Out of the Ether Out of the Ether
On Mank, Let Them All Talk, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Minari, and more films from the end of 2020.
Dec 30, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
Open Mike Eagle’s Songs of Redemption Open Mike Eagle’s Songs of Redemption
His new album—Anime, Trauma and Divorce—uses rap as a vehicle for self-examination and restoration.
Dec 30, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Stephen Kearse
Random Assignment Random Assignment
It seems to want to rain but can’t. It fades to pink, an argument. Relinquish the dream. You can’t ever get what you want, You can’t please any of the people Any of the time. Time…
Dec 29, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Elisa Gabbert
Apples Apples
The townspeople paste wax apples on the trees, glow shyly out their windows as the Dictator struts past the monument of his father strutting past nothing at all. Yesterday, the Dic…
Dec 29, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Claire Schwartz
What Can We Learn From the 1918 Pandemic? What Can We Learn From the 1918 Pandemic?
A recent history of the pandemic illuminates not just parallels with our moment but how a public health crisis can become a political one as well.
Dec 29, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Richard J. Evans
The Groundbreaking Honesty of Joe Sacco’s Comics Journalism The Groundbreaking Honesty of Joe Sacco’s Comics Journalism
His decades-long project of reportage in graphic form works like oral history—bearing witness to the historical traumas of his subjects.
Dec 28, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Jillian Steinhauer
How Should We Remember Ellis Island? How Should We Remember Ellis Island?
Ellis Island: A People’s History looks at the everyday injustices that have haunted the country’s stance on immigration for centuries.
Dec 22, 2020 / Books & the Arts / J. Howard Rosier
The Frenzied Paris of Virginie Despentes The Frenzied Paris of Virginie Despentes
Her trilogy of novels, Vernon Subutex, tell the story of a city and its inhabitants’ capacity for radical change.
Dec 21, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Jacqueline Feldman
The Best Albums of 2020 The Best Albums of 2020
Our music critic’s 11 favorite pieces of music from this year.
Dec 18, 2020 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu
Shakespeare’s Contentious Conversation With America Shakespeare’s Contentious Conversation With America
James Shapiro’s recent book looks at why Shakespeare has been a mainstay of the cultural and political conflicts of the country since its founding.
Dec 17, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Alisa Solomon