The Brahmin and His Imaginary Friend
How a classic paean to the honest virtues of a Maine fisherman obscured several ugly truths
By Janna Malamud Smith Friday, January 24, 2025
Divided Providence
Faith’s pivotal role in the outcome of the Civil War
By Robert Wilson Thursday, January 23, 2025
Righteous Strife: How Warring Religious Nationalists Forged Lincoln’s Union by Richard Carwardine
“The Terrorist, He’s Watching” by Wislawa Szymborska
Poems read aloud, beautifully
By Amanda Holmes Tuesday, January 21, 2025
Keepers of the Old Ways
Eliot Stein on the people keeping cultural traditions alive
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, January 17, 2025
“The Purse-Seine” by Robinson Jeffers
Poems read aloud, beautifully
By Amanda Holmes Tuesday, January 14, 2025
Island Royalty
A new biography of a Caribbean revolutionary
By Madison Smartt Bell Monday, January 13, 2025
The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe by Marlene L. Daut
The Writer in the Family
The fiction of E. L. Doctorow gave a young man hope of connecting his father and his literary hero
By Jonathan Liebson Wednesday, January 8, 2025
Filling in the Blanks
An excerpt from How Schools Really Matter: Why Our Assumption About Schools and Inequality Is Mostly Wrong by Douglas B. Downey
By Jayne Ross Thursday, November 5, 2020
How Schools Really Matter: Why Our Assumption About Schools and Inequality Is Mostly Wrong by Douglas B. Downey
Covid Fatigue on the Continent
In Europe, pandemic restrictions are returning after a summer of eating, drinking, and vacationing
By Anne Swardson Wednesday, November 4, 2020
“Neutral Tones” by Thomas Hardy
Poems read aloud, beautifully
By Amanda Holmes Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Coronavirus and the Coming Election
No matter who wins, the pandemic isn’t going away anytime soon
By Philip Alcabes Saturday, October 31, 2020
Morbid and Misunderstood
The science and history of books bound in human skin
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, October 30, 2020
Art After the Plague
How painters through the ages have responded to contagion, pestilence, and deadly epidemics
By Ingrid D. Rowland Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Consider the Zipper
One professor’s quest to uncover the 100 best ideas of all time
By Rebecca McCarthy Tuesday, October 27, 2020
