The Anti-Nostalgia of Walker Evans The Anti-Nostalgia of Walker Evans
A recent biography reveals the many contradictions of the photographer who fastidiously documented postwar American life.
Jun 8, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Rahel Aima
The Epic Misery of Thomas Bernhard The Epic Misery of Thomas Bernhard
His little-known novel The Cheap-Eaters, recently translated by Douglas Robertson, puts forward a basic thesis: Life is a sequence of crushings.
Jun 7, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Missouri Williams
The Miseducation of White Children The Miseducation of White Children
The attacks on critical race theory are just another attempt to prevent this country from reckoning with its racist past and present—by keeping white kids ignorant.
Jun 3, 2021 / Elie Mystal
The Misplaced Hope of Understanding Police From the Inside The Misplaced Hope of Understanding Police From the Inside
Law professor Rosa Brooks became a volunteer cop to show how policing might be fixed. But are the police beyond reform?
Jun 3, 2021 / Katie Way
A Letter to Biden From Jimmy Carter’s Biographer A Letter to Biden From Jimmy Carter’s Biographer
Sometimes doing the right thing means not getting reelected.
Jun 3, 2021 / Kai Bird
The Return of the Sensible Liberal The Return of the Sensible Liberal
If someone wants you six feet under, meeting in the middle still puts you three feet deep.
Jun 1, 2021 / Tom Tomorrow
Adverbs, Fly Adverbs, Fly
Daddy, you always wake up at that hour. Not in my time zone, but in the deceased’s time zone, at that hour. N Daddy, a new daddy showed up like the way you whisper inside my crying…
Jun 1, 2021 / Poems / Kim Hyesoon
Obeisance Obeisance
To Mar-a-Lago lapdogs wend To kiss Trump’s ring, lament his trials. They’re piling high upon his lap. The yelping can be heard for miles.
Jun 1, 2021 / Column / Calvin Trillin
The Gilded Age’s Democratic Contradictions The Gilded Age’s Democratic Contradictions
A new history examines how the late 19th century’s raucous party system gave way to a more sedate and exclusionary political culture that erected more and more barriers to particip...
Jun 1, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Eric Foner