Mary McCarthy’s Unsparing Honesty Mary McCarthy’s Unsparing Honesty
For McCarthy, accuracy was more than just a literary aesthetic; it was a moral and political position.
Dec 28, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Maggie Doherty
Arbitrary Rule Arbitrary Rule
A new work of political theory captures the workplace power dynamics behind sexual harassment.
Dec 27, 2017 / Books & the Arts / J.C. Pan
The Marvel of Cécile McLorin Salvant The Marvel of Cécile McLorin Salvant
How wonderful, and strange, that a jazz singer can achieve such stardom nowadays.
Dec 26, 2017 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu
What Films to See Over the Holidays What Films to See Over the Holidays
The spectacle of Alexander Payne’s Downsizing, the anti-Trump propaganda of Steven Spielberg’s The Post, an inexplicable period melodrama by Paul Thomas Anderson, and more.
Dec 21, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
Before Romare Bearden’s Collages Before Romare Bearden’s Collages
The painter’s little-known abstract period was not an end, but a method of discovery.
Dec 21, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky
Errol Morris’s Paranoid Style Errol Morris’s Paranoid Style
In Wormwood, the filmmaker reminds us that sometimes skepticism is the only thing we can trust.
Dec 18, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Evan Kindley
Lil Peep’s Optimist Love Songs Lil Peep’s Optimist Love Songs
Gustav Åhr was emo-rap’s most visible representative and the genre’s most mainstream success, but what set his music apart was not its despair but its deep sense of hope.
Dec 15, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Bijan Stephen
Lincoln, Midnight Lincoln, Midnight
Never have I seen such majestic shins. He is pensive, frock coat unbuttoned, larger than once planned, and if he were to stand his head would nearly scrape the ceiling. What if tha…
Dec 14, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Sandra Beasley
The Candle of Memory The Candle of Memory
Anne Applebaum's new history of the Ukrainian famine illustrates the perils of using the past in service of today's politics.
Dec 14, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Sophie Pinkham
The Second Klan The Second Klan
Linda Gordon’s new book captures how white supremacy has long been part of our political mainstream.
Dec 13, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Kevin M. Kruse