How Has Islamic Orthodoxy Changed Over Time? How Has Islamic Orthodoxy Changed Over Time?
A new book by the late scholar Shahab Ahmed reveals the capaciousness, complexity, and contradictions of Islam.
Dec 23, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Elias Muhanna
Is Anxiety the Price We Pay For Freedom? Is Anxiety the Price We Pay For Freedom?
The neuroscience of fear is incomplete without an account of philosophy and politics.
Dec 23, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Simon Wolfe Taylor
Dreamers, Drifters, Mopers, and Defeatists Dreamers, Drifters, Mopers, and Defeatists
Adrian Tomine’s universe features a society of contingent values, ill-defined expectations, and diminishing options.
Dec 23, 2015 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu
It’s Time To Stop Ignoring South Korean Abstract Art It’s Time To Stop Ignoring South Korean Abstract Art
Korean monochrome painting, or tansaekhwa, originated in a deep ambivalence about painting.
Dec 17, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky
‘Who Is Going to Believe You?’ ‘Who Is Going to Believe You?’
The fate of Yakub Memon, who was executed last summer by the Indian state, shows that reality needn’t be transfigured for its absurdity to be understood.
Dec 17, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Abhrajyoti Chakraborty
Forget What You’ve Heard: These Were the Ten Best Albums of 2015 Forget What You’ve Heard: These Were the Ten Best Albums of 2015
In a year when sales numbers fell to an all-time low, the quality of music produced was stunningly high.
Dec 17, 2015 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu
Support the Troops… and Support Me Support the Troops… and Support Me
A new history of the military welfare state shows how politicians and military leaders have draped themselves in yellow ribbons to advance their own careers.
Dec 17, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Martha Saxton
Speechbros, Concern Trolls, and the Free-Speech Fraud Speechbros, Concern Trolls, and the Free-Speech Fraud
The anger over ceaseless racial threats has entwined with the recognition of campus as one more zone of unfreedom.
Dec 17, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Joshua Clover
An Opera of Permanent Catastrophe, and of Hope An Opera of Permanent Catastrophe, and of Hope
A new production of Alban Berg’s Lulu reveals the explosive powers still manifest in modern art.
Dec 3, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Peter E. Gordon
What Happens to the Right of Public Assembly in the Absence of Public Space? What Happens to the Right of Public Assembly in the Absence of Public Space?
The mentality of traffic engineering cripples mass transit, and free speech, in New York City.
Dec 3, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Michael Sorkin