Books and Ideas

The Palo Alto System

The Palo Alto System The Palo Alto System

Malcolm Harris’s new history of his hometown dispenses with the sentimental lore and examines how it has long been the seedbed for exploitation, chaos, and ecological degradation.

Apr 17, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Jonathan Lethem

Donald Trump and Fred Trump in 1987

Donald Trump Sinks to a New Low by Dog-Whistling an Old Racist Tune Donald Trump Sinks to a New Low by Dog-Whistling an Old Racist Tune

Insinuating that special prosecutor Jack Smith changed his name might seem like an odd tactic for someone whose family name was Drumpf—unless you know the history.

Apr 14, 2023 / David Margolick

Live to fight another day: A scene from the Texas Observer’s victory party.

The Brief Death and Miraculous Resurrection of the “Texas Observer” The Brief Death and Miraculous Resurrection of the “Texas Observer”

Progressive media is not a “business.” It’s a labor movement.

Apr 13, 2023 / Gabriel Arana

Harlan Crow

Clarence Thomas’s Rich Friend Collects: Judges, Politicians—and Nazi Memorabilia Clarence Thomas’s Rich Friend Collects: Judges, Politicians—and Nazi Memorabilia

Texas billionaire Harlan Crow is a modern-day Charles Foster Kane.

Apr 10, 2023 / Jeet Heer

Former “Science and Health” editor Nicholas Wade, Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Paul G. Auwaerter, and former US Center for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Robert Redfield swear before House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic about Investigating the Origins of Covid 19.

Exclusive: A House Subcommittee Releases Key Documents on the Pandemic Origin Paper Exclusive: A House Subcommittee Releases Key Documents on the Pandemic Origin Paper

The documents, released to The Nation, formed the basis of a memo made public before the subcommittee’s first hearing on the origin of Covid-19.

Apr 10, 2023 / Jimmy Tobias

View of a deteriorated section of the US-Mexico border wall

Letting Go of the Border Letting Go of the Border

In The Edge of the Plain, James Crawford explores the fragility of borders in a warming planet, and asks how we might challenge the violence they have come to represent.

Apr 10, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Francis Wade

The End of the Music Business

The End of the Music Business The End of the Music Business

A century of recorded music has culminated in the infinite archive of streaming platforms. But is it really better for listeners?

Apr 10, 2023 / Feature / Ethan Iverson

Paul Rudolph’s Orange County Government Center in Goshen, N.Y.

Stop Gatekeeping Architecture Stop Gatekeeping Architecture

We all inhabit, and therefore participate in, the built environment.

Apr 7, 2023 / Kate Wagner

Senator Megan Hunt

Democrats Can Win on Trans Issues—but Only if They Fight Democrats Can Win on Trans Issues—but Only if They Fight

Though culture war bigotry loses at the ballot box, centrist Democrats have been too quick to surrender.

Apr 7, 2023 / Jeet Heer

Alissa Quart

Is the American Dream a Long Con? Is the American Dream a Long Con?

A conversation with Alissa Quart about her new book Bootstrapped, an examination of how the ideology of individualism helped create the conditions for inequality.

Apr 5, 2023 / Q&A / Rhoda Feng

x