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Springtime for Springnuts
Grant Sharples offers a personal account of the Boss’s career and legacy in light of the new biopic “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.”
Featured Exhibit
Mire Lee
Faces was Mire Lee’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles. The exhibition at Sprüth Magers featured new sculptural works building upon the artist’s recent installations.
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Everyone Feels Deeply Alabamian
Cameron Engwall talks with Alexis Okeowo about her second book, “Blessings and Disasters: A Story of Alabama.”
Hello, Kitty; Goodbye, Illusions
Minjie Chen takes a journey through China’s shadowlands in “Hello, Kitty and Other Stories” by Anne Stevenson-Yang.
The Secessionists of Shasta County
Nevin Kallepalli investigates political resentment in rural California, in an essay from LARB Quarterly no. 47: “Security.”
The Golden Age of Porn Valley
Sascha Cohen talks with Molly Lambert about her new podcast “JennaWorld: Jenna Jameson, Vivid Video, & the Valley.”
It’s Me, Hi, I’m the Problem
Tom Williams explores the folklore surrounding a pop star’s reputation in Elly McCausland’s “Swifterature: A Love Story.”
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LARB RADIO HOUR
The Shit Show
In this special episode, hosts Kate Wolf, Medaya Ocher, and Eric Newman discuss how Big Tech dreams—from iPhones to social media to AI—have become nightmares.
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FROM THE FALL ISSUE
The Rest Is History
Mary Turfah writes on Gaza and the limits of the war photograph, in an essay from the upcoming issue of LARB Quarterly, no. 46: “Alien.”
FROM THE FALL ISSUE
Vous écoutez RFI
Anna Gaca finally understands French, in a preview of LARB Quarterly no. 46: “Alien.”
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Uniquely Positioned to Combat Injustice
Randy M. Browne considers Keisha N. Blain’s new book, which finds that Black women, historically, haven’t simply argued for racial justice at home; they have, in fact, fought for and won human rights for everyone worldwide.
On the Receiving End of “Crisis”
Noemí Fierros revisits Jeffrey Herlihy-Mera’s 2023 discussion in light of the current crisis facing college humanities departments.
Los Angeles in Black and White
Victoria Dailey reviews Jake Milgram Wien’s catalogue raisonné “Paul Landacre: California Hills, Hollywood, and the World Beyond.”
Angela Flournoy's "The Wilderness"
Kate Wolf and Eric Newman speak with Angela Flournoy about her novel, "The Wilderness."
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RUSH HOUR
Good Night and Good Luck
Justin St. Clair reviews Thomas Pynchon’s new novel “Shadow Ticket.”
COMEBACK KID(S)
Beautiful Losing
Josh Billings wonders about Helen DeWitt and Ilya Gridneff’s new novel “Your Name Here.”
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
From Domination to Derision
W. Patrick McCray surveys Matthew Wisnioski’s description of the United States’ evolution—and devolution—into a nation obsessed with innovation.
BETA MODE
What Isn’t Intelligence?
Patrick House is inspired by Blaise Agüera y Arcas’s “What Is Intelligence?” to think about what might constitute the difference between artificial and natural intelligence.
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Latest
Rebel Without a Clue
Elizabeth Alsop picks up the trail of Kelly Reichardt’s alienated art thief in “The Mastermind.”
Strange New Lows
Adam Kotsko boldly goes into season three of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” with high expectations.
Disenchanted Enchantment
Jordan Williamson investigates Derek Lee’s “Parascientific Revolutions: The Science and Culture of the Paranormal” and Joshua Comaroff’s “Spectropolis: The Enchantment of Capital in Singapore.”
Fantastic Lies
Annalisa Zox-Weaver reviews Andres Veiel’s 2024 documentary about Hitler’s favorite filmmaker.
Giant Platforms of Shit
Dave Mandl catches a whiff of Cory Doctorow’s anatomy of platform “enshittification.”
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Fault Lines
What our editors can’t stop thinking about, from cultural research and reporting to political commentary and coverage of current events.
Unsettled Enough
Nitish Pahwa unravels the legal and familial complexities of statelessness in an essay from LARB Quarterly no. 46: “Alien.”
Indecent Disposal: FCC and the Censoring of Late-Night
Deborah L. Jaramillo looks at the relationship between the FCC and the television industry over time.
Toward a Just and Sustainable Energy Transition
Ashley Dawson thinks about the future through Nicholas Beuret’s “Or Something Worse: Why We Need to Disrupt the Climate Transition” and Thea Riofrancos’s “Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism.”
The Ruins of Utopia
Melissa Chadburn explores the history of the Llano del Rio Cooperative Colony through the writings of Aldous Huxley.
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Vantage Points
Long-form views on literature, art, and experience from LARB’s online magazine and print Quarterly.
Against the Wound
Jake Romm navigates artistic depictions of genocide and religious violence—some illuminating, others devoid of substance—from Renaissance Italy to modern-day Berlin, in an essay from LARB Quarterly no. 46: “Alien.”
Making a Killing
Mikkel Krause Frantzen discusses the future of the financial thriller in an era of cryptocurrencies and climate crisis.
From “To the Madhouse: A Novel”
Robert Rubsam offers a portrait of the artist as a lonely man, in an excerpt featured in the LARB Quarterly, no. 46: “Alien.”
I Became a Better Magician
Paul Thompson reviews Nathan Fielder’s “The Rehearsal.”
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Short Takes
Brief dispatches from L.A.’s arts and culture scenes. Courtesy of LARB’s local columnists and occasional correspondents.
Hail, Caesar
Friends, Romans, countrymen: Nathan Jefferson lends his ears (and eyes) to the immersive “Julius Caesar” production at Heritage Square Museum.
The Whole Idea of Knowing the Truth
Elizabeth Barton trawls through the newly opened Joan Didion archives at New York Public Library to learn about the making of the author’s first book.
Jackpot!
“Nothing is clearly defined” in Julia Yerger’s art exhibition, which Keith J. Varadi finds to be a big win.
My Date at the Holocaust Ballet
Dorie Chevlen attends “Memoryhouse,” an abstract, cinematic performance that still managed to dance around comparisons to contemporary injustices.
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LARB Radio Hour
The Shit Show
In this special episode, hosts Kate Wolf, Medaya Ocher, and Eric Newman discuss how Big Tech dreams—from iPhones to social media to AI—have become nightmares.
Kelly Reichardt's “Mastermind”
Filmmaker Kelly Reichardt talks to Kate Wolf and Medaya Ocher about her new movie, “The Mastermind,” out in theaters now.
Grace Byron’s “Herculine”
Medaya Ocher and Eric Newman speak with writer Grace Byron about her debut novel, “Herculine.”
Alejandro Varela’s “Middle Spoon”
Eric Newman speaks to Alejandro Varela about his latest novel, “Middle Spoon.”
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The LARB Quarterly
LARB Quarterly, no. 46: Alien
We’re over the moon to announce the LARB Quarterly, no. 46: Alien, featuring meditations, essays, fiction, poetry, and more from LARB contributors new and known.
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