Books and Ideas

Alasdair MacIntyre and Richard Rorty’s Lifelong Argument

Alasdair MacIntyre and Richard Rorty’s Lifelong Argument Alasdair MacIntyre and Richard Rorty’s Lifelong Argument

While in many ways their careers ran parallel to each other, the two philosophers disagreed about whether liberalism could—and should—be saved.

May 2, 2023 / Books & the Arts / George Scialabba

The Disappearing Acts of Haruki Murakami

The Disappearing Acts of Haruki Murakami The Disappearing Acts of Haruki Murakami

In his new book, the novelist examines what it takes to become a great writer.

May 1, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Rumaan Alam

In the naughty chair: former Fox News host Tucker Carlson

No, You Absolutely Do Not Have to Hand It to Tucker Carlson No, You Absolutely Do Not Have to Hand It to Tucker Carlson

Contra some of his leftist stans, the ousted Fox News host was not actually anti-war or an economic populist.

Apr 28, 2023 / Jeet Heer

U.S. Air Force RC-135V River Joint reconnaissance aircraft

The Most Dangerous Game: How Shadow War Over Ukraine Nearly Triggered Nuclear Holocaust The Most Dangerous Game: How Shadow War Over Ukraine Nearly Triggered Nuclear Holocaust

Unnoticed among the trove of documents in the Pentagon leak is this account of how a miscommunication between a Russian pilot and his base came perilously close to starting World W...

Apr 27, 2023 / James Bamford

Hazel Jane Plante

Hazel Jane Plante’s Novel of Art, Sex, and Rock and Roll Hazel Jane Plante’s Novel of Art, Sex, and Rock and Roll

Any Other City, a fictionalized memoir of a trans musician, interrogates the conventional narrative possibilities offered to trans writers.

Apr 27, 2023 / Books & the Arts / McKenzie Wark

The Gift of Slam Poetry

The Gift of Slam Poetry The Gift of Slam Poetry

A short history of a misunderstood literary genre and the world it created.

Apr 26, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Joshua Bennett

A group of people protested in front of the British Embassy, in Paris, to demand the release of Ernest Moret, on April 18, 2023 in Paris, France. The french publisher was taken into custody when he arrived in London to attended to a book fair. (Photo by Telmo Pinto/NurPhoto via AP)

What the UK’s Arrest of a French Publisher Means for Public Intellectuals the World Over What the UK’s Arrest of a French Publisher Means for Public Intellectuals the World Over

The detention of Ernest Moret raises urgent questions about British authorities’ targeting public intellectuals at the request of other nations.

Apr 24, 2023 / Natasha Hakimi Zapata

A woman on a couch at a therapist's office, 1949.

What’s Life Like for the Child of a Psychoanalyst? What’s Life Like for the Child of a Psychoanalyst?

Alice Wexler’s The Analyst explores the complicated life of her father, Milton Wexler, whose work courted controversy in the public and within in his family

Apr 24, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Alana Pockros

Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis

The Zombie Populism of Today’s GOP The Zombie Populism of Today’s GOP

The right’s crass appropriation of anti-elitist rhetoric makes less sense than ever. That doesn’t mean it’s going away.

Apr 24, 2023 / Chris Lehmann

An Arkansas girl in migrant camp near Greenfield, Salinas Valley, Calif., 1939

How Reading “The Economist” Helped Me to Stop Worrying About White Supremacy How Reading “The Economist” Helped Me to Stop Worrying About White Supremacy

A recent viral sensation identifies the migration of poor whites as the cause of the problem—letting the rest of us off the hook!

Apr 21, 2023 / Sarah Taber

x