Books & the Arts

A scene from “Disclaimer.”

The Empty Thrills of Alfonso Cuarón’s “Disclaimer” The Empty Thrills of Alfonso Cuarón’s “Disclaimer”

Why did the great Mexican filmmaker make a soapy thriller?

Dec 19, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Jorge Cotte

The Brutalist and the Hidden Work of Architecture

The Brutalist and the Hidden Work of Architecture "The Brutalist" and the Hidden Work of Architecture

A film about survival, creativity, the hypocrisies of high art, The Brutalist tells a story about an architect who does not exploit and manipulate others to achieve his grand visi...

Dec 18, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Kate Wagner

David Montgomery in a picket line during a 1955 UE strike.

David Montgomery and the Vitality of Labor History David Montgomery and the Vitality of Labor History

From his first book to his landmark account of the politics of the pre-WWI labor movement, Montgomery explored how people’s experiences of work shaped their political horizons.

Dec 17, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Kim Phillips-Fein

Nation Poetry

from “Mojave Ghost” from “Mojave Ghost”

Dec 17, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Forrest Gander

Ethan Herisse as Elwood and Brandon Wilson as Turner in “Nickel Boys.”

The Illusory Beauty of “Nickel Boys” The Illusory Beauty of “Nickel Boys”

An avant-garde adaptation of Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize–winning novel careens between questions of style and substance.

Dec 17, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Stephen Kearse

Isabella Hammad and the Politics of Recognition

Isabella Hammad and the Politics of Recognition Isabella Hammad and the Politics of Recognition

In her capacious book of criticism, Recognizing the Stranger, Isabella Hammad asks: “How large is the gulf between us?”

Dec 16, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Abdelrahman ElGendy

Kamala Harris at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

What Happened to the Democratic Party? What Happened to the Democratic Party?

The squalid state of our present political institutions points to a failure of not just individuals but the system as a whole.

Dec 16, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Chris Lehmann

US congressman, writer, and scientist Ignatius Loyola Donnelly (1831–1901), circa 1863. He was the member of the US House of Representatives from Minnesota’s Second Congressional District. An engraving by G.E. Perine.

The Peculiar Case of Ignatius Donnelly The Peculiar Case of Ignatius Donnelly

The Minnesota politician presents a riddle for historians. He was a beloved populist but also a crackpot conspiracist. Were his politics tainted by his strange beliefs?

Dec 12, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Andrew Katzenstein

Aaron Rodgers of the New York Jets reacts after a play during the second half of an NFL game against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium, 2024.

The Agony of Aaron Rodgers The Agony of Aaron Rodgers

Is he the world’s most interesting athlete or is he just a washed-up crackpot?

Dec 11, 2024 / Books & the Arts / John Semley

A bunch of flowers marks the spot where 40 infants who died in the Bethany mother-and-baby home were buried in unmarked graves at Mount Jerome graveyard in Dublin.

Can You Understand Ireland Through One Family’s Terrible Secret? Can You Understand Ireland Through One Family’s Terrible Secret?

In Missing Persons, Clair Wills's intimate story of institutionalized Irish women and children, shows how a family's history and a nation’s history run in parallel.

Dec 10, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Emily McBride

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