Tales from Two Critics: A.S. Hamrah and Melissa Anderson on the Year in Film
Film critics and authors A.S Hamrah and Melissa Anderson join the podcast to talk about 2025 in film, the Warner Bros. sale, AI use, and more.
LARB Radio HourDec 19
- LARB Radio Hour
Featured Exhibit
Too Fast To Sing
Too Fast To Sing is currently on view at Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery. Curated by Hugo Cervantes, the group exhibition brings together artists engaged with contemporary music and sound.
More from Too Fast To Sing View all artists

Has English Killed Global Literature?
Chloe Garcia Roberts considers J. M. Coetzee and Mariana Dimópulos’s new book on translation.
Chloe Garcia RobertsDec 19
- Literary Criticism
- Nonfiction
He Understood Us
Carrie Courogen remembers the cross-genre brilliance of Rob Reiner’s filmmaking.
Carrie CourogenDec 19
- Film
Taix
Anahid Nersessian people-watches at Taix in the most recent installment of I Come Here Often, from LARB Quarterly no. 47, “Security.”
Anahid NersessianDec 19
- LARB Lit
- Food & Drink
There’s No Telling
Annie Berke considers timelines not taken in new novels by Erin Somers and Catherine Newman.
Annie BerkeDec 18
- Fiction
I Wanted to Tell a Different Story
Lydi Conklin discusses cancel culture, queer identity, and trauma responses with Anna Marie Cain.
Anna Marie CainDec 18
- Fiction
- Gender & Sexuality

Win prizes from LACMA, The Huntington, and more.
Donate to our year-end matching fund drive the week of 12/15-12/19 and be automatically entered to win prizes from our friends at LACMA, the Huntington, the Los Angeles Conservancy, the Museum of Jurassic Technology, and the Philosophical Research Society.
Donate today and win big!
Have dinner with a literary luminary.
On January 24, 2026, acclaimed journalist and author Susan Orlean will be joined in conversation by music critic and fellow writer Alex Ross at the historic Thomas Mann House. Tickets will be on sale soon; exclusive early access is available to donors of $1,000+ to LARB’s year-end fund drive.
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2026 Publishing Workshop
Launch your career in publishing!
Join an online intensive program featuring workshops in book and magazine publishing and networking opportunities with 60+ speakers from presses, magazines, and literary organizations across the country. Apply by March 15.
Apply by March 15

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SIGALERT
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
FROM THE FORTHCOMING ISSUE
The Secessionists of Shasta County
Nevin Kallepalli investigates political resentment in rural California, in an essay from LARB Quarterly no. 47: “Security.”
Nevin KallepalliNov 10
- LARB Lit
- Politics

Contact High: Anselm Kiefer at 80
Ranbir Sidhu visits two recent exhibitions of Anselm Kiefer in Greece and the Netherlands.
Ranbir SidhuDec 17
- Art & Architecture
Isengard in Oxford
Christian Kriticos explores J. R. R. Tolkien’s long-lost satire of a motorized world.
Christian KriticosDec 17
- SF
- Fiction
Happy Birthday, Jane!
To celebrate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, Stephanie Insley Hershinow offers a survey of recent Austen-related books and artworks.
Stephanie Insley HershinowDec 16
- Fiction
- Cultural Studies
Drawing America’s Brutal Imagination
Justin A. Davis writes on Ralph Bakshi’s controversial film “Coonskin” for its 50th anniversary, in a preview of the LARB Quarterly no. 47, “Security.”
Justin A. DavisDec 16
- Film
- Cultural Studies

CITY OF ANGELS
The Golden Age of Porn Valley
Sascha Cohen talks with Molly Lambert about her new podcast “JennaWorld: Jenna Jameson, Vivid Video, & the Valley.”
Sascha CohenNov 9
- Gender & Sexuality
- Film
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Giant Platforms of Shit
Dave Mandl catches a whiff of Cory Doctorow’s anatomy of platform “enshittification.”
Dave MandlNov 5
- Science & Technology
SILVER SCREEN
Bones, Roses, and Ruins
Janet Sarbanes encounters Nancy Buchanan’s career retrospective at the Brick in Los Angeles.
Janet SarbanesNov 14
- Art & Architecture
BETA MODE
The Return of the Luddites
Erik J. Larson considers “The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want” by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna.
Erik J. LarsonOct 31
- Science & Technology
- Philosophy & Religion

