Books and Ideas

Barry Malzberg at ReaderCon in 2010.

Novelist on a Deadline: Barry Malzberg, 1939–2024 Novelist on a Deadline: Barry Malzberg, 1939–2024

A speed demon at the typewriter, Malzberg wrote quickly and brilliantly in a variety of genres including mystery, thrillers, and erotica, but his core work was in science fiction....

Dec 23, 2024 / Jeet Heer

Joe Biden’s Bodyguard of Liars Betrayed American Democracy

Joe Biden’s Bodyguard of Liars Betrayed American Democracy Joe Biden’s Bodyguard of Liars Betrayed American Democracy

Gerontocracy, pro-establishment politics and deception by Democratic Party insiders all helped elect Donald Trump.

Dec 20, 2024 / Jeet Heer

Self-help section at a bookstore.

A Close Reading of Luigi Mangione’s Self-Help Library A Close Reading of Luigi Mangione’s Self-Help Library

A look at the UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter’s social media accounts points to what Americans are inclined to turn to when their government fails to give them sufficient options.

Dec 19, 2024 / Maya Vinokour

A Dance to Jules Feiffer at 95

A Dance to Jules Feiffer at 95 A Dance to Jules Feiffer at 95

Cartoonist and writer Jules Feiffer is a national treasure. To mark his 95th birthday, we had some questions for the longtime Nation contributor.

Dec 19, 2024 / Feature / Peter Kuper

Men imprisoned at the Mafanta Prison peer out at the world. In 2016, Sierra Leone’s Human Rights Commission decried the squalor and lack of rehabilitative programs as “inhumane.”

The Legacy of the British Legal System Continues to Inflict Misery in Sierra Leone The Legacy of the British Legal System Continues to Inflict Misery in Sierra Leone

Decades after independence, colonial-era laws have created a mass-incarceration crisis in Sierra Leone as poor citizens are thrown into prison for the smallest offenses.

Dec 19, 2024 / Feature / Mara Kardas-Nelson

Auctioning Off Judaism’s Past

Auctioning Off Judaism’s Past Auctioning Off Judaism’s Past

As the collections of Sir Moses Montefiore and David Solomon Sassoon go under the hammer today, what's the future for rare books and historic artifacts in the age of generative AI...

Dec 18, 2024 / David Brodsky

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

Nation Poetry

from “Mojave Ghost” from “Mojave Ghost”

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

President Donald Trump pointing in front of an American flag.

Transition Team Methods Transition Team Methods

Dec 17, 2024 / Column / Calvin Trillin

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

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