Books and Ideas

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

Liberating Our Homes From the Real Estate–Industrial Complex

Liberating Our Homes From the Real Estate–Industrial Complex Liberating Our Homes From the Real Estate–Industrial Complex

Having a personal aesthetic at home has become financially detrimental.

Mar 13, 2023 / Kate Wagner

A police officer stands beside an automobile involved in an accident,

The Reckless History of the Automobile The Reckless History of the Automobile

In The Car, Bryan Appleyard sets out to celebrate the freedom these vehicles granted. But what if they were a dangerous technology from the start?

Mar 13, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Paris Marx

Students during a Defend New College protest in Sarasota, Florida, US, on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023.

Ron DeSantis Is Destroying Florida’s New College Just Because He Can Ron DeSantis Is Destroying Florida’s New College Just Because He Can

The worst thing is, he doesn’t even understand the value of what he’s breaking.

Mar 10, 2023 / Michael Rothbaum

Oscar statues, 1877.

What the Oscars Represent: Meritocracy Without Merit What the Oscars Represent: Meritocracy Without Merit

In Michael Schulman’s extensive history of the awards, Oscar Wars, he documents how the institution’s reactionary origins still leak into today’s film culture.

Mar 8, 2023 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu

Former vice president Mike Pence

Mike Pence Resists Grand Jury Subpeona Mike Pence Resists Grand Jury Subpeona

Mar 7, 2023 / Column / Calvin Trillin

J. Edgar Hoover tests a gun.

The Cult of J. Edgar Hoover The Cult of J. Edgar Hoover

A zealot through and through, he ran the FBI like a religious sect.

Mar 7, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Adam Hochschild

The Costs and Contradictions of Ballet

The Costs and Contradictions of Ballet The Costs and Contradictions of Ballet

Alice Robb’s Don’t Think, Dear and Ellen O’Connell Whittet’s What You Become in Flight explore both the liberating sense of art and the domineering logic of ballet.

Mar 4, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Glory Liu

US naval officers walking through the city of Olongapo in 1972

The American Repossession of the Philippines The American Repossession of the Philippines

As the US dramatically expands its military presence, colonialist history is repeating itself.

Mar 4, 2023 / Feature / Walden Bello

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