Books and Ideas

“Melancholy,” Edvard Munch, 1895.

Søren Kierkegaard Dared to Ask Søren Kierkegaard Dared to Ask

In The Sickness Unto Death, the Danish philosopher posed a difficult question: Is despair an essential feature of human life?

Nov 29, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Clare Carlisle

This family owned their own farm near Haifa. They fled when the British mandate ended and it became certain Israel would control the town. Today they are refugees in a camp near Gaza. The only possession they still have is a padded blanket.

The Long, Bloody History of the Israel-Gaza “Border” The Long, Bloody History of the Israel-Gaza “Border”

The current conflict has its roots in the 75-year struggle over the constantly shifting physical boundaries between Israel and the Palestinians whose land it has occupied.

Nov 29, 2023 / Anne Irfan

Former speaker of the House Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) listens during a press conference with members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party at the Cannon House Office Building on November 15, 2023.

Kevin McCarthy’s Empire of Lies Kevin McCarthy’s Empire of Lies

The former House speaker is currently spouting a wildly inaccurate take on the history of American empire.

Nov 28, 2023 / John Nichols

Close up photograph of Amber Hollibaugh looking up into camerca

Revolution? Hell Yes!  Remembering Amber Hollibaugh Revolution? Hell Yes!  Remembering Amber Hollibaugh

The writer, who died last month, spent a lifetime breaking silences around sex.

Nov 28, 2023 / Obituary / JoAnn Wypijewski

Berlin, December 22, 1989.

Can the European Union Be Salvaged? Can the European Union Be Salvaged?

New books by Timothy Garton Ash and Loukas Tsoukalis document the moral and political exhaustion of the “EU” generation.

Nov 28, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Mark Mazower

Mike Pence Ends His Presidential Campaign

Mike Pence Ends His Presidential Campaign Mike Pence Ends His Presidential Campaign

Nov 28, 2023 / Column / Calvin Trillin

“Untitled (Strike),” Dox Thrash, c. 1940.

The Radical Art of the Depression Years The Radical Art of the Depression Years

By working within the constraints of the WPA, artists like Philip Guston discovered new modes of representation and irony.

Nov 27, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Rachel Hunter Himes

Nation Poetry

Disaster Exposure Disaster Exposure

Nov 27, 2023 / Poems / Daniel Borzutzky

FDR, Thanksgiving 1933.

FDR Taught Us How to Talk Politics on Thanksgiving FDR Taught Us How to Talk Politics on Thanksgiving

The 32nd president used his holiday proclamations to call for “the establishment on earth of freedom, brotherhood, and justice.”

Nov 23, 2023 / John Nichols

“The Siesta,” by Vincent van Gogh, 1889.

You Have “The Right to Be Lazy” You Have “The Right to Be Lazy”

Paul Lafargue's anti-work manifesto is newly relevant in a time when the very idea of labor is changing.

Nov 23, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Clinton Williamson

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