Birth of an Imperial Nation Birth of an Imperial Nation
A new history of 19th-century America captures how the United States was always an empire.
Jan 5, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Gabriel Winant
Polanyi In Our Times Polanyi In Our Times
What the Austro-Hungarian economic theorist tells us about the upheavals of our age.
Dec 22, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Nikil Saval
This Political Theorist Predicted the Rise of Trumpism. His Name Was Hunter S. Thompson. This Political Theorist Predicted the Rise of Trumpism. His Name Was Hunter S. Thompson.
In Hell’s Angels, the gonzo journalist wrote about left-behind people motivated only by “an ethic of total retaliation.” Sound familiar?
Dec 15, 2016 / Feature / Susan McWilliams
The Strange Career of American Exceptionalism The Strange Career of American Exceptionalism
…and Barack Obama’s curious role as its most ardent recent champion and prominent victim.
Dec 6, 2016 / Feature / Greg Grandin
One Flew Over Bellevue One Flew Over Bellevue
As little as David Oshinsky might care to admit it, the idea that Bellevue is a place for “crazies” has stuck in our cultural consciousness.
Dec 3, 2016 / Nathan Smith
The Second Coming of MTV News The Second Coming of MTV News
Its rebirth gives insights into twin trends across the media landscape: prestige and diversity.
Dec 2, 2016 / Wei Tchou
Philip Guston’s Man Beyond Redemption Philip Guston’s Man Beyond Redemption
Guston’s drawings of Richard Nixon stayed private until decades after the artist’s death.
Nov 26, 2016 / Alina Cohen
Darcy James Argue’s Terrific Thrill Darcy James Argue’s Terrific Thrill
A staggeringly ambitious album explores the themes of cultural paranoia and false truth.
Nov 25, 2016 / David Hajdu
Seeing Mars, Seeing Red Seeing Mars, Seeing Red
As the climate warms and this planet of ours continues sprinting toward extinction, we’re seeing the cultural fixation with Mars take center stage.
Nov 19, 2016 / Sam Sax
The Personal Is Political, But Not Always Fictional The Personal Is Political, But Not Always Fictional
What is the novelist Intizar Husain’s theory of Pakistani history?
Nov 19, 2016 / Ratik Asokan