Trump’s Phony Trade Wars Are Evidence of American Imperial Decline Trump’s Phony Trade Wars Are Evidence of American Imperial Decline
President’s bullying of allies yields symbolic results—but betrays substantive weakness.
Feb 5, 2025 / Jeet Heer
Vigdis Hjorth and the Novel of Ugly Love Vigdis Hjorth and the Novel of Ugly Love
In If Only, the Norwegian novelist distills a story of romance into all its private discomfort and claustrophobia. Its intense ambivalence in regards to love feels truer to life. ...
Feb 4, 2025 / Books & the Arts / David Schurman Wallace
The Dubious Return of the Brutalists The Dubious Return of the Brutalists
Why the stark 20th-century architectural style is back in vogue.
Feb 3, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Brook
Declaration: Who Gets Redacted ? Declaration: Who Gets Redacted ?
A revolutionary document and evidence of many contradictions in the history of the United States.
Jan 31, 2025 / OppArt / Reginald Dwayne Betts and Titis Kaphar
The Social Critic Who Predicted Big Tech’s Dark Turn The Social Critic Who Predicted Big Tech’s Dark Turn
Theodore Roszak and the perils of technocracy.
Jan 31, 2025 / Peter Richardson and Michael J. Kramer
Devastating Empathy: Jules Feiffer, 1929–2025 Devastating Empathy: Jules Feiffer, 1929–2025
The cartoonist and writer proved that the deadliest skewering is informed by understanding.
The Art of Reading Like a Translator The Art of Reading Like a Translator
In The Philosophy of Translation, Damion Searls investigates the essential differences—and similarities—between the task of the translator and of the writer.
Jan 30, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Lily Meyer
The Reckless Creation of Whiteness The Reckless Creation of Whiteness
In The Unseen Truth, Sarah Lewis examines how an erroneous 18th-century story about the “Caucasian race” led to a centuries of prejudice and misapprehension.
Jan 29, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Erin L. Thompson
The Polymath of Pittsburgh The Polymath of Pittsburgh
Garielle Lutz is one of America’s great writers. Why has her literary genius gone unnoticed?
Jan 28, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Kolitz
CNN Surrenders to Trump CNN Surrenders to Trump
The corporate media’s commitment to fighting autocracy proves fickle.