Essay States of War Storm Warning By Caleb Carr Are there meaningful parallels between America today and late imperial Rome, and will they suffer a similar fate? More
Essay Education A Speculative Endeavor By Eleni Schirmer Education has become an investment. But what are its returns? More
Essay Communication Word for Word By Ben Zimmer Peter Mark Roget’s Thesaurus was the creation of an obsessive list-maker that became a tool and a temptation for generations of writers. 8.3.4 More
Essay Crimes & Punishments Staking a Life By Christopher Hitchens Why is the United States so wedded to the infliction of the death penalty? More
Essay Eros Up Close and Personal By Noga Arikha The evolution of personal ads, from the newspaper to the social network. More
Essay Politics Between the Lines By Robert Boyers A look at the crossroads where literature and politics meet, and the relationship between art and ideas. More
Essay Sports & Games Blossom and Fade By John Crowley Hermann Hesse’s The Glass Bead Game is an experience with the pathos and wonder of all games—the game that is the universe. More
Essay Education Misdirectives By Ian Altman A public high school teacher asks why the wrong things cause a fuss in schools. More
Essay Death Fond Farewells By Bess Lovejoy Jessica Mitford’s An American Way of Death took down an industry few people knew about, but that everyone would one day need. More
