Culture

William F. Buckley Jr.’s Friends and Enemies

William F. Buckley Jr.’s Friends and Enemies William F. Buckley Jr.’s Friends and Enemies

What was it about Buckley that made him so attractive to liberals—and what was it about liberals that caused them to be attracted to conservative figures like Buckley in the first...

Sep 8, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Jeet Heer

Clint Eastwood at the Cannes Film Festival, 2017.

The Enigma of Clint Eastwood The Enigma of Clint Eastwood

Is he merely a reactionary, or do his films paint a more complicated picture?

Sep 4, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Adam Nayman

A broadside advertising a slave auction outside of Brooke and Hubbard Auctioneers office, Richmond, Virginia, July 23, 1823.

Slavery Was Not Just Forced Labor but Sexual Violence Too Slavery Was Not Just Forced Labor but Sexual Violence Too

Calls to attenuate the brutality of slavery in museum depictions is absurd when our institutions already downplay one of its most horrific features.

Sep 3, 2025 / Channing Gerard Joseph

Tom Cruise repels into the Stade de France during the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris, 2024.

Is Tom Cruise the Last Action Hero? Is Tom Cruise the Last Action Hero?

After a strange, controversial career, he has become one of the few figures who upholds the old rules of Hollywood—where the human body is the greatest special effect.

Sep 3, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Vikram Murthi

Firefighter Jerome Crenshaw wipes sweat away during a break from the recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, September 1, 2005.

The Lessons of Hurricane Katrina Were Obvious From the Moment It Struck The Lessons of Hurricane Katrina Were Obvious From the Moment It Struck

The hurricane told us all we needed to know about disasters in the age of environmental devastation. Only some wanted to listen.

Aug 29, 2025 / Richard Kreitner

“It’s a Warning, Set to a Dance Beat”: Jon Batiste on His New Song  20 Years After Katrina

“It’s a Warning, Set to a Dance Beat”: Jon Batiste on His New Song 20 Years After Katrina “It’s a Warning, Set to a Dance Beat”: Jon Batiste on His New Song 20 Years After Katrina

The New Orleans jazz great tells Covering Climate Now, “When you make a song, you want to inspire people, but you also want to let them know what they can do.”

Aug 28, 2025 / Mark Hertsgaard

No, the White House Is Not Getting a 90,000-Foot Extension

No, the White House Is Not Getting a 90,000-Foot Extension No, the White House Is Not Getting a 90,000-Foot Extension

But Trump’s doomed proposal does give us a revealing glimpse into his state of mind.

Aug 28, 2025 / Kate Wagner

Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins and producers accept the award for Best Play for “Purpose” at the 78th annual Tonys.

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Remakes the Family Drama Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Remakes the Family Drama

His latest work, Purpose, evokes Chekov in its exploration of faith, parents, and politics.

Aug 27, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Alisa Solomon

A man takes a photograph at Deng Xiaoping Portrait Square in Shenzhen, China, 2020.

How China Engineered the Next Century How China Engineered the Next Century

Dan Wang argues that the battle between China and the United States is simply a conflict between engineers and lawyers. The situation is much more complicated than that.

Aug 26, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Rollin Hu

A worker in a coal yard inside a coal mine in the Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh, India, 2021.

The Myth of Clean Energy The Myth of Clean Energy

Is all the hope placed in renewables an illusion?

Aug 25, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Trevor Jackson

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