I.B. Singer’s Language of Everyday Life I.B. Singer’s Language of Everyday Life
By choosing to write in Yiddish rather than Hebrew, the young Singer declared his allegiance to the here and now rather than a biblical past or a Zionist future.
Oct 4, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Adam Kirsch
The Political Lessons of Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” The Political Lessons of Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis”
The 1927 film raises the question, “Who will mediate between our head and our hands?”
Oct 4, 2022 / Column / David Bromwich
A Farewell to Arms A Farewell to Arms
(Draft-age Russian male version)
Oct 4, 2022 / Column / Calvin Trillin
The Mixtapes of Hua Hsu The Mixtapes of Hua Hsu
In his new memoir, Stay True, the New Yorker critic offers a coming-of-age story that doubles as a tale about friendship, music, and the politics of knowing oneself.
Oct 4, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Summer Kim Lee
Olga Tokarczuk’s Panoramic Novel of Jewish Poland Olga Tokarczuk’s Panoramic Novel of Jewish Poland
A work defined by its narrative elasticity, The Books of Jacob tells the story of a false messiah not through his eyes but through the vibrant and now lost world around him.
Oct 4, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Ilan Stavans
Off the Record: Barack Obama on Donald Trump Off the Record: Barack Obama on Donald Trump
A newly declassified press conference shows the former president’s prescience—and his blind spots.
Oct 3, 2022 / Jeet Heer
What We Can Learn From Watergate What We Can Learn From Watergate
Fifty years ago, we tried to make the presidency more accountable. It wasn’t enough to secure democracy.
Oct 3, 2022 / Robert L. Borosage
Pankaj Mishra’s Novel of Intellectuals and Influencers Pankaj Mishra’s Novel of Intellectuals and Influencers
Mishra’s first work of fiction in over a decade examines how ideas circulate in an age of social media and “ideas festivals.”
Oct 3, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Jennifer Wilson
Thulani Davis’s Freedom Visions Thulani Davis’s Freedom Visions
Her new history of the Civil War and Reconstruction examines the ways in which Black Americans formed networks of self-reliance in their pursuit of emancipation.
Oct 3, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Elias Rodriques
Remembering Frank Watkins, Longtime Lieutenant to Jesse Jackson Remembering Frank Watkins, Longtime Lieutenant to Jesse Jackson
Though he preferred to work behind the scenes, Watkins was a crucial force in opening the Democratic Party to Black leadership—and pulling it to the left.
Sep 30, 2022 / Kevin Alexander Gray