Books & the Arts
The Myths of Anne Carson The Myths of Anne Carson
Throughout her long and prolific career, Carson has specialized in unexpected juxtapositions between modern life and ancient times, contemporary art and the literature of the…
The Enigma of Frantz Fanon The Enigma of Frantz Fanon
A revolutionary and an intellectual, a nationalist and a cosmopolitan, a doctor and a revolutionary, Fanon was always multiple.
Philip Glass, Solo Artist Philip Glass, Solo Artist
In his most recent album, the composer marks a new turn in his style.
The Many Worlds of HBO’s “The Sympathizer” The Many Worlds of HBO’s “The Sympathizer”
The adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel is a study of migration—between identities and countries and also between different historical periods and genres.
From the Magazine
Who Is In Charge in the Biden White House? Who Is In Charge in the Biden White House?
In The Last Politician, Franklin Foer offers a portrait of an administration at odds with itself.
Nell Irvin Painter’s Chronicles of Freedom Nell Irvin Painter’s Chronicles of Freedom
A new career-spanning book offers a portrait of Painter’s career as a historian, essayist, and most recently visual artist.
A Left Between Victory and Defeat A Left Between Victory and Defeat
How can the left escape burning out?
Literary Criticism
Isabella Hammad’s Novel of Art and Exile in Palestine Isabella Hammad’s Novel of Art and Exile in Palestine
Enter the Ghost looks at a group of Palestinians who try to put on a production of Hamlet in the occupied West Bank.
The Magic of Reading Bernard Malamud The Magic of Reading Bernard Malamud
His work, unlike that of Bellow or Roth, focused on the lives of often impoverished Jews in Brooklyn and the Bronx and bestowed on them a literary magic.
Lauren Oyler and the Critic in the Internet Age Lauren Oyler and the Critic in the Internet Age
In No Judgment, the novelist and critic explores the perilous activity of literary criticism in the era of social media.
History & Politics
What Happened to the Democratic Majority? What Happened to the Democratic Majority?
Today the march of class dealignment feels like an inexorable fact of American political life. But is it?
Sara Ahmed and the Joys of Killjoy Feminism Sara Ahmed and the Joys of Killjoy Feminism
To be a feminist killjoy means celebrating a different kind of joy, the joy that comes from doing critical damage to what damages so much of the world.
How Did Joe Biden’s Foreign Policy Go So Off Course? How Did Joe Biden’s Foreign Policy Go So Off Course?
The president set out to chart a more pacific and humane foreign policy after the Trump years but at some point he and his team of advisers lost the plot.
Art & Architecture
How Did Americans Come to Love “Mid-Century Modern”? How Did Americans Come to Love “Mid-Century Modern”?
Solving the riddle of America’s obsession with postwar design and furniture.
Isaac Julien’s Truth Isaac Julien’s Truth
Dealing with time, race, and utopias, his work challenges conventional notions of where film belongs and should be consumed.
What Happened to the 21st-Century City? What Happened to the 21st-Century City?
And how we can save it.
Film & Television
The Genius of Nuri Bilge Ceylan The Genius of Nuri Bilge Ceylan
About Dry Grasses is long, dense, elliptical—and brilliant.
The Only Relationship That Matters in “Challengers” The Only Relationship That Matters in “Challengers”
What truly matters in Luca Guadagnino’s sexed-up tennis thriller is not the love triangle at its center but all the details that surround it.
The Unanswered Questions of “True Detective” The Unanswered Questions of “True Detective”
Like a Raymond Chandler detective story, Night Country ultimately wants to turn its audience’s attention away from the mysteries of the dead toward those of the living.
Latest in Books & the Arts
The Man Hồ Chí Minh Once Was The Man Hồ Chí Minh Once Was
Joseph Andras’s novel on the Vietnamese revolutionary’s salad days in Paris imagines how a young radical became an icon.
Jun 27, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Terry Nguyễn
Down in the Dirt With Elfriede Jelinek Down in the Dirt With Elfriede Jelinek
A long awaited English translation of her shocking magnum opus, The Children of the Dead, asks its readers to look at the violent history buried just beneath their feet.
Jun 26, 2024 / Books & the Arts / John Semley
A Fantasy of Post-Generational Politics A Fantasy of Post-Generational Politics
A recent book argues that reordering the stages of work and life—including retirement—could eradicate conflicts between generations, while ignoring the real issues that divide us….
Jun 25, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Julian Epp
Time, Space, and Annie Baker Time, Space, and Annie Baker
The playwright’s remarkable debut film, Janet Planet, immerses the viewer in the sounds and sorrow of a middle-schooler’s endless summer.
Jun 24, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Nora Caplan-Bricker
Christopher Bollen’s Cairo Thriller Christopher Bollen’s Cairo Thriller
The Lost Americans captures the atmosphere of paranoia and surveillance in the years since 2013.
Jun 20, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Hussein Omar
Who Really Suffers When the Supply Chain Is in Crisis? Who Really Suffers When the Supply Chain Is in Crisis?
Peter S. Goodman’s recent book on the pandemic’s effect on global rhythms of supply and demand tries to answer why “the world ran out of everything.”
Jun 18, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Brett Christophers