Cultural Criticism and Analysis

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 / Books & the Arts / 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 / Books & the Arts / 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 / Books & the Arts / 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 / Books & the Arts / 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

Central Park Tower, One57, and 111 West 57th Street, 2022.

What’s the Deal With Manhattan’s Pencil-Thin High Rises? What’s the Deal With Manhattan’s Pencil-Thin High Rises?

A walk along 57th Street.

Jun 10, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Karrie Jacobs

The Myths of Anne Carson

The Myths of Anne Carson The Myths of Anne Carson

Throughout her long and prolific career, Carson has specialized in unexpected juxtapositions between modern life and ancient times, contemporary art and the literature of the...

Jun 4, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Emily Wilson

The Enigma of Frantz Fanon

The Enigma of Frantz Fanon The Enigma of Frantz Fanon

A revolutionary and an intellectual, a nationalist and a cosmopolitan, a doctor and a revolutionary, Fanon was always multiple.

Jun 3, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Ken Chen

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