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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
This monument to medieval faith will surely be rebuilt—by the techno-mobilization of capitalist individualism.
Apr 22, 2019 / Richard Lingeman
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