In the Shadow of Yesterday
Aurelian Craiutu thinks about Balázs Trencsényi’s “Intellectuals and the Crisis of Politics in the Interwar Period and Beyond: A Transnational History.”
Aurelian CraiutuNov 17
- Philosophy & Religion
- History
Featured Exhibit
Rulx Thork
I Give You Power features photography by Rulx Thork. Published by Little Big Man Books, I Give You Power features images taken between 2005 and 2018 across Brooklyn.
More from Rulx Thork View all artists

Don’t Close Your Teeth
Cynthia Zarin traces the rise of fascism through the diary entries of Virginia Woolf, in an essay from LARB Quarterly no. 47: “Security.”
Cynthia ZarinNov 17
Laboring in the Dream Factory
Harry Stecopoulos reviews Olivia Laing’s new novel “The Silver Book.”
Harry StecopoulosNov 16
- Fiction
On Adaptation: From Page to Screen
In November 2024, writers Viet Thanh Nguyen, Jonathan Ames, Anna Dorn, and Jane Hu gathered at LITLIT for a discussion with Paul Thompson about how it feels to take a work from book to screen.
Paul Thompson, Jane Hu, Jonathan Ames, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Anna DornNov 16
- Film
- Fiction
Nothing Ever Happens: “Mister Squishy” and the Year of the Sentence Diagram
Hannah Smart writes about her attempt to diagram a 900-word sentence in David Foster Wallace’s “Mister Squishy,” and what the efforts taught her about human inertia and meaningless language.
Hannah SmartNov 15
- Fiction
- Literary Criticism
Sheer Tenderness
Jessica Simmons-Reid visits Noah Davis’s posthumous survey at the Hammer Museum.
Jessica Simmons-ReidNov 15
- Art & Architecture

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LARB RADIO HOUR
Angela Flournoy's "The Wilderness"
Kate Wolf and Eric Newman speak with Angela Flournoy about her novel, "The Wilderness."
LARB Radio HourNov 7
- LARB Radio Hour

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FROM THE FALL ISSUE
Lost Horizons
Brendan Boyle writes on the voyages beyond in “Contact” (1997) and “Alambrista!” (1977), in the newest installment of Double Feature, from the LARB Quarterly no. 46: “Alien.”
Brendan BoyleOct 20
FROM THE FALL ISSUE
One Step Removed from Ash
Vanessa Holyoak explores memory and loss after the L.A. fires, in an essay from LARB Quarterly no. 46: “Alien.”
Vanessa HolyoakOct 19

Bones, Roses, and Ruins
Janet Sarbanes encounters Nancy Buchanan’s career retrospective at the Brick in Los Angeles.
Janet SarbanesNov 14
- Art & Architecture
A Mole in MAGA’s Midst
Alexandre Lefebvre reads “Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right” by Laura K. Field.
Alexandre LefebvreNov 14
- Politics
- Philosophy & Religion
Under the Surface
Adam Straus speaks with Yannick Murphy about her new novel “Things That Are Funny on a Submarine but Not Really.”
Adam StrausNov 13
- Fiction
An Emergency Born of Prosperity
Zoe Adams considers “There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America” by Brian Goldstone.
Zoe AdamsNov 13
- Politics
- Economics and Finance

RUSH HOUR
Enuf Is Enuf
Tom LeClair clop-clops through Mark Z. Danielewski’s new novel “Tom’s Crossing.”
Tom LeClairOct 28
- Fiction
- SF
GOLDEN STATE
Pynchon’s Abundance
Travis Alexander revisits Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 novel “Vineland,” arguing that it contains a prescient analysis of today’s liberal-leftist divide.
Travis AlexanderOct 30
- Fiction
- Politics
BETA MODE
Literature Is Not a Vibe: On ChatGPT and the Humanities
Rachele Dini discusses OpenAI’s “A Machine-Shaped Hand” and an academic sector in crisis.
Rachele DiniOct 31
- SF
- Science & Technology
SOCIAL NETWORK
The Cancel-Culture Canard
Emmet Fraizer considers Adam Szetela’s “That Book Is Dangerous! How Moral Panic, Social Media, and the Culture Wars Are Remaking Publishing.”
Emmet FraizerOct 26
- Cultural Studies
- Politics

