The Humanist in the Laboratory
A personal encounter with J. Robert Oppenheimer
By Mark N. Grant Friday, August 25, 2023
The Decreationist
Simone Weil’s thoughts on the unmaking of the self
By Robert Zaretsky Thursday, August 24, 2023
“Better Asians than Blacks”
What we’re missing about the SCOTUS decision on race-conscious admissions
By Claire Jean Kim Thursday, July 20, 2023
The Musical Bard
A turn through the musical museum of folk song and family
By Thomas Fox Averill Thursday, April 20, 2023
Remembering Alison
A writer who relished the extremes in life and found humor in the darkest regions
By Ann Beattie Monday, April 10, 2023
On the Record, At Last
My father never got to tell his story at the war crimes trials at Nuremberg—it’s taken decades for the truth to come out
By George Anders Thursday, March 23, 2023
Words, Words, Words
What does the advent of ChatGPT mean for already beleaguered teachers?
By Robert Zaretsky Thursday, January 12, 2023
Rage Against the Machine
If the American symphony orchestra is to survive, it must be rewired and reengineered
By Douglas McLennan Thursday, October 13, 2022
Stereotypes and the City
What to make of HBO’s attempts to diversify an iconic show?
By Sharon Sochil Washington Thursday, April 25, 2024
Ripeness Is All
What may be the fate of classical music’s new superstars?
By Joseph Horowitz Thursday, April 11, 2024
The Very Elder Statesman
Konrad Adenauer transformed West Germany, doing his best work as an octogenarian
By Mark N. Grant Friday, March 8, 2024
Iris as Pupil
Before this canonical English writer published novels, she was a student of French postwar philosophy
By Robert Zaretsky Friday, March 1, 2024
Starving
The feelings of yearning and loss, when faced with an empty nest, can manifest in striking ways
By Laura Bernstein-Machlay Friday, February 23, 2024
A State of Perpetual Unease
Sartre’s essay on French anti-Semitism cast the problem in existential terms
By Robert Zaretsky Friday, December 15, 2023
Keeping House
Clinging to the rituals of home—even when longing to let them go
By Amanda Parrish Morgan Friday, November 17, 2023
Philip Gove and “Our Word”
A lexicographer remembers the worst frigging part of the job
By David Skinner Friday, November 10, 2023
Beethoven Underground
One ensemble bids farewell, with another just getting started
By Vivien Schweitzer Thursday, November 2, 2023
The Forgotten Writers of the Shoah
What the work of women survivors can tell us about the horrors of life in the camps