Archive

Disaster Triumphant
Visiting Trinity Site, location of the Manhattan Project, Christopher Kempf is stunned by the failures of the American curatorial imagination.
Christopher KempfDec 12, 2024
- Science & Technology
- History
A Soundtrack of Irrationalism
Blaire Briody considers localized extremism as portrayed in Sasha Abramsky’s “Chaos Comes Calling: The Battle Against the Far-Right Takeover of Small-Town America.”
Blaire BriodyDec 12, 2024
- Politics
Seriality and Slow Grief
Lauren Eriks Cline looks back at 20 years of the TV series “Lost” and the lessons it holds for us today.
Lauren Eriks ClineDec 11, 2024
- Television
- Cultural Studies
Merry Christmas, Ya Filthy Angelenos
A. J. Urquidi battles winter temperatures, Trump cameos, and banh mi wait times to reevaluate the first two “Home Alone” movies at an L.A. outdoor screening.
A. J. UrquidiDec 11, 2024
The Only Girl in the World: On Madonna and “Desperately Seeking Susan”
Brontez Purnell pays tribute to Madonna through a close reading of her performance in “Desperately Seeking Susan,” in an essay from the LARB Quarterly issue no. 43, “Fixation.”
Brontez PurnellDec 10, 2024
- LARB Lit
- Music
Hermes in the Greenhouse
After an oil Mordor detour, Steve Kado meets artist-orchidist Jason Gomez and the plant perverts at CSU Bakersfield’s gallery.
Steve KadoDec 10, 2024
How Much Still Abides
In conversation at a LARB Luminary Dinner, Richard Powers and Rosanna Xia discuss cross-genre environmental writing, storytelling as music-making, and finding inspiration at the bottom of the ocean.
Rosanna XiaDec 9, 2024
- Fiction
- Environment
Falling in Love with Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson scholar Trenton B. Olsen reviews “A Wilder Shore” by Camille Peri.
Trenton B. OlsenDec 8, 2024
- Literary Criticism
- Biography & Autobiography
Syria’s Forgotten Island of Opposition
In an essay from the LARB Quarterly issue no. 43, “Fixation,” Charlie Clewis reports from a military compound in the Syrian desert.
Charlie ClewisDec 7, 2024
Raoul Peck’s “Ernest Cole: Lost and Found”
Kate Wolf speaks to filmmaker Raoul Peck about his latest documentary, “Ernest Cole: Lost and Found,” out in theaters now.
LARB Radio HourDec 6, 2024
From the Pudong Airport to Tiananmen Square
Rebecca F. Kuang reviews Lai Wen’s “Tiananmen Square” and Juli Min’s “Shanghailanders.”
Rebecca F. KuangDec 6, 2024
- Fiction
- Memoir & Essay
Cults, Yoga, and #YouToo
R. John Williams considers what the HBO docuseries “Breath of Fire” reveals about “new” religious experiences.
R. John WilliamsDec 5, 2024
- Television
- Cultural Studies
Unspoken Spaces
Akanksha Singh interviews Jokha Alharthi about her latest novel, “Silken Gazelles.”
Akanksha SinghDec 5, 2024
- Fiction
Nothing Is Certain Except Death and Taxidermy
Brittany Menjivar stuffs herself with trivia on the art of museum dioramas.
Brittany MenjivarDec 5, 2024
Two New Stories: “Pigfoot” and “Witches of Fresno”
In a pair of flash fiction pieces from the LARB Quarterly issue no. 43, “Fixation,” Venita Blackburn traces the porous border between this life and one beyond.
Venita BlackburnDec 4, 2024
- LARB Lit
- Fiction
Cyber Celebrity Skin
Jack Skelley reports from a star-struck showcase of cyborg feminists, futuristic fetishists, and booty mutants: Jeffrey Deitch’s “Post Human” revival.
Jack SkelleyDec 4, 2024