SPOTLIGHT
Rules of Reciprocity
True empathy might be possible only if we can first get out of our own way
By David Galef Monday, September 14, 2026
SPOTLIGHT
Rules of Reciprocity
True empathy might be possible only if we can first get out of our own way
By David Galef Monday, September 14, 2026
Welcome to the Bioemporium
Brain-dead bodies hold great promise for medical education and research, but how do we calculate the ethical cost?
By Carl Elliott Friday, September 11, 2026
Portals to Eden
The gates on college campuses provide beauty and security, but they can also take on symbolic importance in times of campus tumult
By Blair Kamin Thursday, September 10, 2026
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
By Augustine Sedgewick Tuesday, September 8, 2026
“Ithaka” by C. P. Cavafy
Poems read aloud, beautifully
By Amanda Holmes Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Save the Meramec
On law, literature, and the Indiana bat
By Dennis Drabelle Monday, September 7, 2026
Call It Macaroni
Susan Stryker on her new book, Changing Gender
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, September 4, 2026
Adding Wimsey to My Life
How I fell in love with a fictional detective
By Paula Marantz Cohen Wednesday, September 2, 2026
“Everybody Who Is Dead” by Frank Stanford
Poems read aloud, beautifully
By Amanda Holmes Tuesday, September 1, 2026
Who Is the Samurai, and Who Is the Prisoner?
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s films show that when it comes to history, some blanks aren’t meant to be filled
By Jessa Crispin Friday, August 28, 2026
Knot in my Back Yard
Not all non-native plants and animals need to be eradicated
By Sam Kean Thursday, August 27, 2026
“The Giver” by James Baldwin
Poems read aloud, beautifully
By Amanda Holmes Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Karyn Olivier
The mutability of materials
By Noelani Kirschner Monday, August 24, 2026
Blades of Grass
Christopher Kondrich on his poems of climatic catastrophe
By Stephanie Bastek Friday, August 21, 2026
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
current issue
Plus: The Phi Beta Kappa Society turns 250, Emily Bernard on her complicated obsession with Carl Van Vechten, Joshua Bodwell loses (part of) a tooth, and much more
Plus: The Phi Beta Kappa Society turns 250, Emily Bernard on her complicated obsession with Carl Van Vechten, Joshua Bodwell loses (part of) a tooth, and much more
The Revolutionary Scholar
Meditations on Phi Beta Kappa and the futures we imagine
By Esther L. Jones Tuesday, September 8, 2026
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
By Augustine Sedgewick Tuesday, September 8, 2026
A Life in Stanzas
How Phi Beta Kappa shaped one poet’s beginnings
By Sandra Beasley Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Love the Blood 
Exploring the complexity of a life with Carl Van Vechten, on the centennial of his most notorious work
By Emily Bernard Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Our Energetic World
Life is not an accident but an inevitable result of physical laws
By Rebecca Boyle Tuesday, September 8, 2026
The Revolutionary Scholar
Meditations on Phi Beta Kappa and the futures we imagine
By Esther L. Jones Tuesday, September 8, 2026
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
By Augustine Sedgewick Tuesday, September 8, 2026
A Life in Stanzas
How Phi Beta Kappa shaped one poet’s beginnings
By Sandra Beasley Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Love the Blood
Exploring the complexity of a life with Carl Van Vechten, on the centennial of his most notorious work
By Emily Bernard Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Our Energetic World
Life is not an accident but an inevitable result of physical laws