Books & the Arts
Ben Lerner’s Novel of Fathers and Sons Ben Lerner’s Novel of Fathers and Sons
His most experimental and unsettling book, Transcription as us whether art is futile or the most important weapon we have.
The Worlds of Jamaica Kincaid The Worlds of Jamaica Kincaid
Memory pervades a new collection of nonfiction, and so do the ghosts of empire.
What Is Artificial Intelligence Anyway? What Is Artificial Intelligence Anyway?
Separating out the myths and facts of AI.
Jay McInerney’s Yuppie New York Jay McInerney’s Yuppie New York
The novelist has spent a career mocking and romanticizing the lifestyle of New York’s bourgeoisie. Now, in his latest, he examines them as they come to the end of their lives.
From the Magazine
John Updike, Letter Writer John Updike, Letter Writer
A brilliant prose stylist, confident, amiable, and wonderfully lucid when talking about other people’s problems, Updike rarely confessed or confronted his own.
Harry Haywood and the Radical Politics of Black Communism Harry Haywood and the Radical Politics of Black Communism
For Haywood, a truly radical working-class politics in the United States also required a program of self-determination.
The Riotous Worlds of Thomas Pynchon The Riotous Worlds of Thomas Pynchon
From “The Crying Lot of 49” to his latest noirs, the American novelist has always proceeded along a track strangely parallel to our own.
Literary Criticism
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.
Helen DeWitt and Ilya Gridneff’s Sweeping Anti-War Novel Helen DeWitt and Ilya Gridneff’s Sweeping Anti-War Novel
Your Name Here dramatizes the tensions and possibilities of political art.
Franz Kafka’s Best Friend Franz Kafka’s Best Friend
Kafka’s late story about a philosopher dog, like most of his stories about animals, is really about our lost humanity.
History & Politics
Angelo Herndon and the Radical Politics of Free Speech Angelo Herndon and the Radical Politics of Free Speech
The story ofhis landmark case reminds us of how powerful a popular front of socialists and liberals can be in protecting our civil liberties.
Mahmood Mamdani’s Uganda Mahmood Mamdani’s Uganda
In his new book Slow Poison, the accomplished anthropologist revisits the Idi Amin and Yoweri Museveni years.
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.
Art & Architecture
The Art and Automatons of Kara Walker The Art and Automatons of Kara Walker
Walker’s new installation at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art offers us visions from both the past and future.
The Transformation of the New York Waterfront The Transformation of the New York Waterfront
From the Navy Yard and Industry City to the recent remaking of Bush Terminal, developers are attempting to remake Brooklyn’s coastline.
Film & Television
The Messy Campus Thriller of “After the Hunt” The Messy Campus Thriller of “After the Hunt”
Luca Guadagnino’s films have always asked viewers to turn off their brains when it comes to love and sex. In his new film, he asks the opposite.
The Grand Delusions of “Marty Supreme” The Grand Delusions of “Marty Supreme”
Josh Safdie’s first solo effort, an antic sports movie, revels in a darker side of the American dream.
The Banal Spectacle of “Avatar: Fire and Ash” The Banal Spectacle of “Avatar: Fire and Ash”
Has James Cameron’s epic sci-fi series run aground?
Latest in Books & the Arts
A Climate Change Novel That Questions Everything A Climate Change Novel That Questions Everything
In God and Sex, Jon Raymond has recontextualized timeless novelistic questions—on faith and love—in an era of environmental collapse.
Apr 30, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Jessica Swoboda
Are Magazines Failing to Cover the New World Order? Are Magazines Failing to Cover the New World Order?
A conversation with Gavin Jacobson, one of the founding editors of Equator, a new publication that is trying to make sense of the world after the West.
Apr 29, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins
Esther Kinsky’s Celluloid Dreams Esther Kinsky’s Celluloid Dreams
In Seeing Further, a novel obsessed with the tactile feeling of arthouse cinema, the sad state of our moviegoing comes into focus.
Apr 28, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Walker Rutter-Bowman
Revisiting the Advent of the Abstract Revisiting the Advent of the Abstract
A recent gallery exhibition on abstract art and self-taught artists proposes a new story for the rise of abstraction.
Apr 23, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky
Wolfgang Koeppen—“Poet of Failure” Wolfgang Koeppen—“Poet of Failure”
The German writer’s postwar works were ruthless in their condemnation of a country that, in its inability to reckon with historical atrocity, was beyond reform.
Apr 22, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Pankaj Mishra
The Conflicted Origins of Sociology The Conflicted Origins of Sociology
Kwame Appiah Anthony’s Captive Gods examines how the founders of the discipline responded to a widespread decline in Christianity in the late 19th century.
Apr 20, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Alec Gewirtz