Books and Ideas

Ketanji Brown Jackson

Mitch McConnell and Ketanji Brown Jackson Mitch McConnell and Ketanji Brown Jackson

If Mitch controlled the Senate, how would he Explain why Jackson’s hearings weren’t to be? No hearings while the French election nears? No hearings held in even-numbered years?…

Mar 8, 2022 / Column / Calvin Trillin

The Messy Humanity of Leo Bersani (April 16, 1931–February 20, 2022)

The Messy Humanity of Leo Bersani (April 16, 1931–February 20, 2022) The Messy Humanity of Leo Bersani (April 16, 1931–February 20, 2022)

Two friends and colleagues on the late scholar, whose analyses of gay identity during the height of the AIDS crisis still loom large over sexuality studies.

Mar 7, 2022 / Zahid R. Chaudhary and Anne Anlin Cheng

The New Politics of Desire

The New Politics of Desire The New Politics of Desire

In her new book, the philosopher Amia Srinivasan asks: “What would it take for sex really to be free?” 

Mar 7, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Maggie Doherty

My Norman Mailer Problem—and Ours

My Norman Mailer Problem—and Ours My Norman Mailer Problem—and Ours

Digging down into the roots of white America’s infatuation with Black.

Mar 7, 2022 / Feature / Darryl Pinckney

Francesco Pacifico Confronts Fiction’s Oldest Questions

Francesco Pacifico Confronts Fiction’s Oldest Questions Francesco Pacifico Confronts Fiction’s Oldest Questions

His new novel, The Women I Love, asks if men can accurately portray and represent the experiences of women.

Mar 3, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Piper French

The Riddle of Zoomer Politics

The Riddle of Zoomer Politics The Riddle of Zoomer Politics

Pollster John Della Volpe claims he’s cracked the puzzle on this generation’s ideology. But is there really straightforward answer to what makes Gen Z tick?

Mar 2, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Julian Epp

Stephen Crane’s Lifetime of Mystery

Stephen Crane’s Lifetime of Mystery Stephen Crane’s Lifetime of Mystery

His visceral fiction and journalism might be best understood as a literature of pure immediacy.

Mar 1, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Paul Franz

The Book Arsenal: A Dispatch From the Cultural Front in Kyiv

The Book Arsenal: A Dispatch From the Cultural Front in Kyiv The Book Arsenal: A Dispatch From the Cultural Front in Kyiv

Ukrainian publisher Anetta Antonenko has her books, her cats, her language—and her gun.

Feb 28, 2022 / Benjamin Moser

What Is Fueling Our Century’s Global “Disorder”?

What Is Fueling Our Century’s Global “Disorder”? What Is Fueling Our Century’s Global “Disorder”?

A conversation with historian Helen Thompson about the changes in energy consumption and monetary policy that set the table for today’s geopolitical instability.

Feb 28, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins

Let’s Talk About the Taking of Black Land

Let’s Talk About the Taking of Black Land Let’s Talk About the Taking of Black Land

From Seneca Village to “urban renewal,” the government has claimed Black property—rarely with the “just compensation” promised by the Fifth Amendment.

Feb 28, 2022 / Feature / Elie Mystal

x