Culture

Cormac McCarthy, 1973.

Cormac McCarthy’s Unforgiving Parables of American Empire Cormac McCarthy’s Unforgiving Parables of American Empire

He demonstrated how the frontier wasn’t an incubator of democratic equality but a place of unrelenting pain, cruelty, and suffering.

Jun 21, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Greg Grandin

Retired Marine Gen. James Cartwright arrives for a hearing at US District Court, October 17, 2016 in Washington, DC. Cartwright was charged with making false statements during a federal investigation.

If Donald Trump Went to Jail for Violating the Espionage Act, He’d Be an Exception If Donald Trump Went to Jail for Violating the Espionage Act, He’d Be an Exception

It’s only whistleblowers who do hard time. Generals and high officials typically get just a slap on the wrist.

Jun 20, 2023 / James Bamford

Arthur Russell’s Endless Reinventions

Arthur Russell’s Endless Reinventions Arthur Russell’s Endless Reinventions

Since his death, his music has only become more influential and more mysterious.

Jun 20, 2023 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu

Liz Phair performs in concert during Primavera Sound on May 31, 2019, in Barcelona, Spain.

“I Write Things I Cannot Play”: The Secret of Liz Phair “I Write Things I Cannot Play”: The Secret of Liz Phair

Thirty years after the release of her classic album Exile in Guyville, the singer-songwriter is taking the record back on the road.

Jun 20, 2023 / Q&A / Dave Zirin

Jesse Hagopian, his father, and his brother in Morgantown, Miss.

Celebrating Juneteenth by Emancipating History Celebrating Juneteenth by Emancipating History

A Black family’s pilgrimage to Mississippi.

Jun 19, 2023 / Jesse Hagopian

A banner depicting Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shaking hands with India Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 2019.

The Settler-Colonialist Alliance of India and Israel The Settler-Colonialist Alliance of India and Israel

Over the decades, the two nations have become closer allies in business and politics. We talked to journalist Azad Essa about the origins of this international relationship.

Jun 19, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Deeksha Udupa

Quintessa Swindell and Joel Edgerton in “Master Gardener.”

Paul Schrader’s Unlikely Optimism Paul Schrader’s Unlikely Optimism

Master Gardener seems designed to provoke. But in his late age, the filmmaker has settled into an earnest style, fixated on love and second chances.

Jun 15, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Vikram Murthi

Elizabeth Gilbert

Eat, Pray, Cringe Eat, Pray, Cringe

Elizabeth Gilbert’s next novel faced outcry for its setting in Russia. So, before she could get canceled, she canceled herself.

Jun 14, 2023 / Katha Pollitt

Fordism Comes to the Gallery—and AI Comes for the Artists

Fordism Comes to the Gallery—and AI Comes for the Artists Fordism Comes to the Gallery—and AI Comes for the Artists

Though hyped in the media as the latest thing, the images generated by AI art are actually old, trapping the viewer in a time loop of kitsch.

Jun 14, 2023 / Dwayne Monroe

A scene from “Unrest”

The Swiss Village That Made Kropotkin an Anarchist The Swiss Village That Made Kropotkin an Anarchist

Cyril Schäublin’s Unrest may be the most orderly movie about anarchists ever made.

Jun 14, 2023 / Books & the Arts / J. Hoberman

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