Science & Technology

"The nineteenth century believed in science but the twentieth century does not." — Gertrude Stein

Noir for the Anthropocene: On Elspeth Barker’s “O Caledonia”
Chelsea Jack Fitzgerald reviews Elspeth Barker’s “O Caledonia,” a Scottish noir interested in the connections between different types of anthropogenic damage.
Chelsea FitzgeraldDec 26, 2022
Hurray for Inventing New Genres or Whatever: On Dr. Moiya McTier’s “The Milky Way”
Joani Etskovitz explores the genres at play — from astronomy and mythology to self-help and romance — in Dr. Moiya McTier’s “The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy.”
Joani EtskovitzDec 24, 2022
The Body in Topography
Mariam Gomaa reflects on the intertwining characteristics of health, surgery, religion, and philosophy.
Mariam GomaaNov 27, 2022
No One Receiving: On Daniel K. L. Chua and Alexander Rehding’s “Alien Listening”
Patrick Valiquet responds to music theory’s close encounter with speculative realism in “Alien Listening: Voyager’s Golden Record and Music from Earth” by Daniel K. L. Chua and Alexander Rehding.
Patrick ValiquetNov 26, 2022
Going Coastal: On Some Recent Books About the Ecology and History of Beaches
Daniela Blei explores the paradoxes constituted by “the beach” — an allegedly natural place of leisure and fun since the Industrial Revolution, and now the site of our species’ myopia.
Daniela BleiNov 16, 2022
Managing Nature: On Recent Books About Conservation and Genetic Modification
John Dupré discusses recent science books about genetic modification, conservation, factory farming, and the effects of capitalism on ecology.
John DupréNov 13, 2022
- Politics
- Science & Technology
Green Capitalism Is a Scam: A Conversation with Adrienne Buller
Writer Cal Turner and Sara Van Horn interview Adrienne Buller, author of “The Value of a Whale.”
Cal Turner, Sara Van HornOct 27, 2022
Sense and Nonsense in California: A Conversation with Markus Gabriel
Markus Gabriel speaks to Andrea Capra about his philosophy of a New Enlightenment.
Andrea CapraOct 23, 2022
- Philosophy & Religion
- Science & Technology
What Is It Like to Have a Brain?: On Patrick House’s “Nineteen Ways of Looking at Consciousness”
Henry M. Cowles reviews Patrick House’s “Nineteen Ways of Looking at Consciousness” and finds House’s brains to be remarkably similar to Wallace Stevens’s birds in “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.”
Henry M. CowlesOct 11, 2022
Visible Faultlines: A Conversation with the Authors of “Unprecedented? How COVID-19 Revealed the Politics of Our Economy”
In “Unprecedented? How COVID-19 Revealed the Politics of Our Economy,” a group of political economists use a single and precise metaphor — photosynthesis — to bring the broad social consequences of the pandemic into focus.
Michelle ChiharaOct 6, 2022
- Economics and Finance
- Science & Technology
The Bargaining Chips Are … Chips: On Chris Miller’s “Chip War”
Historian of technology Patrick McCray describes Chris Miller’s “Chip War” as “an account of how chips became a strategically vital resource whose importance is overlooked at our peril.” Miller has placed his own chips on this point. His bet has largely paid off, according to McCray.
W. Patrick McCrayOct 4, 2022
The Center Did Not Hold: On Seung Chul Kim’s “The Center Is Everywhere”
Leo D. Lefebure takes a critical look at Seung Chul Kim’s “The Center Is Everywhere.”
Leo D. LefebureSep 25, 2022