Culture

Orphans, Girl sewing in a room in an orphanage, Victorian, German 19th Centur

The Problem of the Orphan Plot The Problem of the Orphan Plot

The child welfare system has served as a convenient narrative device for novels, podcasts, and the like. A new book interrogates what we think we know about foster care.

Jul 20, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Emi Nietfeld

Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer writes on a blackboard at Princeton, 1957

May “Oppenheimer” Stimulate Conversation About the Issues He Was Desperate to Speak About May “Oppenheimer” Stimulate Conversation About the Issues He Was Desperate to Speak About

What it means to be a patriot, a scientist, and a heretic.

Jul 19, 2023 / Katrina vanden Heuvel

Martha Graham performing in 1962.

Martha Graham’s Movement Martha Graham’s Movement

A recent biography dives into the choreographer's role as both an artist and figure of early American modernism.

Jul 19, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Emily Hawk

Margot Robbie gives an interview as she attends the European premiere of 'Barbie' at the Cineworld Leicester Square in London, United Kingdom on July 12, 2023.

Barbie Is on the Picket Line Barbie Is on the Picket Line

Don’t be surprised that Margot Robbie backs the SAG-AFTRA strike—she has deep roots in Australia’s labor movement.

Jul 18, 2023 / John Nichols

J. Robert Oppenheimer pointing to an image of the atomic bomb explosion

Why “Oppenheimer” Could Be That Teachable Moment Why “Oppenheimer” Could Be That Teachable Moment

Even if Oppenheimer won’t provide a resolution of our nuclear quandary, it could amplify awareness of the danger too often accepted as normal.

Jul 18, 2023 / John Mecklin

Black and white photo of young people protesting against nuclear weapons, holding sign that reads 'stop nuclear weapons'

Why I Will See “Oppenheimer” Before “Barbie” Why I Will See “Oppenheimer” Before “Barbie”

How my father’s life working to end the nuclear threat influences me.

Jul 18, 2023 / Michele Willens

SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America members picket in front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza on July 17, 2023.

Hollywood Bosses Are Trying to Scare Striking Workers Into Folding. They Won’t Win. Hollywood Bosses Are Trying to Scare Striking Workers Into Folding. They Won’t Win.

The studios are ramping up a campaign of fear in an effort to spook writers like me into taking a bad deal. But we’re not going to fall for it.

Jul 18, 2023 / Josh Gondelman

The Wall

The Wall The Wall

Inhumanity at the US-Mexico border, 2023.

Jul 17, 2023 / OppArt / Laurie Smith

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher announces the union’s strike action at a press conference.

Actors Join Writers on Picket Lines to Fight the Studio Oligarchy Actors Join Writers on Picket Lines to Fight the Studio Oligarchy

The two major Hollywood unions are joining forces for the first time in 63 years. 

Jul 14, 2023 / Ben Schwartz

Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) attends a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee markup on Wednesday, March 15, 2023.

Josh Hawley Gets an “F” in American History Josh Hawley Gets an “F” in American History

The senator from Missouri is spreading misinformation about the past in order to put a Christian nationalist spin on the present.

Jul 13, 2023 / John Nichols

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