Books & the Arts
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?”
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.
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?
The Apprenticeship of Donald Trump The Apprenticeship of Donald Trump
A new film examines Trump’s formative years under the tutelage of Roy Cohn.
From the Magazine
The Discontents of Michel Houellebecq The Discontents of Michel Houellebecq
What happened to the French novelist?
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…
The Impossible Story of Communism The Impossible Story of Communism
How do you tell the history of a global movement in all its hope and contradiction?
Literary Criticism
Danzy Senna’s Acerbic Satires of Art and Money Danzy Senna’s Acerbic Satires of Art and Money
Having gnawed away at literary and political conventions from within their hallowed forms, Senna has now set her eyes on Hollywood.
Sally Rooney’s Open Question Sally Rooney’s Open Question
In Intermezzo, we get characters acting out their political commitments instead of just talking about them. But is their vision of domestic cooperation enough?
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.
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?
The Intractable Puzzle of Growth The Intractable Puzzle of Growth
For more than a century, the key measure of a healthy economy has been its capacity to grow and yet if production and consumption continues to expand at their current rate we migh…
The Radical Past and Future of Debt Resistance The Radical Past and Future of Debt Resistance
The deep roots of debt relief activism in the United States.
Art & Architecture
The Cosmopolitan Modernism of the Harlem Renaissance The Cosmopolitan Modernism of the Harlem Renaissance
A new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art explores the world-spanning art of the Harlem Renaissance.
Rain and Mountains Rain and Mountains
Pages from a novelist’s notebook.
What’s the Deal With Manhattan’s Pencil-Thin High Rises? What’s the Deal With Manhattan’s Pencil-Thin High Rises?
A walk along 57th Street.
Film & Television
The Empty Promise of “Megalopolis” The Empty Promise of “Megalopolis”
Francis Ford Coppola’s long-awaited magnum opus is a flop.
“Industry”’s Gleeful Critique of Capital “Industry”’s Gleeful Critique of Capital
HBO’s investment banking drama makes a soap opera out of the “useless” but lurid nature of finance.
“Anora,” an American Fantasia “Anora,” an American Fantasia
In Sean Baker’s tragicomic film of a sex worker’s brush with wealth, he evokes auteurs of yore, who focused on the social realities of the country’s outcasts.
Latest in Books & the Arts
The Often Misunderstood History of the Soviet Dissidents The Often Misunderstood History of the Soviet Dissidents
In To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause, historian Benjamin Nathans sheds light on how the protest movement reinvented itself at key junctures and eventually to great effect.
Jan 21, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Michael David-Fox
The Unsettling Genius of David Lynch The Unsettling Genius of David Lynch
In his films, his TV shows, and his paintings, Lynch reminded us that all art gestures toward a world beyond the familiar and comforting.
Jan 17, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Erik Baker
The Introspective Club Hits of Jamie xx The Introspective Club Hits of Jamie xx
With In Waves, Jamie xx—whose real name is James Smith—has perfected what he explored in In Colour: an album full of searching tunes that can double as dance songs.
Jan 16, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Bijan Stephen
Can “Babygirl” Breathe New Life Into a Retrograde Genre? Can “Babygirl” Breathe New Life Into a Retrograde Genre?
The movie, starring Nicole Kidman, operates at the level of the female gaze. Its inversion of erotic thriller tropes leads to fascinating but, at times, tepid results.
Jan 16, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Erin Schwartz
Olga Tokarczuk’s New Rules for Realism Olga Tokarczuk’s New Rules for Realism
In The Empusium, the Polish novelist’s first novel since her Nobel, she pays homage to Thomas Mann in order to redraw the boundaries of the realist novel.
Jan 15, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Jess Cotton
Fady Joudah’s Poetry of Dislocation Fady Joudah’s Poetry of Dislocation
In his new book of poetry, […], the poet, translator, and ER doctor explores Palestinians’ experiences of exile and displacement—and the difficulty of healing amid the ongoing Nak…
Jan 14, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Hussein Omar