Culture

Seeing Past the Ivy: Do Literary Mandarins Put Reading At Risk? Seeing Past the Ivy: Do Literary Mandarins Put Reading At Risk?

Why the commentariat's response to hand-wringing about "the decline of reading" condescends to the large mass of nonspecialist readers.

Oct 21, 2008 / Books & the Arts / William Deresiewicz

Jon Stewart Slams Palin’s ‘Real America’ Remark Jon Stewart Slams Palin’s ‘Real America’ Remark

Jon Stewart rips Sarah Palin and the McCain campaign's suggestion that only certain parts of the country are 'pro-American.'

Oct 21, 2008 / The Daily Show

SNL: Amy Poehler Raps About Palin and Alaska SNL: Amy Poehler Raps About Palin and Alaska

Amy Poehler brings the house down with a Sarah Palin-inspired hip hop ode to Alaska and the McCain campaign.

Oct 20, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Saturday Night Live

Daily Show on Obama and McCain’s Final Debate Daily Show on Obama and McCain’s Final Debate

The final debate isn't about the animosity between the candidates, but about you, the people who remind them to keep a never-ending supply of Purell on them.

Oct 17, 2008 / The Daily Show

Saturday Night Live: Obama and McCain’s Plumber Debate Saturday Night Live: Obama and McCain’s Plumber Debate

McCain celebrates his 'best friend in the whole world', Joe the Plumber, who has a 'magical plunger' that will fix all our economic problems.

Oct 17, 2008 / Saturday Night Live

The Penguin Channels McCain in Debate With Batman The Penguin Channels McCain in Debate With Batman

In preparation for his last debate with Obama, McCain should take a few pages from the Batman villain's playbook.

Oct 15, 2008 / YouTube

Walter Benjamin Forever: A Critic’s Coveted Afterlife Walter Benjamin Forever: A Critic’s Coveted Afterlife

Following the quirky, revolutionary life path of one of the most celebrated twentieth-century intellectuals.

Oct 15, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Noah Isenberg

Rooted in Reconstruction: The First Wave of Black Congressmen Rooted in Reconstruction: The First Wave of Black Congressmen

Without the courage of the forgotten black legislators of the Reconstruction era, it would be impossible for a black man today to run for president.

Oct 15, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Eric Foner

Collateral Damage: Reporting the War in Iraq Collateral Damage: Reporting the War in Iraq

Three new books vividly portray the devastating impact of the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Oct 15, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Chris Toensing

This Town Is Going Out of Business This Town Is Going Out of Business

[This town is going out of business that I call my brain] [the public space of my head got suburbed] [the heaven-heaped core of capital-] [ized stars is empty now as sleep is full] [of new words for new feelings like infrastructure-] [nostalgia or love-outside-the- citadel] [the past tense is tragedy while the present tense is comedy] [as all the empires and epochs have ended] [but for this one and then only out here] [in the late districts of the imagination] [in the old light of our pretty periphery]

Oct 15, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Joshua Clover

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