Books & the Arts

The Senator Who Took On the CIA

The Senator Who Took On the CIA The Senator Who Took On the CIA

Frank Church and the committee that investigated the US intelligence agencies.

Sep 5, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Adam Hochschild

A scene from “Afire.”

Christian Petzold’s “Afire” Is the Summer’s Most Beguiling Film Christian Petzold’s “Afire” Is the Summer’s Most Beguiling Film

The German director’s latest is a sly comedy about writer’s block, a bad vacation, and the catastrophe of a warming world.

Aug 29, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Phoebe Chen

Nora Ephron’s Divorce Plot

Nora Ephron’s Divorce Plot Nora Ephron’s Divorce Plot

Her only novel, "Heartburn," looked beyond the love story to uncover the limits of bourgeoisie life and marriage itself.

Aug 28, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Dilara O’Neil

What Was Digital Media?

What Was Digital Media? What Was Digital Media?

Ben Smith’s Traffic charts the boom and bust of a new age of online journalism.

Aug 22, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Kevin Lozano

Abandoned buildings in The Bronx.

The Persistence of American Poverty The Persistence of American Poverty

“We could afford to end poverty,” Matthew Desmond tells us. That we don’t is a choice.

Aug 21, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Marcia Chatelain

The Return of Noname

The Return of Noname The Return of Noname

In her new album, Sundial, the rapper melds her activism and artistry seamlessly.

Aug 17, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Stephen Kearse

The “Voyager” stroboscopic headsets, an early VR device, 1991.

The First Great Novel About Virtual Reality? The First Great Novel About Virtual Reality?

Colin Winnette’s disorienting Users examines the limits of morality and imagination as they exist online and in video games.

Aug 16, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Lily Meyer

What It Takes to Be a Public Intellectual

What It Takes to Be a Public Intellectual What It Takes to Be a Public Intellectual

In 2014, Adam Shatz’s “Writers or Missionaries” appeared in The Nation, a piece about his relationship, as a Jewish American journalist, to the political conflicts in the Arab-spea…

Aug 15, 2023 / Books & the Arts / J. Howard Rosier

Agota Kristof, 1991.

Ágota Kristóf and the Agony of the “Enemy” Language Ágota Kristóf and the Agony of the “Enemy” Language

In her memoir, The Illiterate, the formidable Hungarian writer details her lifelong battle with language as a tool of misunderstanding.

Aug 14, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Missouri Williams

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