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?
By Colin Dickey Wednesday, October 29, 2025
War and Peace in Chicago
Looking back at the 1968 Democratic Convention
By Walter Nicklin Thursday, August 23, 2018
The Devil’s Party?
Why we love Lucifer—and why Milton might have, too
By Edwin M. Yoder Jr. Tuesday, July 31, 2018
On Hospitality
Perspectives on borders and border-crossing
By Paula Marantz Cohen Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Hell, Yes
The long tradition of newspaper people doing their jobs in terrible circumstances
By Ernest B. Furgurson Friday, July 6, 2018
The Half-Century What If?
How would our lives be different if RFK had not been assassinated?
By Walter Nicklin Thursday, May 31, 2018
The Roth Years
Remembering a novelist of intellect and wit
By Steven L. Isenberg Tuesday, May 29, 2018
The Great Detached
As a journalist, Tom Wolfe’s greatest asset was his emotional distance from his subjects
By Graeme Wood Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Red Sky in Morning, Fisherman’s Warning
Climate change in the Gulf of Maine
