Culture

Theodor Adorno giving a lecture at the Goethe-Institut in Rome, 1969.

What Adorno Can Still Teach Us What Adorno Can Still Teach Us

A conversation with Peter Gordon about the enduring influence of the Frankfurt School's leader, the future of critical theory, and his recent book, A Precarious Happiness.

Jan 9, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins

What Do We Want From Bob Dylan’s Story?

What Do We Want From Bob Dylan’s Story? What Do We Want From Bob Dylan’s Story?

In James Mangold's film A Complete Unknown, we get a cautious and reverent story of a musician who has always sought to transcend the limits imposed upon him.

Jan 9, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Sam Adler-Bell

A postcard depicting Vienna in the future, 1905.

Adam Ehrlich Sachs’s Exhibitions of Absurdity Adam Ehrlich Sachs’s Exhibitions of Absurdity

In Gretel and the Great War, an antic epistolary novel set in early 20th-century Austria, the writer tries to make sense of a society gone mad.

Jan 8, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Walker Rutter-Bowman

Donald Trump enjoys a good faux-Hellenic column.

Trump Will Not Make Architecture Great Again Trump Will Not Make Architecture Great Again

Last term, his ill-informed embrace of “traditional” aesthetics fanned the flames of the culture wars. This time, he’s poised to do even more damage.

Jan 7, 2025 / Kate Wagner

Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter in director Robert Eggers’s “Nosferatu.”

Robert Eggers’s “Nosferatu” Is a Modern Gothic Triumph Robert Eggers’s “Nosferatu” Is a Modern Gothic Triumph

The latest adaptation of the silent film classic evokes anxieties at once eternal and contemporary, using one of horror’s ur-texts to dissect race, sex, and power.

Jan 7, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Kelli Weston

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 23, 2023.

The TikTok Case Could Open the Floodgates to More Corporate Influence on the Media The TikTok Case Could Open the Floodgates to More Corporate Influence on the Media

Whether or not we agree with the Biden administration’s arguments, progressives shouldn’t root for the court to rule in favor of Tik Tok.

Jan 6, 2025 / Zephyr Teachout

Juan de la Corte's “The Fire of Troy,” found in the collection of the Museo del Prado, Madrid.

Why Is the Right Obsessed With Epic Poetry? Why Is the Right Obsessed With Epic Poetry?

From Elon Musk to Jordan Peterson, a certain strand of conservatism has recruited the poetry of Homer and Dante in their culture war.

Jan 6, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Orlando Reade

2024: Hottest Year on Record

2024: Hottest Year on Record 2024: Hottest Year on Record

What will 2025 bring?

Jan 2, 2025 / OppArt / Peter Kuper

Blake Lively at the UK gala screening of “It Ends With Us” last summer.

Blake Lively’s Suit Exposes the Twisted World of Hollywood Misogyny Blake Lively’s Suit Exposes the Twisted World of Hollywood Misogyny

The complaint revisits the same gaslighting tactics in the Amber Heard case, and has produced much the same social media fallout. 

Dec 31, 2024 / Ray Epstein

, who received a 20-year sentence

The Misunderstood Vision of KAWS The Misunderstood Vision of KAWS

An exhibition of his impressive collection compels our art critic to ask if we should start taking the world famous street artist’s project more seriously.

Dec 30, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky

x