SPOTLIGHT
Michael Douglas Explains It All
Jessa Crispin on what the actor’s roles tell us about the crisis of masculinity
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, July 11, 2025
SPOTLIGHT
Michael Douglas Explains It All
Jessa Crispin on what the actor’s roles tell us about the crisis of masculinity
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, July 11, 2025
“Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden
Poems read aloud, beautifully
By Amanda Holmes Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Maximalisma
A professor endeavors to separate treasure from trash—before her children have to do it for her
By Lisa Russ Spaar Friday, May 16, 2025
Learning to Be Social
What might Rousseau teach us about how to live with others?
By Sally J. Scholz Thursday, May 15, 2025
“That Day” by Nikki Giovanni
Poems read aloud, beautifully
By Amanda Holmes Tuesday, May 13, 2025
The Shipping News
Ian Kumekawa tells the story of the global economy in one barge
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, May 9, 2025
American Carthage
Echoes from the ancient conflicts between Hannibal’s city and Rome continue to reverberate well into the present
By Charles G. Salas Thursday, May 8, 2025
On (Middle-Class) Frugality
Does cutting costs mean robbing oneself of life’s small delights?
By Sierra Bellows Thursday, July 10, 2025
“Daddy” by Sylvia Plath
Poems read aloud, beautifully
By Amanda Holmes Tuesday, July 8, 2025
America the Beautiful
The poem that became a hymn to the nation came about in troubled, polarizing times
By Lincoln Caplan Friday, July 4, 2025
Lessons in the Diplomatic Arts
Notes from a musical tour of South Africa
By Joseph Horowitz Thursday, July 3, 2025
“The Fig Tree” by Ruth Stone
Poems read aloud, beautifully
By Amanda Holmes Tuesday, July 1, 2025
Greg Ito
The life cycle of a candle
By Noelani Kirschner Monday, June 30, 2025
current issue
Plus: Eric McHenry resurfaces another murder from blues music, Sierra Bellows weighs frugality against delight, and Marilyn Marks explores the politics of klezmer
Plus: Eric McHenry resurfaces another murder from blues music, Sierra Bellows weighs frugality against delight, and Marilyn Marks explores the politics of klezmer
Jeremy Spoke in Class Today
On guns, MTV, Stephen King, and the nightmare from which we cannot awake
By Paul Crenshaw Monday, June 2, 2025
The Rascal of Pont-Aven
Reassessing a renowned painter’s troubling life
By Hannah Stamler Monday, June 2, 2025
Who Killed the Mercy Man? 
An obscure murder keeps resurfacing in Black story and song
By Eric McHenry Monday, June 2, 2025
‘God-Knows-What-Kind-of-Classic’
Why shouldn’t America’s federal buildings speak to us in a language encompassing the old as well as the new?
By Witold Rybczynski Monday, June 2, 2025
A Fight With Cudgels
Meditations on death, Goya, and the immutability of art
By Nick Lyons Monday, June 2, 2025
Jeremy Spoke in Class Today
On guns, MTV, Stephen King, and the nightmare from which we cannot awake
By Paul Crenshaw Monday, June 2, 2025
The Rascal of Pont-Aven
Reassessing a renowned painter’s troubling life
By Hannah Stamler Monday, June 2, 2025
Who Killed the Mercy Man?
An obscure murder keeps resurfacing in Black story and song
By Eric McHenry Monday, June 2, 2025
‘God-Knows-What-Kind-of-Classic’
Why shouldn’t America’s federal buildings speak to us in a language encompassing the old as well as the new?
By Witold Rybczynski Monday, June 2, 2025
A Fight With Cudgels
Meditations on death, Goya, and the immutability of art