Cultural Criticism and Analysis

30 Years Ago Eastern Europeans Tore Down Walls. Now They Write Pop Songs to Putin.

30 Years Ago Eastern Europeans Tore Down Walls. Now They Write Pop Songs to Putin. 30 Years Ago Eastern Europeans Tore Down Walls. Now They Write Pop Songs to Putin.

How crony capitalism and crippling austerity turned democracy into a dirty word.

Nov 8, 2019 / Lev Golinkin

Peter Handke’s Nobel Condones Violence

Peter Handke’s Nobel Condones Violence Peter Handke’s Nobel Condones Violence

One of Sweden’s most important authors on how the Swedish Academy abuses its platform—and the intelligentsia lets it happen.

Oct 18, 2019 / Johannes Anyuru

Jedediah Purdy Has an Idea That Could Save Us From Capitalism and the Climate Crisis

Jedediah Purdy Has an Idea That Could Save Us From Capitalism and the Climate Crisis Jedediah Purdy Has an Idea That Could Save Us From Capitalism and the Climate Crisis

We talked to the lawyer, theorist, and critic about his new book This Land Is Our Land, his concept of a moral political economy, and the legacies of Bush and Obama.

Oct 16, 2019 / Q&A / Aaron Bady

Shock, Fun, and Feminist Rage

Shock, Fun, and Feminist Rage Shock, Fun, and Feminist Rage

As second wave feminism passes into history and a new wave builds, is the world finally ready for Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen?

Oct 1, 2019 / Alix Kates Shulman

Lynda Barry’s Infectious Genius

Lynda Barry’s Infectious Genius Lynda Barry’s Infectious Genius

The award-winning cartoonist is not only a great artist but a wellspring of inspiration for others.

Sep 30, 2019 / Jeet Heer

Kamel Daoud and the Paradoxes of Liberation

Kamel Daoud and the Paradoxes of Liberation Kamel Daoud and the Paradoxes of Liberation

In a new collection of his political writings, the Algerian novelist contemplates the unfinished business of his country’s struggle for independence.

Sep 30, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Robyn Creswell

Making Sense of Trump’s Rise

Making Sense of Trump’s Rise Making Sense of Trump’s Rise

Three new books try to explain how we got such a massive jerk in the White House.

Sep 26, 2019 / Column / Eric Alterman

Have Americans Become More Conspiratorial?

Have Americans Become More Conspiratorial? Have Americans Become More Conspiratorial?

In their new book, Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum argue that a new form of conspiracy thinking is consuming our culture in dangerous and alarming ways. But is it?

Sep 16, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Sophia Rosenfeld

Wendell Berry’s Lifelong Dissent 

Wendell Berry’s Lifelong Dissent  Wendell Berry’s Lifelong Dissent 

At the core of both his writing and activism is the insight that we can’t imagine a harmonious future without confronting the destruction in our past.

Sep 9, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Jedediah Britton-Purdy

A Blueprint for an Anticapitalist Life

A Blueprint for an Anticapitalist Life A Blueprint for an Anticapitalist Life

In the T Fleischmann’s book-length essay, Time Is the Thing a Body Moves Through, they present a theory of identity and community outside the strictures of hegemony.

Sep 4, 2019 / Becca Schuh

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