J. D. Vance’s Straussian Moment
The US vice president wrote his new book without citing his source—Peter Thiel.
Philosophy & Religion
"Never be afraid to sit awhile and think." — Lorraine Hansberry
Fighting the Frackers
D. Graham Burnett discusses the politics of attention in our algorithmic age.
The Fate of China’s Muslims
Two recent books track the history of China’s Muslim minority during a period of suspicion and suppression.
Empire of Signs
Exploring the links between the history of semiotics and the creation of LLMs.
The Academy in a State of Siege: Pictures of an Institution, Part II
The siege of the academy continues.
The Academy in a State of Siege: Pictures of an Institution, Part I
The academy has always been in a state of siege.
A New Catholic Resurgence?
Two sincere believers and noted public intellectuals make the case for God in a secular world.
Fame! A Misunderstanding
Albert Camus has long been misunderstood, but a new translation of his complete notebooks offers a corrective.
Sitting Apart
Gal Beckerman’s new book offers a thoughtful catalog of social resistance, from Diogenes to Alexei Navalny.
The Epic of the Fear of Death
Simon Armitage’s new verse translation of the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’ is unhurried and resplendent, archaizing without being antiquated.
Beyond a Theory of Irresistible Desire
Hanna Pickard’s new book examines the neurobiology of addiction by probing deeper than the usual questions we ask, and by deconstructing the questions themselves.
Red Specters and Right-Wing Fever Dreams
A. J. A. Woods’s new book explores how the Right’s obsession with Cultural Marxism emerged from the backlash against the 1960s.
