Books and Ideas

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The Haunting of the Publishing House The Haunting of the Publishing House

The racism and prejudice of the industry has been the subject of recent novels. In R.F. Kuang's Yellowface, that plot becomes a horror story.

Oct 13, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Laura B. McGrath

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly on September 22, 2023, in New York City.

Israel’s Response to Its 9/11 Risks Missing the Lessons of America’s 9/11 Israel’s Response to Its 9/11 Risks Missing the Lessons of America’s 9/11

Ignoring intelligence failures and doubling down on bad policy is the worst response to terrorism.

Oct 9, 2023 / Jeet Heer

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde’s Art of Disobedience Oscar Wilde’s Art of Disobedience

Revisiting his critical writing, we learn a valuable lesson about the critic’s role in refusing bad taste and bad politics.

Oct 9, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Rachel Vorona Cote

Harry G. Barnes meeting with Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

The American Ambassador Who Helped Stop a Coup in Chile The American Ambassador Who Helped Stop a Coup in Chile

Everyone knows how Nixon and Kissinger paved Pinochet’s path to power. The story of Harry Barnes, who played a crucial role in the Chilean dictator’s exit, is much less well known...

Oct 5, 2023 / Peter Kornbluh

What Can We Learn From the History of Utopianism?

What Can We Learn From the History of Utopianism? What Can We Learn From the History of Utopianism?

Books & the Arts / October 3, 2023 The Good Life What can we learn from the history of utopianism? What Can We Learn From the History of Utopianism? In Everyday Utopias, Kr…

Oct 3, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Emily Raboteau

The Ghosts of Lorrie Moore

The Ghosts of Lorrie Moore The Ghosts of Lorrie Moore

An enigmatic new novel retells a disorienting story about death, love, the Civil War, and everything in-between. 

Oct 3, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Erin Somers

The 9/11 Museum Is an Atrocity Exhibition

The 9/11 Museum Is an Atrocity Exhibition The 9/11 Museum Is an Atrocity Exhibition

These New Yorkers want to transform the September 11 museum, but can it be anything other than a purveyor of War on Terror propaganda?

Oct 3, 2023 / Column / Spencer Ackerman

Iman Mersal’s Lost Cairo

Iman Mersal’s Lost Cairo Iman Mersal’s Lost Cairo

In Threshold, the poet revisits a city that transformed her and a generation of radical artists and intellectuals. 

Oct 3, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Amir-Hussein Radjy

Pennsylvania Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman celebrates his victory

Schumer Drops Senatorial Dress Code Schumer Drops Senatorial Dress Code

Oct 3, 2023 / Column / Calvin Trillin

Liberties: A Magazine in Revolt Against the New

Liberties: A Magazine in Revolt Against the New Liberties: A Magazine in Revolt Against the New

Tolerance, rigor, open-mindedness, and a willingness to countenance doubt and contradiction apparently are all values the magazine champions in theory but tends to ignore in pract...

Oct 2, 2023 / Books & the Arts / David Klion

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