Culture
The Introspective Club Hits of Jamie xx The Introspective Club Hits of Jamie xx
With In Waves, Jamie xx—whose real name is James Smith—has perfected what he explored in In Colour: an album full of searching tunes that can double as dance songs.
Can “Babygirl” Breathe New Life Into a Retrograde Genre? Can “Babygirl” Breathe New Life Into a Retrograde Genre?
The movie, starring Nicole Kidman, operates at the level of the female gaze. Its inversion of erotic thriller tropes leads to fascinating but, at times, tepid results.
No Diamonds: The Most Important Sports Films That Aren’t Baseball No Diamonds: The Most Important Sports Films That Aren’t Baseball
On this episode of Edge of Sports, Arya Shirazi joins the show to talk about the best sports movies.
Olga Tokarczuk’s New Rules for Realism Olga Tokarczuk’s New Rules for Realism
In The Empusium, the Polish novelist’s first novel since her Nobel, she pays homage to Thomas Mann in order to redraw the boundaries of the realist novel.
Books
Fady Joudah’s Poetry of Dislocation Fady Joudah’s Poetry of Dislocation
In his new book of poetry, […], the poet, translator, and ER doctor explores Palestinians’ experiences of exile and displacement—and the difficulty of healing amid the ongoing Nak…
The Worlds of Noam Chomsky The Worlds of Noam Chomsky
If ordinary Americans know one critic of the American Empire, it’s almost certainly Chomsky.
David Montgomery and the Vitality of Labor History David Montgomery and the Vitality of Labor History
From his first book to his landmark account of the politics of the pre-WWI labor movement, Montgomery explored how people’s experiences of work shaped their political horizons.
Film
Can “Babygirl” Breathe New Life Into a Retrograde Genre? Can “Babygirl” Breathe New Life Into a Retrograde Genre?
The movie, starring Nicole Kidman, operates at the level of the female gaze. Its inversion of erotic thriller tropes leads to fascinating but, at times, tepid results.
No Diamonds: The Most Important Sports Films That Aren’t Baseball No Diamonds: The Most Important Sports Films That Aren’t Baseball
On this episode of Edge of Sports, Arya Shirazi joins the show to talk about the best sports movies.
What Netflix Has Done to Movies What Netflix Has Done to Movies
On this episode of Tech Won’t Save Us, Will Tavlin on Hollywood, data and deception.
What Do We Want From Bob Dylan’s Story? What Do We Want From Bob Dylan’s Story?
In James Mangold’s film A Complete Unknown, we get a cautious and reverent story of a musician who has always sought to transcend the limits imposed upon him.
Robert Eggers’s “Nosferatu” Is a Modern Gothic Triumph Robert Eggers’s “Nosferatu” Is a Modern Gothic Triumph
The latest adaptation of the silent film classic evokes anxieties at once eternal and contemporary, using one of horror’s ur-texts to dissect race, sex, and power.
Television
The Empty Thrills of Alfonso Cuarón’s “Disclaimer” The Empty Thrills of Alfonso Cuarón’s “Disclaimer”
Why did the great Mexican filmmaker make a soapy thriller?
“Industry”’s Gleeful Critique of Capital “Industry”’s Gleeful Critique of Capital
HBO’s investment banking drama makes a soap opera out of the “useless” but lurid nature of finance.
25 Years of Indecision With Jon Stewart 25 Years of Indecision With Jon Stewart
Before he left his post at The Daily Show, Stewart was America’s voice of reason. Times have changed. Has he?
Architecture
Trump Will Not Make Architecture Great Again Trump Will Not Make Architecture Great Again
Last term, his ill-informed embrace of “traditional” aesthetics fanned the flames of the culture wars. This time, he’s poised to do even more damage.
The Brutalist and the Hidden Work of Architecture “The Brutalist” and the Hidden Work of Architecture
A film about survival, creativity, the hypocrisies of high art, The Brutalist tells a story about an architect who does not exploit and manipulate others to achieve his grand visi…
In the Zone of the Rich In the Zone of the Rich
In The Hidden Globe, Atossa Araxia Abrahamian examines what globalization has come to look like for the wealthy.
Music
The Introspective Club Hits of Jamie xx The Introspective Club Hits of Jamie xx
With In Waves, Jamie xx—whose real name is James Smith—has perfected what he explored in In Colour: an album full of searching tunes that can double as dance songs.
The Nation’s Early Experiments in Jazz The Nation’s Early Experiments in Jazz
When the magazine began covering jazz in the 1920s, it often struggled to catch the beat.
A Listener’s Guide to Jazz From 1964–1972 A Listener’s Guide to Jazz From 1964–1972
A selection of the best recorded examples of the otherwise mostly undocumented music heard in jazz clubs like Slugs’.
Jazz Off the Record Jazz Off the Record
In the late 1960s, the recording industry lost interest in America’s greatest art form. But in a small, dark club on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, jazz legends were …
What Do We Want From Bob Dylan’s Story? What Do We Want From Bob Dylan’s Story?
In James Mangold’s film A Complete Unknown, we get a cautious and reverent story of a musician who has always sought to transcend the limits imposed upon him.
Publishing
Novelist on a Deadline: Barry Malzberg, 1939–2024 Novelist on a Deadline: Barry Malzberg, 1939–2024
A speed demon at the typewriter, Malzberg wrote quickly and brilliantly in a variety of genres including mystery, thrillers, and erotica, but his core work was in science fiction….
The Impossible Story of Communism The Impossible Story of Communism
How do you tell the history of a global movement in all its hope and contradiction?
The Discontents of Michel Houellebecq The Discontents of Michel Houellebecq
What happened to the French novelist?
Latest in Culture
Jimmy Carter’s Biographer on the Late President’s Biggest Regret Jimmy Carter’s Biographer on the Late President’s Biggest Regret
Carter summoned Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat to Camp David to make peace, not apartheid, in the Middle East. But the Israeli president broke his promise to freeze settlements.
Jan 9, 2025 / Kai Bird
The TikTok Case Could Open the Floodgates to More Corporate Influence on the Media The TikTok Case Could Open the Floodgates to More Corporate Influence on the Media
Whether or not we agree with the Biden administration’s arguments, progressives shouldn’t root for the court to rule in favor of Tik Tok.
Jan 6, 2025 / Zephyr Teachout
Blake Lively’s Suit Exposes the Twisted World of Hollywood Misogyny Blake Lively’s Suit Exposes the Twisted World of Hollywood Misogyny
The complaint revisits the same gaslighting tactics in the Amber Heard case, and has produced much the same social media fallout.
Dec 31, 2024 / Ray Epstein
The Misunderstood Vision of KAWS The Misunderstood Vision of KAWS
An exhibition of his impressive collection compels our art critic to ask if we should start taking the world famous street artist’s project more seriously.
Dec 30, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky
Bob Dylan’s Christmas Album Bob Dylan’s Christmas Album
On this episode of Start Making Sense, Sean Wilentz on a puzzling set of holiday songs.
Dec 24, 2024 / Jon Wiener
The Best Albums of 2024 The Best Albums of 2024
This year’s best music, our critic thinks, defied conventions of genre and doctrine, showing how hybrid and fluid the art has become.
Dec 23, 2024 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu