History

Adam Gopnik and the Cul-de-sac of 21st-Century Liberalism

Adam Gopnik and the Cul-de-sac of 21st-Century Liberalism Adam Gopnik and the Cul-de-sac of 21st-Century Liberalism

In his new book, the New Yorker writer sets out to defend liberalism from its critics, but only ends up revealing its current limitations.

Jun 12, 2019 / Books & the Arts / David A. Bell

Tony Horwitz

Remembering Tony Horwitz, Intrepid Traveler and Chronicler of the South Remembering Tony Horwitz, Intrepid Traveler and Chronicler of the South

A kindred spirit to Frederick Law Olmsted, Horwitz heard antebellum echoes everywhere.

May 31, 2019 / Jamie Stiehm

William vanden Heuvel

In Our Tumultuous Times, History Offers Hope In Our Tumultuous Times, History Offers Hope

A new memoir calls us to action.

May 28, 2019 / Katrina vanden Heuvel

Werner Herzog’s Curious Love Letter to Mikhail Gorbachev

Werner Herzog’s Curious Love Letter to Mikhail Gorbachev Werner Herzog’s Curious Love Letter to Mikhail Gorbachev

In Herzog’s latest film, Meeting Gorbachev, we end up learning a lot more about the director than about his subject.

May 24, 2019 / Elena Goukassian

No Public Restrooms Sign

The Politics of Going to the Bathroom The Politics of Going to the Bathroom

Access to adequate restrooms is a fundamental necessity for everyone, but it’s harder to come by the less structural power you have.

May 23, 2019 / Natalie Shure

Saidiya Hartman’s Astounding History of the Forgotten Sexual Modernists in 20th-Century Black Life

Saidiya Hartman’s Astounding History of the Forgotten Sexual Modernists in 20th-Century Black Life Saidiya Hartman’s Astounding History of the Forgotten Sexual Modernists in 20th-Century Black Life

In her new book, Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments, she looks at everyday life for urban black women and in the process pioneers a stirring new way to write history.

May 1, 2019 / Sam Huber

Eric Hobsbawm

Chronicling the Age of Hobsbawm: A Q&A With Historian Richard Evans Chronicling the Age of Hobsbawm: A Q&A With Historian Richard Evans

“The more I have read his writings, the more I have come to admire and respect him not just as an historian but as a person.”

Apr 26, 2019 / Sebastiaan Faber

Democracy’s Midlife Crisis

Democracy’s Midlife Crisis Democracy’s Midlife Crisis

Democracies do not necessarily go out with a bang; they can also end with a whimper.

Apr 22, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Jan-Werner Müller

The Bare Ruined Choirs of Notre Dame

The Bare Ruined Choirs of Notre Dame The Bare Ruined Choirs of Notre Dame

This monument to medieval faith will surely be rebuilt—by the techno-mobilization of capitalist individualism.

Apr 22, 2019 / Richard Lingeman

Cathedral of Notre Dame going up in flames

The Burning of Notre Dame Is Not Just a Tragedy—It’s an Opportunity The Burning of Notre Dame Is Not Just a Tragedy—It’s an Opportunity

It’s an occasion to a consider a more expansive idea of what it means to be French.

Apr 17, 2019 / Daniel Judt

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