Culture

Who’s Behind the Smithsonian Museum’s $63 Million Ode to American Capitalism?

Just who you would think.

Chris Lehmann

Culture

Why the Youngest Country on Earth Can’t Escape the Yoke of Colonialism

'We Come as Friends' captures the Western exploitation of South Sudan from the moment of its conception

Michael Atkinson

Culture

Fall In Love with Your Job, Get Ripped Off by Your Boss

Miya Tokumitsu's sharp new book exposes the "Do what you love" fairy tale for what it really is: a means of exploitation.

Joanna Scutts

Culture

How an Anti-Austerity Protest Candidate Became the Frontrunner for Labour’s Leadership

Jeremy Corbyn's left campaign is shaking up UK Labour

Jane Miller

Culture

Mr. Robot Is the Anti-Capitalist TV Show We’ve Been Waiting For

By placing class warfare front and center, Mr. Robot makes socialism a vibrant force again in popular culture, its aims urgent and compelling.

Brian Cook

Culture

Treacheries At Teatime

On postwar anti-communist surveillance in Britain

Jane Miller

Culture

In Flint, Michigan, the Wrecking Ball Has Not Meant Progress

Andrew Highsmith charts the rise and fall of Flint, a city deserted by industry and divided by segregation.

Daniel Hertz

Culture

A Quiet Return to the Killing Fields of Indonesia

Joshua Oppenheimer's The Act of Killing focused on the perpetrators of genocide; in the sequel, the stage is shared by traumatized survivors.

Michael Atkinson

Culture

The Stanford Prison Experiment Actually Shows We Are Not All Born Potential Tyrants

The film adaptation of the Stanford prison experiment explores little of its ambiguity.

Eileen Jones

Culture

If the GOP Wants To Attract Young People, Maybe It Should Stop Screwing Them Over

Kristen Soltis Anderson’s The Selfie Vote suggests Republicans use "microtargeting" to win over the youth.

Chris Lehmann

Culture

A Spy’s Guide to Protecting Whistleblowers

Journalists now compete with spooks and spies, and the spooks have the home-field advantage.

Brandon Smith

Culture

The Tribe Is a Silent Lord of the Flies

Though entirely in Ukrainian Sign, without subtitles, Slaboshpytskiy's remarkable film will speak to a hearing audience.

Michael Atkinson

Culture

A Century After Ota Benga’s Captivity, Elites Still Don’t Understand White Supremacy

Over a century after a Congolese man was displayed at the Bronx Zoo monkey exhibit, white elites still stubbornly believe they are benevolent, not supremacist.

Chris Lehmann

Culture

A Shaky Launch for HBO’s The Brink

The new black comedy about nuclear war misses its target.

Eileen Jones

Culture

The Climate Change-Induced Dystopia of ‘The Water Knife’ Is Not Just Sci-Fi—It’s Already Here

The climate change-induced tragedies The Water Knife chronicles are already happening today; they’re just not happening to us—yet.

Jessica Stites

Culture

Austerity: The Real Winner of the UK Elections

May’s elections delivered the familiar thud of disappointment.

Jane Miller

Culture

Why Some Vets Want to Relive Vietnam

A new documentary follows the weird subculture of Vietnam War reenactors—some of whom were actually there.

Eileen Jones

Culture

Pigeons Under Late Capitalism

An existentialist Swedish movie occupies a completely original universe.

Michael Atkinson

Culture

Detained at Her Majesty’s Pleasure

The UK keeps migrants in detention centres for unspecified periods of time.

Jane Miller

Culture

Why Silicon Valley Won’t Solve the World’s Problems

In Geek Heresy, former Microsoft do-gooder Kentaro Toyama reconsiders tech-based social-change initiatives.

Chris Lehmann

Culture

Inside the Happiness Racket

Can money buy happiness? A new book explores the history of those who have tried to sell it.

Joanna Scutts

Culture

Bitcoin: Digital Fool’s Gold?

Silicon Valley investors are betting heavily on the online currency. But is it a libertarian boondoggle?

Chris Lehmann

Culture

Our Anger, Ourselves

Mary Dore's documentary, 'She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry,' reminds us of '70s feminism's daring and creativity

Jude Ellison Sady Doyle

Culture

Jihadis Invade London

We are no wiser as to who indoctrinated 'Jihadi John.'

Jane Miller