Soul Train and the Desire for Black Power Soul Train and the Desire for Black Power
Don Cornelius’s faith that Black culture would attract a mass audience—and his devout belief that Black culture should be in the hands of Black people—make the program he created a...
Dec 22, 2021 / Mark Anthony Neal
Remembering the Clarion Call of bell hooks Remembering the Clarion Call of bell hooks
My recollections of the late scholar, who revolutionized her fields.
Dec 21, 2021 / Patricia J. Williams
Alfred Döblin’s Surreal Foray Into Climate Fiction Alfred Döblin’s Surreal Foray Into Climate Fiction
The 20th-century German writer’s novel Mountains Oceans Giants is a stunning and strange look into what an environmental apocalypse might look like.
Dec 21, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Joe Bucciero
What’s New in the New “West Side Story”? What’s New in the New “West Side Story”?
In Steven Spielberg’s version, we get a film that offers a far more inclusive vision of postwar America but one that still retains its flawed view of working-class tribalism.
Dec 20, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Ed Morales
My Journey Into the Land of the Unmasked My Journey Into the Land of the Unmasked
I headed to Florida as a hardcore Covid-avoider, but after just three days, I was singing karaoke with strangers, throwing all caution to the wind.
Dec 16, 2021 / Elie Mystal
The Startling Postcolonial Poetics of “Coolitude” The Startling Postcolonial Poetics of “Coolitude”
Khal Thorabully’s epic poem “re-voices” the history of Indian indentured migration, and in the process imagines a new kind of transoceanic political solidarity.
Dec 16, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Aditya Bahl
Portraits in Minneapolis Portraits in Minneapolis
A street-art celebration of diversity.
The Last Days of the Beatles The Last Days of the Beatles
Does Peter Jackson’s eight-hour documentary give us the fullest picture of the band’s late history?
Dec 15, 2021 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu
The Greatest Teacher of America’s Great Art Form The Greatest Teacher of America’s Great Art Form
The pianist Barry Harris, who died last week, dedicated his life to continuing the oral tradition of jazz improvisation.
Dec 15, 2021 / Ethan Iverson