Cultural Criticism and Analysis

The Brutalist and the Hidden Work of Architecture

The Brutalist and the Hidden Work of Architecture "The Brutalist" and the Hidden Work of Architecture

A film about survival, creativity, the hypocrisies of high art, The Brutalist tells a story about an architect who does not exploit and manipulate others to achieve his grand visi...

Dec 18, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Kate Wagner

Kamala Harris at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

What Happened to the Democratic Party? What Happened to the Democratic Party?

The squalid state of our present political institutions points to a failure of not just individuals but the system as a whole.

Dec 16, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Chris Lehmann

The pure products of America: Roy Cohn and Donald Trump at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, DC, on March 20, 1983.

Donald Trump Is the Authentic American Berserk Donald Trump Is the Authentic American Berserk

Far from being an alien interloper, the incoming president draws from homegrown authoritarianism.

Dec 13, 2024 / Jeet Heer

Peter Schjeldahl’s Pleasure Principle

Peter Schjeldahl’s Pleasure Principle Peter Schjeldahl’s Pleasure Principle

His art criticism fixated on the narcissism of the entire enterprise. But over six decades, his work proved that a critic could be an artist too.

Dec 9, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Zachary Fine

Shoppers browse the Trump Store at the Kansas GOP Convention in Overland Park.

What’s—Still—the Matter With Kansas? What’s—Still—the Matter With Kansas?

As recent events bear out, when Thomas Frank lamented, “We’ll have to drag the Democrats kicking and screaming to victory" in 2017, if anything he was understating the challenge.

Nov 27, 2024 / Column / Erica Etelson

The Discontents of Michel Houellebecq

The Discontents of Michel Houellebecq The Discontents of Michel Houellebecq

What happened to the French novelist?

Nov 25, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Cole Stangler

Sundays With Noel

Sundays With Noel Sundays With Noel

Noel Parmentel was, according to his former lover and mentee, Joan Didion, the ‘outsider who lived by his ability to manipulate the inside.’

Nov 22, 2024 / Obituary / Richard Lingeman

Who’s the daddy? Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Tucker Carlson’s Weird Spanking Fantasy Is Designed to Stir Up MAGA Misogyny Tucker Carlson’s Weird Spanking Fantasy Is Designed to Stir Up MAGA Misogyny

By extolling Trump as “Daddy” meting out corporal punishment, the disgraced TV host is pitching authoritarian patriarchy.

Oct 25, 2024 / Jeet Heer

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance speaks to supporters during a campaign event in Traverse City, Michigan.

JD Vance Shows That the Future of the GOP Is in Racist Conspiracy Theories JD Vance Shows That the Future of the GOP Is in Racist Conspiracy Theories

Trump’s deluded fantasies have now become the GOP gospel.

Oct 18, 2024 / Jeet Heer

A close-up photo of Fredric Jameson smiling in front of a microphone.

Fredric Jameson Named the System We Are Still Fighting Fredric Jameson Named the System We Are Still Fighting

The late literary critic revitalized Marxism to critique our postmodern and globalized reality.

Oct 3, 2024 / Obituary / Jeet Heer

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