Cultural Criticism and Analysis

milo protest

Are We on the Verge of Another Civil War? Are We on the Verge of Another Civil War?

The historian David Armitage didn’t intend his new book to be a “handbook for our times.” But that’s just what it is.

Feb 8, 2017 / Richard Kreitner

Plenty’s Discontent

Plenty’s Discontent Plenty’s Discontent

The lost sense of hope and idealism in David Hare’s England.

Jan 19, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Alisa Solomon

Nat Hentoff

Nat Hentoff, Freedom Fighter Nat Hentoff, Freedom Fighter

The legendary critic, who died recently at the age of 91, passionately defended freedom of expression in jazz, politics, and life.

Jan 9, 2017 / Richard Kreitner

Birth of an Imperial Nation

Birth of an Imperial Nation Birth of an Imperial Nation

A new history of 19th-century America captures how the United States was always an empire.

Jan 5, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Gabriel Winant

Polanyi In Our Times

Polanyi In Our Times Polanyi In Our Times

What the Austro-Hungarian economic theorist tells us about the upheavals of our age.

Dec 22, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Nikil Saval

Hunter S. Thompson

This Political Theorist Predicted the Rise of Trumpism. His Name Was Hunter S. Thompson. This Political Theorist Predicted the Rise of Trumpism. His Name Was Hunter S. Thompson.

In Hell’s Angels, the gonzo journalist wrote about left-behind people motivated only by “an ethic of total retaliation.” Sound familiar?

Dec 15, 2016 / Feature / Susan McWilliams

The Strange Career of American Exceptionalism

The Strange Career of American Exceptionalism The Strange Career of American Exceptionalism

…and Barack Obama’s curious role as its most ardent recent champion and prominent victim.

Dec 6, 2016 / Feature / Greg Grandin

One Flew Over Bellevue

One Flew Over Bellevue One Flew Over Bellevue

As little as David Oshinsky might care to admit it, the idea that Bellevue is a place for “crazies” has stuck in our cultural consciousness.

Dec 3, 2016 / Nathan Smith

The Second Coming of MTV News

The Second Coming of MTV News The Second Coming of MTV News

Its rebirth gives insights into twin trends across the media landscape: prestige and diversity.

Dec 2, 2016 / Wei Tchou

Cohen_Philip Guston

Philip Guston’s Man Beyond Redemption Philip Guston’s Man Beyond Redemption

Guston’s drawings of Richard Nixon stayed private until decades after the artist’s death.

Nov 26, 2016 / Alina Cohen

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