Literary Criticism

What Happened to the 21st-Century City?

What Happened to the 21st-Century City? What Happened to the 21st-Century City?

And how we can save it.

Mar 12, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Kate Wagner

Who Is In Charge in the Biden White House?

Who Is In Charge in the Biden White House? Who Is In Charge in the Biden White House?

In The Last Politician, Franklin Foer offers a portrait of an administration at odds with itself. 

Mar 11, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Osita Nwanevu

The Enchanted Worlds of Marshall Sahlins

The Enchanted Worlds of Marshall Sahlins The Enchanted Worlds of Marshall Sahlins

What if we saw the study of ghosts, gods, and other metapersons as worthy of a science of its own?

Mar 6, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Anna Della Subin

Martin Baron announcing that he is leaving The Boston Globe to become the executive editor of The Washington Post.

What Happened to “The Washington Post” Under Marty Baron? What Happened to “The Washington Post” Under Marty Baron?

In a new book, the former editor tirelessly hymns how he and the newspaper protected their journalists and shored up the foundations of our crumbling republic. But was that the ca...

Feb 27, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Chris Lehmann

Sara Ahmed and the Joys of Killjoy Feminism

Sara Ahmed and the Joys of Killjoy Feminism Sara Ahmed and the Joys of Killjoy Feminism

To be a feminist killjoy means celebrating a different kind of joy, the joy that comes from doing critical damage to what damages so much of the world.

Feb 21, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Judith Butler

The Magic of Reading Bernard Malamud

The Magic of Reading Bernard Malamud The Magic of Reading Bernard Malamud

His work, unlike that of Bellow or Roth, focused on the lives of often impoverished Jews in Brooklyn and the Bronx and bestowed on them a literary magic.

Feb 20, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Vivian Gornick

What Happened to the Democratic Majority?

What Happened to the Democratic Majority? What Happened to the Democratic Majority?

Today the march of class dealignment feels like an inexorable fact of American political life. But is it?

Feb 19, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Matthew Karp

The Brilliant Discontents of Lou Reed

The Brilliant Discontents of Lou Reed The Brilliant Discontents of Lou Reed

A new biography examines the enigma of the musician.

Jan 23, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Sasha Frere-Jones

A photo of the book cover of

Reconsidering the Indelible Legacy of the “Feminist-Critical Mother of Us All” Reconsidering the Indelible Legacy of the “Feminist-Critical Mother of Us All”

The life and times of pioneering feminist scholar Carolyn Heilbrun revealed the defining pressures, struggles, and joys of her era.

Nov 21, 2023 / Gayle Greene

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

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