Books and Ideas

Let Kids Read Roald Dahl’s Books the Way He Wrote Them

Let Kids Read Roald Dahl’s Books the Way He Wrote Them Let Kids Read Roald Dahl’s Books the Way He Wrote Them

The beloved author’s books are being edited by their publisher to suit contemporary sensibilities. That robs us of the author’s vision—and any sense of history.

Feb 21, 2023 / Katha Pollitt

Is This the End of Literary Studies?

Is This the End of Literary Studies? Is This the End of Literary Studies?

John Guillory’s Professing Criticism offers a sobering look at the uncertain future of criticism inside and outside the academy.

Feb 21, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Nicholas Dames

Janet Malcolm.

Janet Malcolm, Reluctant Memoirist Janet Malcolm, Reluctant Memoirist

Why was one of the most gifted nonfiction writers of her generation so uncomfortable writing about herself?

Feb 20, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Vivian Gornick

Naomi Oreskes

America’s Toxic Romance With the Free Market America’s Toxic Romance With the Free Market

A conversation with Naomi Oreskes about her new book with Erik M. Conway, The Big Myth, and how market fundamentalists convinced Americans to loathe government.

Feb 17, 2023 / Q&A / Claudia Dreifus

James Bridle’s Dream of a Cybernetic Forest

James Bridle’s Dream of a Cybernetic Forest James Bridle’s Dream of a Cybernetic Forest

The British writer and artist explores the growing confluence of nature and technology, examining how each might be used to create a more equitable world. 

Feb 16, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Lewis Gordon

Newly elected US Representative Bernie Sanders poses in front of an image of labor leader Eugene V. Debs

Bernie Sanders: Anti-Union Capitalism Is Wrecking America Bernie Sanders: Anti-Union Capitalism Is Wrecking America

Workers deserve a better deal than the unfettered capitalism that is destroying our health, our democracy, and our planet.

Feb 16, 2023 / Feature / Sen. Bernie Sanders with John Nichols

The Forgotten Poets of the Attica Uprising

The Forgotten Poets of the Attica Uprising The Forgotten Poets of the Attica Uprising

When the Smoke Clears documents poetry workshops held in the aftermath of the prison's occupation. The work produced by the inmates was visceral and heartrending.

Feb 15, 2023 / Books & the Arts / J. Howard Rosier

Sevgi Soysal’s Liberation of the Mind

Sevgi Soysal’s Liberation of the Mind Sevgi Soysal’s Liberation of the Mind

Her novel Dawn, which documents the discontents of the 20th century Turkish left, proposes that any account of historical upheaval requires equally radical artistic methods. 

Feb 13, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Shaj Mathew

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, You’re No Jack Kennedy

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, You’re No Jack Kennedy Sarah Huckabee Sanders, You’re No Jack Kennedy

Trying to evoke a lost Cold War consensus, the GOP’s rising star conflated “normal” with “crazy.”

Feb 10, 2023 / Jeet Heer

Chief Justice Roberts Portrays His Court as Heroic

Chief Justice Roberts Portrays His Court as Heroic Chief Justice Roberts Portrays His Court as Heroic

(Rather than a cohort of extremists that ignores judicial precedent and makes up facts to suit its agenda.)

Feb 10, 2023 / Column / Elie Mystal

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