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

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

Tuning Up

Rules of Reciprocity

True empathy might be possible only if we can first get out of our own way

Article

Welcome to the Bioemporium

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

Tuning Up

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

Asturias Days

Doughnuts

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

Read Me a Poem

“Ithaka” by C. P. Cavafy

Poems read aloud, beautifully

Tuning Up

Save the Meramec

On law, literature, and the Indiana bat

Smarty Pants Podcast

Call It Macaroni

Susan Stryker on her new book, Changing Gender

Tuning Up

Adding Wimsey to My Life

How I fell in love with a fictional detective

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current issue

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

Article

My Two Front Teeth

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

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

Article

My Two Front Teeth

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