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What’s the Difference Between a God and a Monster?
Heather Macumber reviews Brandon Grafius’s “Scared by the Bible: The Roots of Horror in Scripture.”
Heather MacumberNov 12
- SF
- Philosophy & Religion
Philosophy’s Warnings in the “Absence” of Emergency
William Egginton pays heed to Santiago Zabala’s “Signs from the Future: A Philosophy of Warnings.”
William EggintonNov 12
- Philosophy & Religion
 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.”
Grant SharplesNov 11
- Film
- Music
Everyone Feels Deeply Alabamian
Cameron Engwall talks with Alexis Okeowo about her second book, “Blessings and Disasters: A Story of Alabama.”
Cameron EngwallNov 11
- Cultural Studies
- Memoir & Essay
Hello, Kitty; Goodbye, Illusions
Minjie Chen takes a journey through China’s shadowlands in “Hello, Kitty and Other Stories” by Anne Stevenson-Yang.
Minjie ChenNov 10
- Fiction
- Cultural Studies

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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.

Very Fine People: Charlottesville, Eight Years Later
Aniko Bodroghkozy considers recent books on the 2017 Charlottesville attack as a watershed moment in contemporary neo-Nazism.
Aniko BodroghkozyNov 4
- Politics
- History
A Network of Global Incinerators
Rob Arcand reviews Hito Steyerl’s new essay collection, “Medium Hot: Images in the Age of Heat.”
Rob ArcandOct 19
- Science & Technology
- Art & Architecture
If Anything Can Happen, It Certainly Will
Matthew Cobb reports from the Spirit of Asilomar, an event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the legendary biotechnology conference.
Matthew CobbSep 12
- Science & Technology
- History
The Gaza Generation
Shaan Sachdev explores Pankaj Mishra’s “The World After Gaza: A History,” moral authority, and a generation of young dissenters.
Shaan SachdevAug 9
- Politics
- Cultural Studies

Vantage Points

Long-form views on literature, art, and experience from LARB’s online magazine and print Quarterly.

Life Finds an Investor
Karoline Huber discusses the phenomenon of “de-extinction” in SF and popular culture.
Karoline HuberOct 15
- SF
Crisis Makes Weird
Harrison Blackman discusses the aesthetics and politics of Greek cinema’s Weird Wave.
Harrison BlackmanOct 10
- Film
- Art & Architecture
White Noise, White Heat, White Books
Dashiel Carrera considers Han Kang, sleep, and the Velvet Underground.
Dashiel CarreraAug 29
- Memoir & Essay
- Fiction
Taste Test
Cory Bradshaw describes the art and agony involved in making amateur porn in an essay for LARB Quarterly no. 45: “Submission.”
Cory BradshawJul 13

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.
Nathan JeffersonMay 8
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.
Elizabeth BartonApr 30
Jackpot!
“Nothing is clearly defined” in Julia Yerger’s art exhibition, which Keith J. Varadi finds to be a big win.
Keith J. VaradiMar 17
My Date at the Holocaust Ballet
Dorie Chevlen attends “Memoryhouse,” an abstract, cinematic performance that still managed to dance around comparisons to contemporary injustices.
Dorie ChevlenFeb 12

View all Short Takes

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.
LARB Radio HourOct 31
- LARB Radio Hour
Kelly Reichardt's “Mastermind”
Filmmaker Kelly Reichardt talks to Kate Wolf and Medaya Ocher about her new movie, “The Mastermind,” out in theaters now.
LARB Radio HourOct 24
- LARB Radio Hour
Grace Byron’s “Herculine”
Medaya Ocher and Eric Newman speak with writer Grace Byron about her debut novel, “Herculine.”
LARB Radio HourOct 17
- LARB Radio Hour
Alejandro Varela’s “Middle Spoon”
Eric Newman speaks to Alejandro Varela about his latest novel, “Middle Spoon.”
LARB Radio HourSep 26
- LARB Radio Hour

View all Radio Hour episodes

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.

Featured Exhibit

LARB RADIO HOUR

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FROM THE FALL ISSUE

FROM THE FALL ISSUE

RUSH HOUR

GOLDEN STATE

BETA MODE

SOCIAL NETWORK

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Popular

Double your impact.

Fully tax deductible

Starting at $10/mo or $100/yr

Starting at $10/mo or $100/yr

Fault Lines

What our editors can’t stop thinking about, from cultural research and reporting to political commentary and coverage of current events.

Vantage Points

Long-form views on literature, art, and experience from LARB’s online magazine and print Quarterly.

Short Takes

Brief dispatches from L.A.’s arts and culture scenes. Courtesy of LARB’s local columnists and occasional correspondents.

LARB Radio Hour

The LARB Quarterly

LARB Quarterly, no. 46: Alien