Books and Ideas

Antonio Di Benedetto and the Sound of Madness

Antonio Di Benedetto and the Sound of Madness Antonio Di Benedetto and the Sound of Madness

His bleak and surreal 1964 novel The Silentiary examines one man’s quest for quiet.

Apr 27, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Dustin Illingworth

A man holds a microphone surrounded by a crowd.

Now Amazon Is Being Challenged in the Boardroom as Well Now Amazon Is Being Challenged in the Boardroom as Well

A campaign by New York and Illinois pension fund leaders, led by New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, aims to pressure the company on its shocking record on workplace safety and ...

Apr 26, 2022 / Nathan Newman

What the Year 2000 Wrought

What the Year 2000 Wrought What the Year 2000 Wrought

A conversation with Andrew Rice about his book The Year That Broke America, the chaotic politics of the aughts, and how that decade’s eccentric characters defined American life.&nb...

Apr 26, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Alana Pockros

The Zoological Nightmares of Rafael Bernal

The Zoological Nightmares of Rafael Bernal The Zoological Nightmares of Rafael Bernal

The Mexican writer’s 1947 novel His Name Was Death dramatizes humanity’s ecological arrogance through the story of a mosquito swarm with plans of world destruction.

Apr 25, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Lucas Iberico Lozada

It’s Woody Guthrie’s World.  We Just Live in It.

It’s Woody Guthrie’s World. We Just Live in It. It’s Woody Guthrie’s World. We Just Live in It.

A new show at the Morgan Library illuminates the legendary folk singer’s jam-packed life.

Apr 25, 2022 / Feature / Gene Seymour

The New York Times Book Review at a Crossroads

The New York Times Book Review at a Crossroads The New York Times Book Review at a Crossroads

What does the future hold for one of United States’ oldest literary institutions?

Apr 21, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Kyle Paoletta

The Damning Legacy of Clintonism

The Damning Legacy of Clintonism The Damning Legacy of Clintonism

A conversation with Lily Geismer about her new book Left Behind, the misguided market guided policy of the New Democrats, and the failures of Bill Clinton. 

Apr 20, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Joshua Leifer

The Many Lives of Billy Wilder

The Many Lives of Billy Wilder The Many Lives of Billy Wilder

From Galicia to Berlin to Paris and eventually to Hollywood, the prolific director and screenwriter never let go of what proved to be his most formative experience: being in a stat...

Apr 19, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Noah Isenberg

Tom Cotton slightly smiling in a black suit

Tom Cotton, Legal Scholar Tom Cotton, Legal Scholar

Tom Cotton, a man with two Harvard degrees, attacked Ketanji Brown Jackson for representing a defendant accused of terrorism. —news reports Tom Cotton doesn’t seem to be aware That…

Apr 19, 2022 / Column / Calvin Trillin

Cedric Robinson’s Radical Democracy

Cedric Robinson’s Radical Democracy Cedric Robinson’s Radical Democracy

Rejecting the resignation of the 1970s and ’80s, Robinson found hope and resistance in the ruins of the American city.

Apr 18, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Jared Loggins

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