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
Kerouac at 100
He led readers to bohemian rhapsodies, then Buddhism
By Randy Rosenthal Thursday, March 10, 2022
Putin’s Gambit
What if Russia’s motives in Ukraine are even more insidious than we think?
By David Stromberg Wednesday, March 9, 2022
The Plot to Kill de Gaulle
Fred Zinnemann’s “clock management” in The Day of the Jackal
By David Lehman Saturday, March 5, 2022
A Ukrainian Story
Displacement is sadly nothing new for my family’s homeland
By Megan Buskey Saturday, February 26, 2022
The Prophecy of an Assassination
John Frankenheimer’s prescient 1962 film, The Manchurian Candidate
By David Lehman Saturday, January 22, 2022
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
