Politics

"You can't ignore politics, no matter how much you'd like to." — Molly Ivins

“History Has Many Cunning Passages”: On Jonathan Kaufman’s “The Last Kings of Shanghai”
Qiu Xiaolong reviews “The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China” by Jonathan Kaufman.
Qiu XiaolongNov 20, 2020
Race Consciousness: Fascism and Frank Herbert’s “Dune”
Jordan S. Carroll on the alt-right's love of Frank Herbert's "Dune" series.
Jordan S. CarrollNov 19, 2020
- Politics
- SF
Wagging the Dog, Avant-Garde Style: How the Russian Non-Parliamentary Opposition Influenced Putin’s Kremlin
Andrei Rogatchevski delves into “It Will Be Fun and Terrifying: Nationalism and Protest in Post-Soviet Russia,” by Fabrizio Fenghi.
Andrei RogatchevskiNov 18, 2020
“Art Is So Scary”: Yulia Tsvetkova and the Suppression of Dissent in Putin’s Russia
Lillian Avedian examines the campaign of persecution against an outspoken Russian artist and activist.
Lillian AvedianNov 18, 2020
Making Art “Bad” Again: Shock, Protest, and Visual Art in the Age of Trump
The problem of obviousness in today’s protest art.
Sophie HaigneyNov 16, 2020
- Art & Architecture
- Politics
Real Life Rock Top 10: November 2020: Special Election Edition!
LARB presents the special election installment of “Real Life Rock Top 10,” a monthly column by cultural critic Greil Marcus.
Greil MarcusNov 16, 2020
- Fiction
- Politics
The Machete as Metaphor: On Roberto Lovato’s “Unforgetting”
A new memoir cuts through the density of buried trauma in El Salvador.
Gabriel San RománNov 16, 2020
Caught Between Terror and Joy: On Melissa Valentine’s “The Names of All the Flowers”
Katie Shireen Assef on the grief and generosity of Melissa Valentine’s debut memoir, “The Names of All the Flowers.”
Katie Shireen AssefNov 15, 2020
- Memoir & Essay
- Politics
For How Long Must the Economy Grow?
An economic anthropologist calls for prosperity without growth.
Edward CarverNov 13, 2020
- Economics and Finance
- Politics
Foggy Notions
W. Patrick McCray on “Rational Fog” by historian M. Susan Lindee. It addresses how “scientific knowledge and military applications meet, maraud, and maim.”
W. Patrick McCrayNov 9, 2020
More of the Same: On Roger L. Martin’s “When More Is Not Better”
A new book promising to bring more humanity to capitalism is itself inhumane.
Matt JoyNov 8, 2020
- Economics and Finance
- Politics
The Big Con
Paige Welsh reviews David Shimer's new book, "Rigged: America, Russia, and One Hundred Years of Covert Electoral Interference."
Paige WelshNov 7, 2020
- Politics