Culture

Robert A.M. Stern gives a construction tour of the George W. Bush Presidential Center.

The Neoliberalism of Robert A.M. Stern The Neoliberalism of Robert A.M. Stern

The passing of postmodern architecture’s last living holdout marks the end of an era—and reminds us that we’re in a new, worse one.

Mar 6, 2026 / Kate Wagner

The late Rev. Jesse Jackson.

In Memoriam: the Rev. Jesse Jackson (1941–2026) In Memoriam: the Rev. Jesse Jackson (1941–2026)

The civil-rights activist and founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition changed what’s possible in politics.

Mar 6, 2026 / Obituary / John Nichols

The Cinema of Societal Collapse

The Cinema of Societal Collapse The Cinema of Societal Collapse

This year’s Oscar-nominated international feature films—especially The Secret Agent and Sirāt—tackle what it means to live and die under tyranny.

Mar 5, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Vikram Murthi

A page taken from the Merriam-Webster's Desktop Dictionary, 2016.

Can the Dictionary Keep Up? Can the Dictionary Keep Up?

In Stefan Fatsis’s capacious, and at times score-settling, personal history of the reference book, he reveals what the dictionary can still tell us about language in modern life

Mar 4, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Lora Kelley

An internet cafe in Beijing, 2007.

Why We Misunderstand the Chinese Internet Why We Misunderstand the Chinese Internet

Journalist Yi-Ling Liu’s The Wall Dancers traces how the Internet affected daily life in China, showing how similar this corner of the Web is to the one experienced in the West.

Mar 3, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Rebecca Liu

The Bad Vibes of “Wuthering Heights”

The Bad Vibes of “Wuthering Heights” The Bad Vibes of “Wuthering Heights”

Keeping its distance from the novel, Emerald Fennell’s film ends up offering us a mirror of our own times.

Mar 2, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Sarah Chihaya

Jesse Jackson, 1983.

Jesse Jackson Reshaped the Democratic Party Jesse Jackson Reshaped the Democratic Party

The candidate may have started as a long-shot contender, but The Nation always took him—and his impact on political history—seriously.

Feb 27, 2026 / Richard Kreitner

A fast-food restaurant in France, 1982.

Has Contemporary Fiction Ignored the Working Class? Has Contemporary Fiction Ignored the Working Class?

Claire Baglin’s bracing On the Clock gives its readers a close look at work behind the fry station, and in the process asks what experiences are missing from mainstream letters.

Feb 26, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Rachel Vorona Cote

Werner Herzog, 1984.

Werner Herzog Between Fact and Fiction Werner Herzog Between Fact and Fiction

The German auteur’s recent book presents a strange, idiosyncratic vision of the concept of “truth,” one that defines how he sees the world and his art.

Feb 25, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Lowry Pressly

Joshua Shaw’s “The Deluge towards Its Close,” 1813.

Do Humans Really Understand the World’s Disorderly Rivers?  Do Humans Really Understand the World’s Disorderly Rivers? 

In James C. Scott’s last book, In Praise of Floods, he questions the limits of human hegemony and our misplaced sense that we have any control over the Earth’s depleted watershed....

Feb 24, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Sherrell

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