Books and Ideas

 Was the Collapse of US-Russia Relations Inevitable?

Was the Collapse of US-Russia Relations Inevitable? Was the Collapse of US-Russia Relations Inevitable?

How US hubris and Russian paranoia undermined partnership.

Aug 22, 2023 / Feature / Thomas Graham

Former Senator Phil Gramm (R-Tex.) as his hero, Ebenezer Scrooge.

Republicans Are Gaslighting Us on Poverty Republicans Are Gaslighting Us on Poverty

Claims that poverty in America has been eliminated, and that “idleness” is the only barrier to a life of middle-class comfort, would be funny—if they weren’t so dangerous.

Aug 21, 2023 / Brad Swanson

Abandoned buildings in The Bronx.

The Persistence of American Poverty The Persistence of American Poverty

“We could afford to end poverty,” Matthew Desmond tells us. That we don’t is a choice.

Aug 21, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Marcia Chatelain

The “Voyager” stroboscopic headsets, an early VR device, 1991.

The First Great Novel About Virtual Reality? The First Great Novel About Virtual Reality?

Colin Winnette’s disorienting Users examines the limits of morality and imagination as they exist online and in video games.

Aug 16, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Lily Meyer

What It Takes to Be a Public Intellectual

What It Takes to Be a Public Intellectual What It Takes to Be a Public Intellectual

In 2014, Adam Shatz’s “Writers or Missionaries” appeared in The Nation, a piece about his relationship, as a Jewish American journalist, to the political conflicts in the Arab-spea…

Aug 15, 2023 / Books & the Arts / J. Howard Rosier

Robbie Robertson circa November 1994 at The National Museum of the American Indian in New York City.

The Indigenous Roots of Robbie Robertson’s Rock and Roll Revolution The Indigenous Roots of Robbie Robertson’s Rock and Roll Revolution

The music called Americana was created by a Jewish-Canadian-Cayuga-Mohawk.

Aug 14, 2023 / Jeet Heer

Agota Kristof, 1991.

Ágota Kristóf and the Agony of the “Enemy” Language Ágota Kristóf and the Agony of the “Enemy” Language

In her memoir, The Illiterate, the formidable Hungarian writer details her lifelong battle with language as a tool of misunderstanding.

Aug 14, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Missouri Williams

Screenshot of Richard Hanania talking to Bryan Caplan

Why Does This Racist Keep Getting Silicon Valley Money? Why Does This Racist Keep Getting Silicon Valley Money?

The charmed life of Richard Hanania.

Aug 11, 2023 / Jeet Heer

Tom Hanks backstage at Late Night With Seth Meyers, 2022.

Why Did Tom Hanks Write a Novel? Why Did Tom Hanks Write a Novel?

And can we understand his vision of Hollywood from this strange artifact?

Aug 10, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Adam Nayman

Walter Benjamin, by Joe Ciardiello.

Walter Benjamin’s Radio Years Walter Benjamin’s Radio Years

After the faculty of philosophy in Frankfurt rejected his dissertation and dashed his hopes for an academic career, the Marxist critic found work as a radio broadcaster. 

Aug 8, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Peter E. Gordon

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