Heart of Semi-Darkness
A writer’s delectable quest for rare flavors
By Tim Carman Thursday, November 7, 2024
Masters of Horror and Magic
The German folklorists who helped build a nation
By Anne Matthews Friday, November 1, 2024
For Want of Touch
The astonishing breadth of our passions
By Diana Goetsch Thursday, September 26, 2024
Imperiled Planet
The ecological havoc we’ve wrought
By Priscilla Long Tuesday, September 3, 2024
The Burning Earth: A History by Sunil Amrith
Ground Truth
A story of dirt, dollars, and death
By Steve Yarbrough Tuesday, September 3, 2024
The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi by Wright Thompson
Insisting on the Positive
A popular historian’s philosophical musings
By Carlin Romano Tuesday, September 3, 2024
On Freedom by Timothy Snyder
A Stranger in the Seven Hills
A refugee’s experience in the Eternal City
By Ingrid D. Rowland Tuesday, September 3, 2024
Roman Year: A Memoir by André Aciman
Mortal Coils
We aren’t alone in facing the inevitable
By Sy Montgomery Tuesday, September 3, 2024
Playing Possum: How Animals Understand Death by Susana Monsó
Silent Partner
The union that may have made possible a writer’s late flourishing
By Robert Zaretsky Tuesday, September 3, 2024
A Wilder Shore: The Romantic Odyssey of Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson by Camille Peri
Schmaltz of Significance
How the first talkie treated the myth of the melting pot
By Steven G. Kellman Tuesday, September 3, 2024
Only in America: Al Jolson and The Jazz Singer by Richard Bernstein
The Homesick Composer
Sergei Rachmaninoff may have taken American citizenship in 1943, but his heart and soul remained in his Russian past
By Joseph Horowitz Friday, January 26, 2024
The Creature Eating Its Tail
From progress to death wish
By Randy Rosenthal Monday, January 15, 2024
Heavy Mettle
A story of oppression and resilience
By Teri Ellen Cross Davis Monday, December 18, 2023
To Free the Captives: A Plea for the American Soulby Tracy K. Smith
Bodies Grotesque and Beautiful
Searching for aesthetics and meaning in the monstrous
By Sierra Bellows Monday, December 4, 2023
Art Monsters: Unruly Female Bodies in Feminist Artby Lauren Elkin
Air Show
What the rise of an NBA superstar tells us about ourselves
By Eric Wills Monday, December 4, 2023
Jumpman: The Making and Meaning of Michael Jordanby Johnny Smith
All Dolled Up
How American Girl transformed the doll world—and why millennials love it so
By Jayne Ross Thursday, November 30, 2023
Thought Experimenters
Making sense of a broken world
By Robert Zaretsky Monday, November 27, 2023
The Visionaries: Arendt, Beauvoir, Rand, Weil, and the Power of Philosophy in Dark Timesby Wolfram Eilenberger
The Late Bloomer
Reconstructing a private poet’s life
By N. S. Thompson Thursday, November 23, 2023
Nothing Stays Put: The Life and Poetry of Amy Clampittby Willard Spiegelman
Naturalists Unknown
Lives marked by discovery and erasure
By Perri Klass Thursday, November 16, 2023
Mischievous Creatures: The Forgotten Sisters Who Transformed Early American Scienceby Catherine McNeur
Down and Out
A woman excised from her eminent husband’s story