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Latest

Culture Never Recovered
From his rear window, M. Keith Booker reads the new anthology of stories inspired by Alfred Hitchcock, edited by Maxim Jakubowski.
M. Keith BookerDec 15
- Film
- Noir
The Opposite of the World
Petala Ironcloud interviews Billy-Ray Belcourt about his new poetry collection.
Petala Ironcloud Dec 15
- Poetry
Still Got It
Zach Gibson meditates on “late style” in the work of postmodernists like Thomas Pynchon who are still publishing well into their eighties.
Zach GibsonDec 14
- Fiction
- Literary Criticism
A New Name for an Old Phenomenon
Michele Willens speaks with Danny Goldberg about his new book on the police beating of Rodney King and its aftermath.
Michele WillensDec 14
- Law
- History
An Apocalypse for Every Epoch
Emmett Rensin writes on eco-grief, the climate dirge, and one Armenian monk in a new hybrid fiction-cum-essay from LARB Quarterly no. 47, “Security.”
Emmett RensinDec 13
- LARB Lit
- Fiction

Saints of the Middlebrow
Jon RepettiDec 9
Filthy Matters
Calvin GimpelevichDec 9
Isengard in Oxford
Christian KriticosDec 17
Feral, Fearless, and Long Overdue
Alma Katsu, Sadie HartmannDec 10
Still Got It
Zach GibsonDec 14
An Apocalypse for Every Epoch
Emmett RensinDec 13
Your Life Is Not a Plot
Nada AlicDec 6
Against High Brodernism
Federico PerelmuterFeb 22

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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.

Is Justice Barrett Listening?
Leah Litman prosecutes Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s new legal memoir, “Listening to the Law: Reflections on the Court and Constitution.”
Leah LitmanNov 22
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
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
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.
Randy M. BrowneNov 8
- History
- Politics

Vantage Points

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

Holding and Disappearing Traces of the Past
Lara Fresko Madra explores Hande Sever’s recent installation at REDCAT in Los Angeles.
Lara Fresko Madra Nov 25
- Art & Architecture
When History Hangs Out
Jacob Stern reviews Richard Linklater’s two latest films, “Nouvelle Vague” and “Blue Moon,” as twin hangout movies.
Jacob SternNov 21
- Film
- History
You Can Go Home Again, and Again, and Again
Cory Oldweiler reviews the new translation of Danish author Solvej Balle’s “On the Calculation of Volume (Book III).”
Cory OldweilerNov 18
- Fiction
- SF
The Cult of Orgasm
Helena Aeberli traces Ellen Huet’s investigations in “Empire of Orgasm: Sex, Power, and the Downfall of a Wellness Cult.”
Helena AeberliNov 18
- Gender & Sexuality
- Cultural Studies

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

Sarah Schulman’s “The Fantasy and Necessity of Solidarity”
Eric Newman and Kate Wolf speak with Sarah Schulman about her latest book, “The Fantasy and Necessity of Solidarity.”
LARB Radio HourMay 2
- 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

View all Radio Hour episodes

The LARB Quarterly

LARB Quarterly, no. 47: Security

Brace yourself, new essays, fiction, poetry, art, and comics are here. Hunker down with the LARB Quarterly no 47: Security, exploring vulnerability, loss, and refuge.

Featured Exhibit

Help us keep LARB paywall-free.

SIGALERT

FROM THE FORTHCOMING ISSUE

CITY OF ANGELS

THE SOCIAL NETWORK

SILVER SCREEN

BETA MODE

Get the best of LARB in your inbox.

Latest

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. 47: Security