Books & the Arts

Berlin, December 22, 1989.

Can the European Union Be Salvaged? Can the European Union Be Salvaged?

New books by Timothy Garton Ash and Loukas Tsoukalis document the moral and political exhaustion of the “EU” generation.

Nov 28, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Mark Mazower

“Untitled (Strike),” Dox Thrash, c. 1940.

The Radical Art of the Depression Years The Radical Art of the Depression Years

By working within the constraints of the WPA, artists like Philip Guston discovered new modes of representation and irony.

Nov 27, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Rachel Hunter Himes

“The Siesta,” by Vincent van Gogh, 1889.

You Have “The Right to Be Lazy” You Have “The Right to Be Lazy”

Paul Lafargue's anti-work manifesto is newly relevant in a time when the very idea of labor is changing.

Nov 23, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Clinton Williamson

The cast of “Reservation Dogs.”

How “Reservation Dogs” Changed the TV Landscape How “Reservation Dogs” Changed the TV Landscape

The pioneering FX show offered a window into contemporary Native life in all its joys and vicissitudes.

Nov 21, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Vikram Murthi

A police officer stands in front of demonstrators during the March for Trans Revolution in Washington Square Park in New York, 2023.

How Gender Is Policed in America How Gender Is Policed in America

Paisley Currah’s wide-ranging study Sex Is as Sex Does examines how transphobia emerged in America as a result of contradictory and self-serving sex classification policies.

Nov 20, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Sam Huber

A scene from the film “Orphans of the Storm” depicting a group carrying a sign bearing the slogan “Liberté, Egalité et Fraternité,” 1921.

The History of Equality: It’s Complicated The History of Equality: It’s Complicated

A conversation with the historian Darrin McMahon about his new book Equality: The History of an Elusive Idea and the strange and contradicting development of the liberal version o...

Nov 16, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Newark Mayor Cory Booker at an educational summit at Rockefeller Plaza, 2010.

The Bipartisan Attack on Public Schools The Bipartisan Attack on Public Schools

In New Jersey, liberal and conservative forces poured resources into the charter school movement. This effort helps explain the woes of the public school system in the country.

Nov 15, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Sam Russek

Santiago, Chile, June 1973.

How Pinochet’s Chile Became a Laboratory for Neoliberalism How Pinochet’s Chile Became a Laboratory for Neoliberalism

A new book examines how a group of University of Chicago–trained economists sought to remake the Chilean economy in the aftermath of 1973.

Nov 14, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Vincent Bevins

Influence and the Rise of Digital Celebrity

Influence and the Rise of Digital Celebrity Influence and the Rise of Digital Celebrity

A history of social media from the perspective of the poster, Taylor Lorenz’s Extremely Online examines the roots and rise of our sponsorship-saturated ecosystem.

Nov 11, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Tarpley Hitt

Donald Trump, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and Vince McMhaon at a press conference before Wrestlemania 23, 2007.

The Misunderstood History of American Wrestling The Misunderstood History of American Wrestling

A recent biography of WWE executive Vince McMahon presents him as an entertainment tycoon who changed culture and politics. The real story of his rise is as banal as it is brutal....

Nov 10, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Nadine Smith

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