SPOTLIGHT

Love the Blood

Exploring the complexity of a life with Carl Van Vechten, on the centennial of his most notorious work

By Emily Bernard Friday, October 9, 2026

SPOTLIGHT

Love the Blood

Exploring the complexity of a life with Carl Van Vechten, on the centennial of his most notorious work

By Emily Bernard Friday, October 9, 2026

Web Essays

Fractured Odysseus

The psychiatrist Jonathan Shay’s books on Homer are the key to Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey

Asturias Days

Want to, Have to

Read Me a Poem

“Wild Nights—Wild Nights!” by Emily Dickinson

Poems read aloud, beautifully

Tuning Up

Any Way You Can

This is what can happen when you’re abandoned in a war zone

Article

Our Versatile, Durable Pickup

The story of a vehicle that is many things to many people but is, above all, an American icon

Book Reviews

Hidden Truths

A new portrait of one of the 20th century’s most controversial philosophers

Read Me a Poem

“Homecoming” by Henry Sloss

Poems read aloud, beautifully

Portrait of the Artist

Amie Cunat

Naming our monsters

Book Reviews

Battle for the Ballot Box

How decades of legal attacks and court decisions have undermined the crown jewel of the civil rights movement

Read Me a Poem

“Mummy of a Lady Named Jemutesonekh” by Thomas James

Poems read aloud, beautifully

Portrait of the Artist

Lizz Freeman

Tailoring memory

Smarty Pants Podcast

Dawn of the Brain-Dead

Carl Elliott on the ethical implications of going beyond organ transplantation

Article

A Teacher and a Friend

The roots of Anthony Benezet’s campaign against slavery—and his belief in Black and white equality—can be traced to the remarkable school he ran out of his home

Asturias Days

Where Are You Bound?

Read Me a Poem

“Psalm 102” by Mary Sidney Herbert

Poems read aloud, beautifully

Book Reviews

Shooting for the Camera

A portrait of the 20th century’s most infamous assassin

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A Teacher and a Friend

The roots of Anthony Benezet’s campaign against slavery—and his belief in Black and white equality—can be traced to the remarkable school he ran out of his home

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In 1875, the debate over whether to induct women into Phi Beta Kappa exposed a crack in the foundation of Western education

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A Teacher and a Friend

The roots of Anthony Benezet’s campaign against slavery—and his belief in Black and white equality—can be traced to the remarkable school he ran out of his home

Article

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Reflections on a lifetime of dental drama

Article

Welcome to the Bioemporium

Brain-dead bodies hold great promise for medical education and research, but how do we calculate the ethical cost?

PBK at 250

The Revolutionary Scholar

Meditations on Phi Beta Kappa and the futures we imagine

PBK at 250

The Two Ladies of Vermont

In 1875, the debate over whether to induct women into Phi Beta Kappa exposed a crack in the foundation of Western education