Books and Ideas

Louis Armstrong Gets the Last Word on Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong Gets the Last Word on Louis Armstrong Louis Armstrong Gets the Last Word on Louis Armstrong

For decades, Americans have argued over the icon’s legacy. But his archives show that he had his own plans.

Oct 30, 2023 / Feature / Ethan Iverson

Illustration by Lily Qian.

The Enigmatic Science Fiction of Djuna The Enigmatic Science Fiction of Djuna

The radical visions of South Korea’s mononymous, pseudonymous, and officially anonymous sci-fi novelist and film critic.

Oct 30, 2023 / Books & the Arts / E. Tammy Kim

Nation Poetry

Tablets VII Tablets VII

Oct 30, 2023 / Poems / Dunya Mikhail

Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” in theaters now.

Leonardo DiCaprio Is Just the Latest of Martin Scorsese’s Husbands From Hell Leonardo DiCaprio Is Just the Latest of Martin Scorsese’s Husbands From Hell

Killers of the Flower Moon offers a vivid and compelling study of racism as domestic violence.

Oct 27, 2023 / Jeet Heer

Writer Jonathan Lethem poses for a photo against a gray background

Jonathan Lethem Returns to the Scene of the Crime Jonathan Lethem Returns to the Scene of the Crime

In his new novel, the bard of Boerum Hill interrogates the brutal truths of gentrification.

Oct 27, 2023 / Ross Barkan

African American women employed as gardeners in the rose garden of the Botanical Gardens, Washington DC, 1943.

The Pleasure and Peril of Gardening While Black The Pleasure and Peril of Gardening While Black

Poet Camille T. Dungy's Soil is a personal and wide-ranging history of the garden and the environment in African American life.

Oct 26, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Edna Bonhomme

Dennis Prager, conservative radio talk show host and writer, speaks at a Turning Point USA summit.

Yes, Prager U Wants to Indoctrinate Your Kids. But That’s Not Really the Point. Yes, Prager U Wants to Indoctrinate Your Kids. But That’s Not Really the Point.

The aim isn’t just to change what gets taught but to transform how we understand ourselves, the public realm, and the common good.

Oct 25, 2023 / Jack Schneider and Jennifer C. Berkshire

Cuomo’s Top Defender Inadvertently Validates Victims of Sexual Harassment

Cuomo’s Top Defender Inadvertently Validates Victims of Sexual Harassment Cuomo’s Top Defender Inadvertently Validates Victims of Sexual Harassment

Melissa DeRosa’s new memoir attacks the women her former employer preyed on. Why can’t she see what she has in common with them? 

Oct 25, 2023 / Alexis Grenell

A scene from the day Princess Isabel abolished slavery in Brazil, 1888.

In Brazil, a Best-Selling Novel Confronts the Brutal Afterlife of Slavery In Brazil, a Best-Selling Novel Confronts the Brutal Afterlife of Slavery

Crooked Plow made Itamar Vieira Junior an essential voice in Brazilian letters.

Oct 25, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Jimin Kang

Osamu Dazai, 1924.

The Ironist and the Exhibitionist: On Osamu Dazai The Ironist and the Exhibitionist: On Osamu Dazai

The Japanese novelist’s dark-hearted comedies are at once unhinged and brilliant.

Oct 24, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Paul Franz

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