Culture

The conflict between democracy and competing sets of morality is a story for our times. On International Women’s Day, it is the tradition of modern women to grumble about men. Permit me to join them: My grievance is with the…

The era of reenchantment through “conscious” machines is upon us. The Economist’s report on Google Gemini reads like the set-up for a joke: “It all started with black Vikings and Asian Nazis.” Then the magazine turned serious on the waywardly…

Save this storySave this storySave this storySave this story Lana Del Rey doesn’t toy with signs—of American glamour and its decay, of female melancholia and racial desire—so much as consecrate them.Photograph by Rich Fury / Getty One thing about Lana…

Save this storySave this storySave this storySave this story “This is the first time I’ve ever had one of these in my hand.” So declared Steven Spielberg, with visible awe and relief, when he accepted the Academy Award for Best…

Save this storySave this storySave this storySave this story I arrived at M.I.T. in the fall of 2004. I had just turned twenty-two, and was there to pursue a doctorate as part of something called the Theory of Computation group—a…

Save this storySave this storySave this storySave this story With little fanfare, a complex and far-reaching personal documentary by Richard Linklater, “Hometown Prison,” dropped last week on the streaming service Max. It’s one of a trio of excellent films made…

Save this storySave this storySave this storySave this story The 2024 Academy Awards, which will take place on March 10th, will almost certainly extend the friendly feud that has existed between “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” ever since their same-day release last…

Bourgeois values bring stability, prosperity, and dignity—but happiness is another matter. I have found that it is impossible to write honestly about marriage and family life without some personal disclaimers. So, I’ll get this out of the way first: I…

Save this storySave this storySave this storySave this story Every villain gets an origin story, but in the case of Thea, the wedding guest from hell in Helen Oyeyemi’s newest novel, “Parasol Against the Axe,” her own mother wrote it.…

When choosing household items for our homes, we have many options. Each material has its own unique characteristics and appeal, from glass and metal to wood and plastic. However, one material that has stood the test of time and continues…