A Moment (Be)Held
On Polaroid’s SX-70 and the alchemy of presence
Critic at Large
Critic at Large is a writer's meditations on cultural creations, old and new.
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The Long Life of the Short Song
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Into the Abyss
On Moby-Dick, quantum mechanics, and the quest for understanding
(A Little) Love Among the Ruins
Revisiting the fragile magic of Pixar's boldest gamble, WALL·E
On Scarlet Threads and Sacred Spectacle
A meditation on the fashions of the papal conclave
Life and Death at 1/100th of a Second
Weegee's photographs reveal not just a city, but how a society learns to see—or not see—the world it produces.
Interview: Giorgio Tuma
A chat with Giorgio Tuma about his music and and the collaborative creative process.
The Beautiful Obscurity of Giorgio Tuma
On insomnia, Italian melancholy, and the quiet genius of a musician few have heard of—but many should.
Music Minus One
A 2023 movie soundtrack brings to mind one of the most daring and inventive Japanese composers of his time.
Interview: Yiota Demetriou
A discussion with Yiota Demetriou, PhD about her book "To You," and the art and process of writing.
Nox
In her elegy for a lost brother, Canadian poet Anne Carson creates a tomb from paper and ink.
Can machines persuade?
For as long as we can remember, persuasion has been the function of gods and humans only — that may be about to change.
Beyond Respectability
In an important book, Brittany C. Cooper asks us to reconsider the meaning and legacy of America’s Black female intellectuals.
The Color of Silence
Two musical works ask us to consider what sound hides and silence reveals.
The Book is Dead. Long Live the Book.
A current exhibit at Princeton University takes us into the work and ideas of a revolutionary literary mind.
A Winter’s Tangerine
A short-lived publication, created by an African teenager, left behind a portal to the words and images of a remarkable group of young artists.
Children of Stone and Sand
A 2015 Spanish documentary reminds us of the children behind the statistics.
Art(ist) in the Machine
A new artwork at the MoMA delivers a message about art created with, and by, technology.
On the Secrets of (and in) Books
A seminar on the "history and futures of the book" suggests just how special books are and can be.
A Poem of the Heavens
In the oldest surviving written work by a female Chinese poet, words become stars by which readers can, and must, chart their own journey.