capitalism and Slavery Eric Williams and the Tangled History of Capitalism and Slavery
The historian and politician helped transform how several generations understood 18th- and 19th-century history.
Oct 5, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Gerald Horne
Sally Rooney’s Fiction for End Times Sally Rooney’s Fiction for End Times
In her third novel, Rooney does more than just respond to critics; she surveys the wreckage of modern life.
Oct 4, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Tony Tulathimutte
Desire in Our Times: A Conversation With Amia Srinivasan Desire in Our Times: A Conversation With Amia Srinivasan
An interview with the philosopher about her new book, The Right to Sex, the need for more internationalist feminism, the politics of consent, and much more.
Sep 30, 2021 / Q&A / Nawal Arjini
A Novel Caught Between 2 Plagues A Novel Caught Between 2 Plagues
Looking at both the AIDS crisis and the Covid pandemic, Kate Zambreno’s To Write as if Already Dead grapples with how illness changes our conception of self.
Sep 29, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Jamie Hood
David Graeber and David Wengrow’s Anarchist History of Humanity David Graeber and David Wengrow’s Anarchist History of Humanity
In The Dawn of Everything, Graeber and Wengrow offer a sweeping and ambitious exploration of life without the state.
Sep 20, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Immerwahr
Afropessimism and Its Discontents Afropessimism and Its Discontents
A guide for the perplexed, the puzzled, and the politically confused.