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
Baby Shoggoth Is Listening
Why are some writers tailoring their work for AI, and what does this mean for the future of writing and reading?
By Dan Kagan-Kans Wednesday, October 29, 2025
What Is an American Hero, Anyway?
Lists of great artists say more about the list-maker than the artist
By Jessa Crispin Friday, October 24, 2025
Voices of the Displaced
The plight of Ukraine’s refugees in Poland
By Megan Buskey Thursday, May 12, 2022
Ku Klux Khaki
The far right’s signature style is less about dad pants and more about fatherhood
By Augustine Sedgewick Saturday, April 30, 2022
What I Don’t Know
At the heart of my family tree are only questions and mysteries
By Lynne Sharon Schwartz Thursday, April 14, 2022
The Story of a Stare Down
How two antagonists from Tudor England ended up facing each other on Fifth Avenue
By Penelope Rowlands Thursday, April 7, 2022
A Prophecy Unfulfilled?
What a new book and six companion videos have to say about the fate of Black classical music in America
By Mark N. Grant Saturday, April 2, 2022
Footnotes to Jefferson’s Idea of Happiness
We are free to pursue it, but what does it mean?
By Max Byrd Saturday, March 26, 2022
Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times
The people of Poland step up
By Ewa Hryniewicz-Yarbrough Saturday, March 19, 2022
WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES
Footage from a war and the effects on your brain
By Richard Restak Thursday, March 17, 2022
View from the Mesa
A scientist and pacifist looks back at what Los Alamos has wrought
By Jeffrey Kovac Saturday, March 12, 2022
