Books and Ideas

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

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

Former vice president Mike Pence

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

Mar 7, 2023 / Column / Calvin Trillin

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

Dora Maria Tellez

Dora Maria Téllez Is Free at Last—and Able to Speak Freely! Dora Maria Téllez Is Free at Last—and Able to Speak Freely!

The legendary figure from Nicaragua's Sandinista revolution in an exclusive interview following her release from prison and arrival as an exile in the US.

Mar 2, 2023 / Linda Mannheim and Mike Lanchin

Gwendoline Riley.

Gwendoline Riley’s Biting Realism Gwendoline Riley’s Biting Realism

By turns bracing and comical, her novels find in everyday domestic dramas the art of life.

Mar 2, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Robert Rubsam

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