Books and Ideas

Senator Ted Cruz holds a book on Critical Race Theory to display to Congress.

Across the Country, Faculty Fight to Defend Academic Freedom Across the Country, Faculty Fight to Defend Academic Freedom

Displaying an unprecedented solidarity, the academic community is mobilizing to confront an existential assault on its professional work and values.

Mar 30, 2022 / Ellen Schrecker

Meet the Countess With a Hole in Her Head

Meet the Countess With a Hole in Her Head Meet the Countess With a Hole in Her Head

Amanda Feilding may be an eccentric British aristocrat. But she deserves full credit for funding significant research into psychedelics long before it was either cool or respectabl...

Mar 24, 2022 / Zoe Cormier

The Dark History of Colonia Dignidad

The Dark History of Colonia Dignidad The Dark History of Colonia Dignidad

The Netflix series A Sinister Sect examines not only the history of a German community led by a Nazi in Chile but also the relationship between Latin American governments and ...

Mar 24, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Ilan Stavans

People of different backgrounds fit together as part of a half-completed puzzle

A Mirror on Every Wall—and a Microphone Behind Every Mirror A Mirror on Every Wall—and a Microphone Behind Every Mirror

The work of belonging is never done.

Mar 24, 2022 / Column / David Bromwich

What Will It Take to Achieve Workplace Equality?

What Will It Take to Achieve Workplace Equality? What Will It Take to Achieve Workplace Equality?

A new history examines the gains won by women in white-collar work. But without mass action and solidarity, women’s economic equality will continue to be transitory and fragile.

Mar 22, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Bryce Covert

The Secret Black History of LSD

The Secret Black History of LSD The Secret Black History of LSD

Research on psychedelics, then and now, has been riddled with medical racism and exclusion. But that hasn’t stopped Black people from finding creativity and solace through such dru...

Mar 22, 2022 / Feature / Kali Holloway

Reconstruction of Teleilat el Ghassul

From Opium to Saffron, the Ancients Knew a Thing or Two About Drugs From Opium to Saffron, the Ancients Knew a Thing or Two About Drugs

Scholars of antiquity are finding ever more evidence that psychoactive substances played a central role in ancient life.

Mar 22, 2022 / Feature / Karen Polinger Foster, Diana Stein, and Sarah Kielt Costello

Sanctioning Oligarchs

Sanctioning Oligarchs Sanctioning Oligarchs

Yes, Putin’s Russian oligarchs have lots Of London mansions, not to mention yachts. A yacht that’s seized brings pressure hard to bear— Unless, of course, that Russian has a spare.

Mar 22, 2022 / Column / Calvin Trillin

A 20-Year Debacle in Afghanistan

A 20-Year Debacle in Afghanistan A 20-Year Debacle in Afghanistan

Why the American war was destined for catastrophe and tragedy from the start.

Mar 21, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Charlie Savage

Can a Thriller Capture the Feeling of Being Watched?

Can a Thriller Capture the Feeling of Being Watched? Can a Thriller Capture the Feeling of Being Watched?

Calla Henkel’s Other People’s Clothes mines the gossip and sleaze of early 2000s culture to tell a story about celebrity obsession and spectacle.

Mar 17, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Philippa Snow

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