Books and Ideas

Republican vice presidential nominee US Senator JD Vance visits

JD Vance Is Working Hard to Be Hated JD Vance Is Working Hard to Be Hated

For the Republican candidate, riling up the right-wing base outweighs alienating everyone else.

Sep 30, 2024 / Jeet Heer

Jock the monkey listens in on the Scopes trial, 1923.

The Scopes Trial and the Two Visions of US Democracy The Scopes Trial and the Two Visions of US Democracy

A new history revisits “the Trial of the Century” and its legacy in contemporary politics.

Sep 30, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Michael Kazin

Fredric Jameson

The Gifts of Fredric Jameson (1934–2024) The Gifts of Fredric Jameson (1934–2024)

The intellectual titan bestowed on us so many things, chief among them a reminder to Always Be Historicizing.

Sep 26, 2024 / Column / Kate Wagner

A crowd outside Minneapolis’s Farmers and Mechanics Savings Bank during an economic crisis in May 1893.

The Radical Past and Future of Debt Resistance The Radical Past and Future of Debt Resistance

The deep roots of debt relief activism in the United States.

Sep 25, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Astra Taylor

Laura Loomer, in large sunglasses, stands in front of a courthouse wearing a shirt that reads

Two Questions Concerning Laura Loomer Two Questions Concerning Laura Loomer

Sep 24, 2024 / Column / Calvin Trillin

Sally Rooney’s Open Question

Sally Rooney’s Open Question Sally Rooney’s Open Question

In Intermezzo, we get characters acting out their political commitments instead of just talking about them. But is their vision of domestic cooperation enough?

Sep 24, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Jess Bergman

The Myrtle-Broadway subway station in Brooklyn, 2024.

The Rise and Fall of New York Clubbing The Rise and Fall of New York Clubbing

Emily Witt’s memoir of Brooklyn's rave scene accomplishes something that even the cynical among us cannot deny: It will make you want to go dancing.

Sep 23, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Kevin Lozano

The Age of Rage: Protest, Camera, Action

The Age of Rage: Protest, Camera, Action The Age of Rage: Protest, Camera, Action

Photography radically acts as a language that speaks for the world’s oppressed and critically functions as a vital visual voice of resistance.

Sep 21, 2024 / Photo Essay / Mark Sealy

Bosses Want Us to Work in Our Sleep Now—Literally

Bosses Want Us to Work in Our Sleep Now—Literally Bosses Want Us to Work in Our Sleep Now—Literally

Molly McGhee’s satirical 2023 novel Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind may be coming true.

Sep 19, 2024 / Sophie Lewis

Former general and Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo during his trial.

The Hypocrisies of International Justice The Hypocrisies of International Justice

A recent history revisits the Tokyo trial.

Sep 18, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Colin Jones

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