September 12, 1880: H.L. Mencken Is Born September 12, 1880: H.L. Mencken Is Born
“What ails liberalism, as a practical scheme of reform, is its naive and irrational belief in law, a superstition that has cursed the human race long enough.”
Sep 12, 2015 / Richard Kreitner
September 10, 1885: Carl Van Doren Is Born September 10, 1885: Carl Van Doren Is Born
“He has labored untiringly to dig the weeds out of the annals of American fiction.”
Sep 10, 2015 / Richard Kreitner
The NFL Must Be Loving the Misleading Sony Hacker Leaks on the Film ‘Concussion’ The NFL Must Be Loving the Misleading Sony Hacker Leaks on the Film ‘Concussion’
The hacked Sony e-mails seem to show that the Concussion film is compromised. But that would be wrong.
Sep 2, 2015 / Dave Zirin
A Retelling: The Clubwomen A Retelling: The Clubwomen
A writer reflects on her grandmothers’ struggles with progress and peril in a changing America.
Sep 2, 2015 / Margo Jefferson
August 30, 1944: Molly Ivins Is Born August 30, 1944: Molly Ivins Is Born
“Molly’s writing reminds us that dissent is what rescues the democracy from a quiet death behind closed doors, that republican self-government, properly understood, is an uproar an...
Aug 30, 2015 / Richard Kreitner
August 18, 1958: Vladimir Nabokov’s ‘Lolita’ Is Published in the US August 18, 1958: Vladimir Nabokov’s ‘Lolita’ Is Published in the US
“Lolita by high art transmutes persons, motives and actions which in ordinary life are considered indecent, into objects of delight, compassion and contemplation.”
Aug 18, 2015 / Richard Kreitner
August 16, 1977: Elvis Presley Dies August 16, 1977: Elvis Presley Dies
The myth of the King “allows us to cling to the notion that art is pure and society is corrupt and corrupting.”
Aug 16, 2015 / Richard Kreitner
August 13, 1899: Alfred Hitchcock is Born August 13, 1899: Alfred Hitchcock is Born
“Even his means are ends.”
Aug 13, 2015 / Richard Kreitner
Where Did the Antiwar Movement Go? Where Did the Antiwar Movement Go?
During Vietnam, it felt like the war sat right on America’s doorstep. Today, we’ve largely disengaged from the terror our military commits.
Aug 11, 2015 / Tom Engelhardt
U2 and the Art of Digital Compromise U2 and the Art of Digital Compromise
How social media brought its own set of troubles to U2’s latest tour.
Aug 7, 2015 / David Hajdu