If You Build It, Will They Still Come?
Scaling the border wall
By Eric Wills Monday, January 10, 2022
A Crash Course
The myth surrounding my beloved Aunt Myrtle only grew when she moved down South in the 1940s
By Kenneth A. McClane Thursday, January 6, 2022
Joan Didion and the Magic of Grief
She went from cool customer to recorder of her own bereavement
By Sandra M. Gilbert Monday, January 3, 2022
Christmas Movies Beyond the Expected
Six films to shake up your holiday viewing
By David Lehman Saturday, December 18, 2021
The Sondheim Way
Ambition, freedom, and the importance of innovation
By Wendy Smith Tuesday, November 30, 2021
The Highest Achievement of American Film Noir
Stanwyck, MacMurray, and Robinson at their best in Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity
By David Lehman Saturday, November 6, 2021
Why We Need the Humanities
The word itself contains the answer
By James A. W. Heffernan Saturday, October 30, 2021
Back to School
A return to reading as a private and a public act
By Seth Lerer Saturday, October 23, 2021
Fractured Odysseus
The psychiatrist Jonathan Shay’s books on Homer are the key to Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey
By Colin Dickey Thursday, August 20, 2026
Gratitude Isn’t Everything
The revolutionary Patriots owed much to their forefathers, but their fight for universal rights embraced a wider mission
By Robert A. Gross Friday, July 31, 2026
It All Comes Down to This
As the recent World Cup showed, the drama of a penalty shootout can at times be Shakespearean
By Eric Wills Thursday, July 30, 2026
What He Stood For
How Angus Cameron, one of the most significant editors in the history of American publishing, responded to being targeted by the McCarthy blacklist
By Jonathan Coleman Friday, April 24, 2026
Who Is Blake Whiting?
The most astonishingly productive historian in recent times is someone you’ll never meet
By Andrew Lawler Thursday, April 16, 2026
The Importance of Being Idle
What Paul Lafargue taught us about work
By Robert Zaretsky Monday, March 30, 2026
Gilded Guilt
On Taylor Swift, Julian Fellowes, and the class conflicts that never die
By Jessa Crispin Friday, February 13, 2026
The Popper Principle
Did Plato really espouse ideas that led eventually to totalitarianism?
By Robert Zaretsky Thursday, January 29, 2026
It’s a Wonderful (Falling Apart) Life
In the disrepair of our everyday world are suggestions of life’s burdens and consolations
By Ben Slote Friday, December 19, 2025
The Conspiracist Cotton Mather
The zealot who oversaw the Salem Witch Trials initially voiced restraint—what changed?
