How Did We End Up With Our Current Public Defender System? How Did We End Up With Our Current Public Defender System?
Sara Mayeux’s new history highlights how without a more fundamental transformation of criminal law, public defenders often provide only a limited form of equality and fairness befo...
Dec 14, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Matthew Clair
The Long Roots of Endless War The Long Roots of Endless War
A new history shows how the glut of US military bases abroad has led to a constant state of military conflict.
Nov 30, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Immerwahr
The Radical Origins of Self-Help Literature The Radical Origins of Self-Help Literature
How did the genre of self-help go from one focused on collective empowerment to one serving the class hierarchy as it stands?
Nov 17, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Jennifer Wilson
Nicholson Baker’s Maddening Search for the Truth Nicholson Baker’s Maddening Search for the Truth
Denied access to files about the use of biological weapons during the Cold War, the novelist transformed his new book into a study of how America keeps its secrets.
Oct 6, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Charlie Savage
Can the American University Be Saved? Can the American University Be Saved?
Covid-19 has revealed the glaring inequalities of higher ed in the United States and may push the system to the point of crisis.
Sep 8, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Bessner
The Looter Is the Most Misunderstood Figure in American Politics The Looter Is the Most Misunderstood Figure in American Politics
A conversation with Vicky Osterweil about misconceptions around the politics of looting and its radical tradition.
Sep 3, 2020 / Q&A / Stephen Kearse
Why Has Society Failed to Integrate Grief Into Public Life? Why Has Society Failed to Integrate Grief Into Public Life?
We talked to Rachel Kauder Nalebuff about the politics of care, mourning, and her new book, Stages: On Dying, Working, and Feeling.
Mary Gaitskill’s Art of Loneliness Mary Gaitskill’s Art of Loneliness
Through her portraits of solitude, Gaitskill forces us to recognize those moments of subtle connection.
May 5, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Maggie Doherty
How Should Unions Organize? How Should Unions Organize?
In A Collective Bargain, Jane McAlevey makes the case for strike-ready unions and whole worker organizing. But in an age of globalized economies and climate change, is this enough?
May 5, 2020 / Books & the Arts / E. Tammy Kim
The Strange and Often Radical Pursuit of Immortality in Russia The Strange and Often Radical Pursuit of Immortality in Russia
A new book looks at the history of a century-long movement to create life after death.
Mar 30, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Sophie Pinkham