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 Times by 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 Clampitt by 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 Science by Catherine McNeur
Alphabet of Despair
The photographic language of Dorothea Lange conveyed order and beauty in a dusty, impoverished America
By Megan Craig Thursday, November 9, 2023
Down and Out
A woman excised from her eminent husband’s story
By Steven G. Kellman Friday, October 27, 2023
Wifedom: Mrs. Orwell’s Invisible Life by Anna Funder
A Burning World
Can poetry truly supply the language to express the ineffable sensations of suffering and love?
By Christian Wiman Thursday, October 26, 2023
It’s All Greek to Her
The woman who brought mythology to the masses
By Amanda Kolson Hurley Friday, October 20, 2023
American Classicist: The Life and Loves of Edith Hamilton by Victoria Houseman
The Days After
Remembering Samantha Smith, the girl who dared to dream of peace at a time when so many feared a global war
By Wendy Fontaine Thursday, October 19, 2023
Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit
“There was the rabbit lying in the middle of the road, legs limp but twitching before its head sagged and went still.”
By Anne Valente Friday, October 13, 2023
A Clean, Well-Ordered Place
An ode to the grocery store
By Steve Yarbrough Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Connect or Die
The high cost of going it alone
By Scott Stossel Thursday, October 5, 2023
This Exquisite Loneliness: What Loners, Outcasts, and the Misunderstood Can Teach Us About Creativityby Richard Deming
Lionized
The life and death of a celebrity puma—and what it really means to be wild
By Sophie Newman Friday, September 29, 2023
Origin Stories
What we know of Flannery O’Connor’s childhood—and how her views on race took shape—is incomplete if her caretaker Emma Jackson remains in obscurity
By Caroline McCoy Friday, September 22, 2023
To Get to the Other Side
Roads and the future of life on Earth
By Miranda Weiss Thursday, September 21, 2023
Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet by Ben Goldfarb
Patience, Practice, Perseverance
How Octavia E. Butler became a writer
By Lynell George Thursday, September 14, 2023
A Turn to the Dark Side
Reckoning with 9/11, the wars
in Iraq and Afghanistan,
and most recently the Covid-19 pandemic has compelled
historians to rethink the Civil War and its aftermath
By Drew Gilpin Faust Monday, September 11, 2023
This Is Not the Zombie Apocalypse
Is a new form of methamphetamine really to blame for a host of urban problems?
By Jessica Gregg Friday, September 8, 2023
Shostakovich in South Dakota
A manifesto for the future of American classical music
By Joseph Horowitz Thursday, September 7, 2023
Queen of the Castle
Looking for Mama Lou, the legendary singer whose work helped inspire American ragtime
By Eric McHenry Wednesday, September 6, 2023
The Grinberg Affair
One of Mexico’s most curious missing-persons cases involves a scientist who dabbled in the mystical arts