Cultural Criticism and Analysis

I.B. Singer’s Language of Everyday Life

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

Movie poster with the word Metropolis is red letters

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

With Queen Elizabeth Gone, Monarchy’s Magic May Be Fading

With Queen Elizabeth Gone, Monarchy’s Magic May Be Fading With Queen Elizabeth Gone, Monarchy’s Magic May Be Fading

If the Crown is the lid on Britain’s pressure cooker, it is now less firmly placed on a more combustible pot.

Sep 13, 2022 / Owen Jones

King Charles III speaks as now-Queen Camilla sits beside him at Westminster Hall.

God Save Us From the King God Save Us From the King

The British monarchy is nothing if not adaptable—but for how long?

Sep 12, 2022 / Jeet Heer

“The Nation” and the National Writers Union Reach an Agreement

“The Nation” and the National Writers Union Reach an Agreement “The Nation” and the National Writers Union Reach an Agreement

It will protect freelancers’ rights and set rates and conditions.

Sep 6, 2022 / Abigail Higgins

Emmett Till looks into the distance. He is wearing a hat.

How Emmett Till’s Death Led to the Invention of the “Liberal Media” How Emmett Till’s Death Led to the Invention of the “Liberal Media”

The young Black man’s murder is an outrage that still haunts our history. So do the lies in the media set in motion by the discovery of his mutilated body 67 years ago today.

Aug 31, 2022 / Chris Lamb

Searching for Local Identity in “The Bear” and “Chicago Party Aunt”

Searching for Local Identity in “The Bear” and “Chicago Party Aunt” Searching for Local Identity in “The Bear” and “Chicago Party Aunt”

The FX drama and Netflix animation both attempt to embody the city of Chicago. That’s an increasingly difficult task when the city itself is a jumbled simulacrum of its own past.

Aug 25, 2022 / Ryan Zickgraf

Howard Zinn speaking

Howard Zinn at 100: Remembering “The People’s Historian” Howard Zinn at 100: Remembering “The People’s Historian”

Zinn made no pretense of neutrality. He believed that “in a world of conflict,” it was the historian’s job to advocate for the oppressed.

Aug 24, 2022 / Robert Cohen and Sonia Murrow

Salman Rushdie speaks on stage at a 2019 discussion of

Salman Rushdie Joins Indian Writers on 75 Years of Independence Salman Rushdie Joins Indian Writers on 75 Years of Independence

Shortly before he was attacked, Rushdie joined with dozens of Indian literary artists to lament the rise of Hindu nationalism and the fragile state of the country's democracy.

Aug 18, 2022 / Pranay Somayajula

Network cables in a server room in New York City, 2014.

The Sophist Network The Sophist Network

Justin E.H. Smith’s recent book is a prime example of how a certain realm of philosophical thinking misunderstands the material impact of the Internet.

Aug 1, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Michael Eby

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