Language Arts

Charleston Removes John C. Calhoun Statue From City's Marion Square

The Party of Lincoln Is Really the Party of Calhoun The Party of Lincoln Is Really the Party of Calhoun

Nikki Haley and Greg Abbott echo the theorist of secession.

Feb 2, 2024 / Jeet Heer

The author’s mother, 1927.

Christina Sharpe and the Art of Everyday Black Life Christina Sharpe and the Art of Everyday Black Life

In Ordinary Notes, Sharpe considers Black culture “in all of its shade and depth and glow.”

Dec 13, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Omari Weekes

Writer Jonathan Lethem poses for a photo against a gray background

Jonathan Lethem Returns to the Scene of the Crime Jonathan Lethem Returns to the Scene of the Crime

In his new novel, the bard of Boerum Hill interrogates the brutal truths of gentrification.

Oct 27, 2023 / Ross Barkan

Joe Matt

Farewell to a Poor Bastard Farewell to a Poor Bastard

Joe Matt (1963–2023) made hilarious comedy of his own misery.

Sep 21, 2023 / Obituary / Jeet Heer

Senator Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney's Lonely Exit Mitt Romney's Lonely Exit

The former GOP presidential nominee is now a pariah in his own party.

Sep 15, 2023 / Jeet Heer

Georgia Knecht, 4, browses a bookshelf at Riverside, California, Main Library.

A Book Is a Book Is a Book—Except When It’s an e-Book A Book Is a Book Is a Book—Except When It’s an e-Book

But corporate mega-publishers want purchasing a book to be like renting a movie or streaming an album.

Aug 30, 2023 / Maria Bustillos

Still from campaign ad made by an anonymous Ron DeSantis supporter.

Ron DeSantis, American Psycho Ron DeSantis, American Psycho

The Florida governor’s irony-poisoned ad uses far-right memes to sanction homophobic and transphobic violence.

Jul 10, 2023 / Jeet Heer

Emmett Louis Till, 14, with his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, at home in Chicago. (Chicago Tribune file photo/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

He Called for His Mother He Called for His Mother

Mamie Till-Mobley was one of the first in a far-too-long line of Black mothers to seek justice for their sons.

May 14, 2023 / Lottie Joiner

Sean McElwee

Sean McElwee’s Betting Against Democracy Sean McElwee’s Betting Against Democracy

The Data for Progress founder’s gambling isn’t just a bad habit. It’s a symptom of the decay of solidarity.

May 1, 2023 / Jeet Heer

Bob Frese

Arresting Criticism: When Complaining About a Public Official Can Land You in Jail Arresting Criticism: When Complaining About a Public Official Can Land You in Jail

Criminal defamation laws are relics of a bygone age.

May 1, 2023 / David Cole and Brian Hauss

x