Peter Beinart, one of the most prominent public intellectuals on the American Jewish left, wrote in July 2020 that he had changed his mind about a “two-state solution” to the […]
BOOKS
Jessica Valenti Is Armed With Fact and Fury
In a new book, fueled by outrage, she takes on the war on reproductive rights
Shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, Jessica Valenti began tracking the effects of the court’s ruling. Fueled by outrage, she decided to write […]
BOOKS
Sociologist Allison Pugh Warns Against ‘Heedless Technophilia’
In The Last Human Job, she explores the value of being seen
Almost half of the four-year-olds in Utah are enrolled in preschool online. They watch animated videos and sing songs to learn “pre-reading,” which education administrators in the Beehive State apparently […]
BOOKS
Weaving the Yarns of an American Family
Philosopher John Kaag’s American Bloods is a mixed pleasure
Philosophy professor John Kaag has a lot of fun in his latest book, American Bloods: The Untamed Dynasty That Shaped a Nation. He tells the stories of selected members of […]
BOOKS
‘The Passenger’ Misses the Plot
Cormac McCarthy’s first novel in 16 years is ‘portentous’ — and pretentious
Cormac McCarthy’s novels like Blood Meridian, his 1985 story about twisted characters annihilating one another in a mythic American West, reveal a smart, dark view of humanity. Now 89, McCarthy […]
BOOK REVIEW
Faith and Food Connect in Koshersoul
Finding identity — and community — in “the cuisine of the chocolate chosen.”
Michael W. Twitty’s Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew comes to a boil slowly. For readers interested in the intersection of identity, food, and cooking, […]
BOOK REVIEW
Resetting the Holy Atonement Button
A rabbi offers a way to find forgiveness in a difficult world
It is hard at the moment not to feel that there is no way out — individually, communally, or globally — of the shameful mess that is life. And yet […]
BOOK REVIEW
Can Combatting Racism and White Supremacy Be … Fun?
Using games and humor to tackle some very serious subjects
Some planted “Black Lives Matter” signs in their yards after the murder of George Floyd. Putting out a sign might be a start to addressing systemic racism, argue W. Kamau […]
CLOSE LISTENING
A Thousand-Year-Old Text Enters the Auditory Realm
J. Keith Vincent’s new abridged translation of The Pillow Book
A thousand years ago, Sei Shōnagon set down on paper her wry observations of court life in Kyoto, the capital of Heian Japan. What was awkward to Sei? “The back […]
FLAG-WAVING
Stars, Stripes, and Sneetches
The ‘People’s Convoy’ calls to mind a Dr. Seuss classic
Barreling northeast on I-35 from Austin to Dallas in early March, my sister, husband, and I tried to ignore the flag-festooned caravan in the right lane. But we couldn’t avert […]
BOOK REVIEW
Meditations on the Tangled Cords of Jewish History
Dara Horn reckons with an anti-Semitic past and present
Organizations including the Pew Research Center, Anti-Defamation League, and American Jewish Committee all report an increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the last several years. These incidents have ranged from Holocaust […]
BOOK REVIEW
Women Who Rocked the Boat
Siân Evans tells stories from above and below deck
In Maiden Voyages: Magnificent Ocean Liners and the Women Who Traveled and Worked Aboard Them, Siân Evans provides a lively account of the experiences of female workers and travelers aboard […]
BOOK REVIEW
Meg Lowman’s View From the Treetops
Her newest memoir reflects on adventures in advocacy and science
By now, American field biologist Meg Lowman deserves to be a household name. In the 1980s, Lowman — sometimes known as “Canopy Meg” — pioneered the use of spelunking equipment […]
BOOK REVIEW
Christina Conklin and Marina Psaros Look to the Future
In confronting the climate crisis, they write, ‘all our actions matter’
For nearly an entire week earlier this month, the global climate crisis managed to grab hold of headlines. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had released its […]
BOOK REVIEW
William di Canzio’s Alec Meets E.M. Forster’s Maurice
New novel reimagines a queer classic
The Englishman E.M. Forster (1879-1970) wrote six novels and published five of these between 1905 and 1924. Best known and loved are A Room With a View, Howards End, and […]
