Books and Ideas

Nation Poetry

nous nous baignons — variations nous nous baignons — variations

an experimental translation of Marie-Andrée Gill 

Dec 28, 2023 / Poems / Kristen Renee Miller

James Stewart, as George Bailey, points at Lionel Barrymore in a scene from “It's a Wonderful Life.”

Whose “It’s a Wonderful Life” Is It Anyway? Whose “It’s a Wonderful Life” Is It Anyway?

How everybody’s favorite Christmas movie about the perils of monopoly capitalism became a victim of monopoly capitalism.

Dec 25, 2023 / Ray Nowosielski and David Cassidy

The Medieval-ness of Mark Zuckerberg

The Medieval-ness of Mark Zuckerberg The Medieval-ness of Mark Zuckerberg

There’s something very feudal about his massive doomsday bunker.

Dec 22, 2023 / Kate Wagner

The Misguided Satire of “American Fiction”

The Misguided Satire of “American Fiction” The Misguided Satire of “American Fiction”

A buzzy film adaptation of Percival Everett’s Erasure, a novel about publishing’s racial politics, misreads what is truly ailing the book industry.

Dec 22, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Stephen Kearse

A Memoir for the Post-Truth Era

A Memoir for the Post-Truth Era A Memoir for the Post-Truth Era

In Sarah Viren’s To Name a Bigger Lie, she investigates how conspiracy theories have changed her relationship to the world.

Dec 21, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Julia Case-Levine

“Harlem WPA Street Dance,” by Elizabeth Olds, ca.1935–43.

Reading “Mumbo Jumbo” in the Post-Covid Age Reading “Mumbo Jumbo”" "in the Post-Covid Age

Ishmael Reed's novel depicts an American government dedicated to public health as long as its efforts keep hierarchy and the status quo in place.

Dec 20, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Melvin Backman

A party at Danceteria in New York City, 1990.

Sasha Frere-Jones, a Life Remixed Sasha Frere-Jones, a Life Remixed

Books & the Arts / December 19, 2023 Sasha Frere-Jones, a Life Remixed His beguiling memoir Earlier moves through the struggles and the sounds that changed his relationship…

Dec 19, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Stephen Piccarella

Rudy Giuliani, the former personal lawyer for Donald Trump, arrives at the E. Barrett Prettyman US District Courthouse on December 15, 2023, in Washington, D.C.

The Real Tragedy of Rudy Giuliani The Real Tragedy of Rudy Giuliani

The disgraced former mayor was a racist authoritarian—even back when he was being celebrated by the mainstream media.

Dec 18, 2023 / Jeet Heer

Nation Poetry

Lavender Lavender

Dec 18, 2023 / Poems / Margaret Ray

Murray Bookchin (left) and Murray Rothbard.

The 2 Murrays and the Age of Pretend Anarchy The 2 Murrays and the Age of Pretend Anarchy

The strange global influence of anarcho-capitalism.

Dec 15, 2023 / Jeet Heer

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