Books & the Arts

Then-Prince Charles in India, 1980.

The Ghosts of the British Empire The Ghosts of the British Empire

In his new book Empireland, Sathnam Sanghera examines how the British Empire's pieties and fictions persist to this day.

Apr 18, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Priya Satia

C.L.R. James, Man of Paradox

C.L.R. James, Man of Paradox C.L.R. James, Man of Paradox

A new biography examines the revolutionary possibilities and radical contradictions at the heart of James's life and ideas.

Apr 18, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Gerald Horne

Jenny Odell’s Search for a New Kind of Time

Jenny Odell’s Search for a New Kind of Time Jenny Odell’s Search for a New Kind of Time

Can we escape capitalism's persistent and relentless demand that we turning our waking hours into products and profits?

Apr 18, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Sarah Jaffe

Emma Cline’s Novel of Pool Parties and Class Conflict

Emma Cline’s Novel of Pool Parties and Class Conflict Emma Cline’s Novel of Pool Parties and Class Conflict

Full of suspense and subterfuge, The Guest turns a story about a summer on Long Island into a thriller about what it takes to survive.

Apr 17, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Jennifer Wilson

The Liberal Discontents of Francis Fukuyama

The Liberal Discontents of Francis Fukuyama The Liberal Discontents of Francis Fukuyama

“The End of History?” was more than just commentary; it was an announcement of victory. And yet, nearly a quarter-century later, its author remains unsure if liberalism truly won.

Apr 17, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Bessner

The Palo Alto System

The Palo Alto System The Palo Alto System

Malcolm Harris’s new history of his hometown dispenses with the sentimental lore and examines how it has long been the seedbed for exploitation, chaos, and ecological degradation.

Apr 17, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Jonathan Lethem

A scene from “How to Blow Up a Pipeline”

The First Great Action Movie About Climate Justice? The First Great Action Movie About Climate Justice?

A conversation with Daniel Goldhaber about adapting Andreas Malm's How to Blow Up a Pipeline into a politically-minded thriller. 

Apr 13, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Sam Russek

Edward Norton and Mia Maestro in Extrapolations

The Banal Politics of “Extrapolations” The Banal Politics of “Extrapolations”

The new Apple TV series knows the world is going to shit but is uninterested in the kind of change needed to prevent this from happening.

Apr 12, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Jorge Cotte

The Biting Workplace Comedy of “Party Down”

The Biting Workplace Comedy of “Party Down” The Biting Workplace Comedy of “Party Down”

Returning over a decade after it was originally canceled, the cult series remains a potent satire of meritocracy and Los Angeles.

Apr 11, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Vikram Murthi

View of a deteriorated section of the US-Mexico border wall

Letting Go of the Border Letting Go of the Border

In The Edge of the Plain, James Crawford explores the fragility of borders in a warming planet, and asks how we might challenge the violence they have come to represent.

Apr 10, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Francis Wade

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