Unfriendly Exchange
The tale of a nuclear war that almost was
By Jeffrey Lewis Monday, October 26, 2026
The Six Minute War: Reagan, Russia, and the Race to Automate Armageddon By Michael Dobbs
Battle for the Ballot Box
How decades of legal attacks and court decisions have undermined the crown jewel of the civil rights movement
By Brandon Tensley Thursday, October 8, 2026
An American Problem: How the Country Built—and the Supreme Court Broke—the Voting Rights Act by Michael G. Miller and Kevin T. Morris
Shooting for the Camera
A portrait of the 20th century’s most infamous assassin
By Anne Matthews Monday, September 28, 2026
Chief Misunderstanding
A speculative, sputtering study of leadership
By Elizabeth D. Samet Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Our Energetic World
Life is not an accident but an inevitable result of physical laws
By Rebecca Boyle Tuesday, September 8, 2026
The Co-Creation: How Earth Made Life and Life Made Earth By Olivia Judson
Finding Marty
Zooming in on a storied director
By Michael O'Donnell Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Just a Shot Away: Martin Scorsese’s Life in Film By Mark Binelli
Dramatic Paws
On the trail of the elusive big cat of the Himalaya
By David Gessner Tuesday, September 8, 2026
The Ghost of the Mountains: Unraveling the Secrets of the Snow Leopard By Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi
Translating the Past
Modern wit meets age-old wisdom
By Rachel Hadas Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea: Journeys Through Ancient Literature By Emily Wilson
Sound Barrier
How Marian Anderson made and managed history
By Matthew Guerrieri Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Voice of a Century: The Life and Artistry of Marian Anderson By Anthony Tommasini
Thought Experiment
Exploring the evolutionary origins of our brains
By Elizabeth Marshall Thomas Monday, December 7, 2020
Metazoa: Animal Life and the Birth of the Mindby Peter Godfrey-Smith
Satirist to the Galaxy
The war behind a writer’s words
By Anne Matthews Wednesday, December 2, 2020
Love, Kurt: The Vonnegut Love Letters, 1941–1945edited by Edith Vonnegut
Indefensible Torture, Unfree Speech
What Censorship Kept America from Learning about the Futility of “Enhanced Interrogation Techniques”
By Lincoln Caplan Saturday, November 7, 2020
The Black Banners Declassified: How Torture Derailed the War on Terror after 9/11 by Ali Soufan with Daniel Freedman
Black America’s Tough-Minded Truth Teller
How an autobiography shaped the image of a civil rights icon
By Robert J. Norrell Monday, October 26, 2020
The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X by Les Payne and Tamara Payne
A Pioneering Appetite
The story of America’s first culinary celebrity
By Anne Matthews Monday, October 19, 2020
The Man Who Ate Too Much: The Life of James BeardJohn Birdsall
Verifiable Truths
The thinkers who tried to strip metaphysics from philosophy
By Gary Saul Morson Thursday, October 15, 2020
The Murder of Professor Schlick: The Rise and Fall of the Vienna CircleDavid Edmonds
Saved By Accident
Only dumb luck has stood in the way of atomic annihilation
By Marc Ambinder Thursday, October 8, 2020
Gambling With Armageddonby Martin J. Sherwin
Sonic Geographer
The composer whose music bears witness to a planet in peril
By Sudip Bose Monday, October 5, 2020
Admired and Abhorred
The German composer whose legacy continues to confound
By Steven G. Kellman Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of MusicAlex Ross
Beneath the Powdered Wig
Reinterpreting the life of our trendiest Founding Father


















