Literary Criticism

The Triumphs and Travails of American Marxism

The Triumphs and Travails of American Marxism The Triumphs and Travails of American Marxism

Karl Marx never visited the United States, but he and his ideas left an imprint nonetheless.

Oct 13, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Robin Blackburn

Kamala Harris at a campaign rally, 2024.

The Shortest Presidential Campaign The Shortest Presidential Campaign

Kamala Harris’s 107 Days offers a devastating indictment of Joe Biden. It also documents the limits of her own politics.

Sep 26, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Jeet Heer

The Lost Souls of the Internet

The Lost Souls of the Internet The Lost Souls of the Internet

In Searches, Vauhini Vara probes the ways that we rely on the Internet and how we periodically attempt to free ourselves from its grip.

Sep 10, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Laila Lalami

Susan Choi’s Big Novel of History

Susan Choi’s Big Novel of History Susan Choi’s Big Novel of History

In Flashlight, Choi examines the tragedies—past and present—that haunt a family living in Japan.

Sep 10, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Sarah Chihaya

The Ghosts of Ingeborg Bachmann

The Ghosts of Ingeborg Bachmann The Ghosts of Ingeborg Bachmann

Haunted by a dark past, the poet and novelist tried to explore the limits of language itself.

Sep 9, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Becca Rothfeld

Joe Biden at a cabinet meeting in 2021.

The Catastrophe of Democratic Foreign Policy The Catastrophe of Democratic Foreign Policy

A new book on the Biden’s wars serves as a stark reminder that the Democrats need to formulate a new foreign policy—as well as reckon with the one they had.

Sep 9, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Matthew Duss

James Baldwin’s Radical Politics of Love

James Baldwin’s Radical Politics of Love James Baldwin’s Radical Politics of Love

While Baldwin was persecuted in part because of whom he loved, it was love that impelled him to bring about a more utopian future in which such persecution was not possible.

Sep 9, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Elias Rodriques

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

Catherine Lacey’s Missed Connections

Catherine Lacey’s Missed Connections Catherine Lacey’s Missed Connections

In her most personal work, The Möbius Book, Lacey uses a devastating moment of heartbreak to ruminate on the messy intersections between life and writing.

Aug 13, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Alana Pockros

Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn at a HUAC hearing.

Red Scares, Past and Present Red Scares, Past and Present

What are the parallels between the rise of McCarthyism in the 1950s and today? 

Aug 12, 2025 / Books & the Arts / David Cole

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