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
1968 a Half Century Later
A Year (Until Now?) Like No Other
By Walter Nicklin Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Intimations of Fascism
The problem with hating the haters
By Mark Edmundson Wednesday, January 3, 2018
A Palate for the Finer Things
Pondering a father’s thirst for respectability
By Paul Lukacs Wednesday, November 29, 2017
The Wine Lover’s Daughter: A Memoirby Anne Fadiman
On Truth Telling and Dictatorship
A journalist reflects on the value of a free press—and the consequences of its subversion
By Dennis Covington Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Remembering Richard Wilbur
Thoughts on the Pulitzer prize–winning poet
By A. E. Stallings Monday, October 23, 2017
Triumph of the Underdog
A new biography offers a sympathetic portrait of Lincoln’s greatest general
By Richard Moe Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Grant by Ron Chernow
Good Faith, Decent People, and Fateful Misunderstandings
On the occasion of the new PBS documentary on Vietnam, a former war correspondent recalls an American general whose failure helped define the conflict
By Ernest B. Furgurson Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Violence in Charlottesville
What I saw firsthand, and what it meant
By Mark Edmundson Monday, August 28, 2017
Monumental Hatred
The ongoing struggle against white supremacy
