Books and Ideas

Speaker McCarthy’s Largesse

Speaker McCarthy’s Largesse Speaker McCarthy’s Largesse

Mar 21, 2023 / Column / Calvin Trillin

Texas Governor John Connally appears to be deep in thought

Reagan, Trump, and the Price of Presidential Impunity Reagan, Trump, and the Price of Presidential Impunity

New evidence of 1980 election shenanigans has implications for the debate on prosecuting Trump.

Mar 20, 2023 / Jeet Heer

The Defiance of Cormac McCarthy’s Late Style

The Defiance of Cormac McCarthy’s Late Style The Defiance of Cormac McCarthy’s Late Style

In Stella Maris and The Passenger, McCarthy invites us to consider hopelessness not just to give us hope but to compel us to make use of it.

Mar 20, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Nicolás Medina Mora

20 Years Ago, the US Lied Its Way Into War

20 Years Ago, the US Lied Its Way Into War 20 Years Ago, the US Lied Its Way Into War

On the 20th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, The Nation reprints its plea to Congress to reject Bush’s preemptive assault.

Mar 20, 2023 / Feature / The Nation

Sir Francis Bacon

Just Because ChatBots Can’t Think Doesn’t Mean They Can’t Lie Just Because ChatBots Can’t Think Doesn’t Mean They Can’t Lie

Or that they haven’t already started to pollute Google searches. And if publishers win their lawsuit against the Internet Archive, verifying facts and quotes will get a lot harder.

Mar 17, 2023 / Maria Bustillos

A Silicon Valley Bank office is seen in Tempe, Arizona, on March 14, 2023. - With hindsight, there were warning signs ahead of last week's spectacular collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, missed not only by investors, but by bank regulators. Just why the oversight failed remained a hot question among banking experts, with some focusing on the weakness of US rules. (Photo by REBECCA NOBLE / AFP) (Photo by REBECCA NOBLE/AFP via Getty Images)

A Death in the Valley: What the End of SVB Reveals About VC Class Solidarity A Death in the Valley: What the End of SVB Reveals About VC Class Solidarity

With the banking system sitting on $620 billion in paper (unrealized) losses, this saga may be far from over.

Mar 17, 2023 / Doug Henwood

Beautiful, Lonely, and Degraded: Gavin Lambert’s LA

Beautiful, Lonely, and Degraded: Gavin Lambert’s LA Beautiful, Lonely, and Degraded: Gavin Lambert’s LA

In his 1979 novel The Goodby People, he finds a picturesque city defined by its sense of disconnection and immense sadness.

Mar 16, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Kate Wolf

The Obscene Invention of California Capitalism

The Obscene Invention of California Capitalism The Obscene Invention of California Capitalism

A conversation with Malcolm Harris about his new history of Silicon Valley, Palo Alto, the West Coast's settler ideology, and recent turbulence in the world of tech.

Mar 15, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Emma Hager

James Ensor's “L'Intrigue,” 1890

Down and Out in Paris With Rainer Maria Rilke Down and Out in Paris With Rainer Maria Rilke

In The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge, the German poet’s only novel, a young artist contends with the contradictions of urban experience and the dream of pastoral life 

Mar 14, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Ratik Asokan

The Creative, Collective, Queer Project of Raving

The Creative, Collective, Queer Project of Raving The Creative, Collective, Queer Project of Raving

In an interview, McKenzie Wark offers insight on the rave as utopia, breaking through gender dysphoria, and her newest work of auto-theory.

Mar 14, 2023 / Q&A / Zoë Beery and Geoffrey Mak

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