Books and Ideas

Mara Marques Cavallaro holding a photo of her grandmother.

50 Years Ago, My Family Fled Chile. This Year, I Returned. 50 Years Ago, My Family Fled Chile. This Year, I Returned.

I went to Chile for the anniversary of the 1973 coup to trace the country's painful history—and my own.

Sep 29, 2023 / Mara Marques Cavallaro

Lydia Davis, 2018.

Why You Can’t Buy Lydia Davis’s New Book on Amazon Why You Can’t Buy Lydia Davis’s New Book on Amazon

Our Strangers is more than a beguiling collection of short fiction: It represents a stand against what might be killing the book industry.

Sep 28, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Lily Meyer

A businessman hitchhiking at a gas station in Oregon, 1973.

Can We Imagine Life Without Oil? Can We Imagine Life Without Oil?

Mobility, a novel by Lydia Kiesling, looks at the way fossil fuels defines life in public and private, shaping the very way we tell stories.

Sep 26, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Jess Bergman

“Succession” for suckers: While Lachlan Murdoch (left) gets the fancy title, Rupert retains the ultimate power.

Rupert Murdoch’s Final Con Game Rupert Murdoch’s Final Con Game

Announcing his exit, the right-wing baron mixes public populism and private elitism.

Sep 25, 2023 / Jeet Heer

A security guard stands in the doorway during a press viewing of

What Museum Guards See What Museum Guards See

A recent memoir by Patrick Bringley about his time working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art illustrates the intimate knowledge guards possess of the pieces they protect.

Sep 25, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky

Joe Matt

Farewell to a Poor Bastard Farewell to a Poor Bastard

Joe Matt (1963–2023) made hilarious comedy of his own misery.

Sep 21, 2023 / Obituary / Jeet Heer

Andrew Leland.

In the Country of the Blind In the Country of the Blind

A conversation with Andrew Leland about his provocative new book about vision loss, disability politics, and the ways in which blindness looms large in our cultural imagination.

Sep 21, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Rachel Kolb

Malick Bauer in Sam - A Saxon

German Like Me German Like Me

Culture / September 20, 2023 German Like Me How an Afro-German TV series about the GDR’s first Black police officer became an international hit. Linda Mannheim Share Facebook T…

Sep 20, 2023 / Linda Mannheim

Where Did the Juries Go?

Where Did the Juries Go? Where Did the Juries Go?

While jury trials might have afforded citizens the chance to witness—and even contest—the criminalization of the working class, plea bargains have allowed this criminalization to ...

Sep 20, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Matthew Clair

Pro-life men

Dropping the “Pro-Life” Dropping the “Pro-Life”

Sep 19, 2023 / Column / Calvin Trillin

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