The Best Albums of 2021 The Best Albums of 2021
Our music critic’s 10 favorite pieces of music from this year.
Dec 24, 2021 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu
Alfred Döblin’s Surreal Foray Into Climate Fiction Alfred Döblin’s Surreal Foray Into Climate Fiction
The 20th-century German writer’s novel Mountains Oceans Giants is a stunning and strange look into what an environmental apocalypse might look like.
Dec 21, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Joe Bucciero
What’s New in the New “West Side Story”? What’s New in the New “West Side Story”?
In Steven Spielberg’s version, we get a film that offers a far more inclusive vision of postwar America but one that still retains its flawed view of working-class tribalism.
Dec 20, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Ed Morales
The Startling Postcolonial Poetics of “Coolitude” The Startling Postcolonial Poetics of “Coolitude”
Khal Thorabully’s epic poem “re-voices” the history of Indian indentured migration, and in the process imagines a new kind of transoceanic political solidarity.
Dec 16, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Aditya Bahl
The Last Days of the Beatles The Last Days of the Beatles
Does Peter Jackson’s eight-hour documentary give us the fullest picture of the band’s late history?
Dec 15, 2021 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu
What Is the Relationship Between Democracy and Authoritarianism? What Is the Relationship Between Democracy and Authoritarianism?
The Age of Revolution inaugurate a new era in modern history defined not only by new democratic institutions but also by despots and charismatic leaders.
Dec 14, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Tyler Stovall
The Making of Tom Stoppard The Making of Tom Stoppard
How mistaken identity and acts of reinvention define the life and work of the British playwright.
Dec 13, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Hannah Gold
The Puzzle of Eco-Fiction The Puzzle of Eco-Fiction
George R. Stewart’s Storm gives us an ideal model for how to approach the narrative challenges of a story about climate catastrophe.
Dec 9, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Clinton Williamson
Elizabeth Hardwick’s Life of the Mind Elizabeth Hardwick’s Life of the Mind
The first biography of the critic and novelist examines the personal costs of devoting oneself to intellectual pursuit.
Dec 8, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Sarah Wang
When Did Postmodernism End? When Did Postmodernism End?
A new book by Stuart Jeffries claims we never left behind this heady, late-20th-century period of cultural and political expression.
Dec 7, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Andrew Marzoni