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One of the leitmotivs of my writing here has been that the narrative frameworks through which technological developments are apprehended and... Read More

In 1937, at the tender and messianic age of 33, the Polish author Witold Gombrowicz published his first and most famous novel, Ferdydurke.... Read More

Old faces — some seem to crease and crumble as we watch — were a specialty for Richard Avedon (1923–2004), the photographer... Read More

Michel Houellebecq is in trouble again. Prosecuted in 2002 for insulting Islam, he was acquitted. After Soumission, the novel many of his... Read More

The skin between Harold Rogers’ thumb and forefinger is chapped and several shades lighter than the rest of either hand. When he slings... Read More

No one warned me, when I became a parent, about all the apps that would colonize my phone: the app for the baby monitor where I could gaze at... Read More

There’s a clamor in the culture to show off one’s literary bona fides. The “intellectual” has gained a heightened... Read More

Coming home from London this past summer, I wanted a comfort watch to knock a couple of hours off the flight. One option was About A Boy, a... Read More

On the first Saturday after news broke that college football was moving to a paradigm-shifting 24-team tournament, fans booed the mention of... Read More

In 1991, a Finnish graduate student in computer science named Linus Torvalds sent a brief announcement to an online discussion group, saying... Read More

My colleagues and editors are sick of hearing me say it, but I believe it with my whole chest: The actor playing James Bond should never be... Read More

This summer, Festival America, a four-day event that is not in America, released its trailer—a supercut of iconic imagery spanning the... Read More

“I’m out of a job,” Denis Villeneuve said, jokingly. Hours earlier, Villeneuve had signed off on the IMAX 70-milimeter... Read More

Only in retrospect is history inevitable. While the fighting is going on, there is no guarantee that Napoleon will lose the Battle of... Read More

In a harbor before dawn, a hundred fishing boats prepare to leave in the dark of the morning. Nets are checked, and ropes loosened. As the... Read More

Can you empathize with someone who committed an unspeakable act? Can you imagine yourself as a perpetrator? Can you see yourself in a... Read More

“This won’t surprise you,” Lillian Fishman begins, “but a lot of my feelings about how sexuality works are at odds... Read More

It’s a shock to see a penis in the opening line of The Key Biscayne Affair. The narrator, who was 12 at the time, isn’t being... Read More

Renee Baruch literally didn’t know what hit her. In May 2023, the retired lawyer was crossing the street in uptown Manhattan when, the... Read More

A beige plastic telephone sits on a wooden table. The handset, attached by a coiled cord, rests in its cradle. The base has a clear dial with... Read More

The author Chad Harbach just had a banner week. His second novel, “The Brightness,” hit bookstores. A24 announced his television... Read More

This isn’t talked about as much as some other aspects of the era, but “extreme sports” were a major part of American... Read More

If you have ever been fortunate enough to visit the beaches of Normandy, you are likely familiar with the strange dissonance of watching... Read More

Fifteen days after Theodore Roosevelt’s daughter Ethel was born, in August 1891, the future president left his wife and four children... Read More

Great openings are priceless. “Call me Ishmael.” “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” “It is... Read More

Through the glass in shaded gold—translucent bluish form emerged—delightful flying saucer tilted—on a tiny darkened marble... Read More

Naomi Kanakia recently attracted a good deal of attention with a long article on little magazines.[1] In it, she argues that the contributors... Read More

My workweek started on a Tuesday. The weekend prior was busy—so busy I had to take Monday off just to rest. There was Friday happy... Read More

Someone recently asked me if I don’t get exhausted getting “so angry all the time.” Of course. But what is more exhausting,... Read More

The options for communication are endless. Getting in touch with someone has never been easier, which also means we are subject to frequent... Read More

Former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer admitted in October to using artificial intelligence to come up with a list of traits that make her... Read More