Culture

Blinded by Thrift Store Irony

It makes very little sense to characterize irony, strictly speaking, as a matter of self-presentation.

Chris Lehmann

Culture

Fall of the Monarchs

Can we save North America’s most beloved butterfly?

Molly M. Ginty

Culture

Swiftian Logic

The narcissistic non-feminism of pop 'princess' Taylor Swift.

Jude Ellison Sady Doyle

Culture

Lincoln: Better Off Undead

Spielberg's new Lincoln doesn't hold a candle to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Louis Nayman

Culture

The Ice Man, Radioactive

Harold Simmons: the GOP’s $50 million man.

Greg Palast

Culture

Mothering Hypes

Jessica Valenti's new book debunks myths maternal.

Jude Ellison Sady Doyle

Culture

A Heathcliff We Haven’t Seen Before

Crafty casting turns Wuthering Heights into a love story haunted by the guilt and ghosts of slavery.

Michael Atkinson

Culture

After the Gold Rush

An artist turns a vacant house into a confrontational sculptural object.

Danielle McCullough

Culture

America’s Most Famous Living Poet

Poet and author Lawrence Ferlinghetti is as well-known for his activity off the page.

Peter C. Baker

Culture

The Battle for Black Studies

The forgotten African-American education-reform movement of the '60s and '70s.

Julianne Malveaux

Culture

Tears of Gaza

A new documentary explores the Gaza War from the point of view of children.

Michael Atkinson

Culture

Honey, We Shrunk the Parks

Reclaiming public space, inch by inch

Isaac Dalke

Culture

Occupy Gotham City

What the Dark Night Rises says about violence, morality and people's power

Slavoj Žižek

Culture

Father Roy Bourgeois’ Journey

How the founder of School of the Americas Watch became an activist

George Fish

Culture

Vulnerability: The New Girl Power

It’s tempting to view the female confessional as apolitical. In fact, it's a new form of feminism.

Jude Ellison Sady Doyle

Culture

There Will Be Blood ... and Movies

The evolution of our interaction with film

Michael Atkinson

Culture

The Scourge of Meritocracy

An elite based on merit could be more impenetrable than one based on nepotism.

Jane Miller

Culture

Oprah-iate of the People

On finding a new (and unexpected) appreciation for Oprah.

Bhaskar Sunkara

Culture

The Bradbury Chronicles

Decades after their publication, Ray Bradbury's stories mirror our present realities.

Ron Dorfman

Culture

Our Kind of (Torturing) Town

Journalist John Conroy's first play chronicles a police brutality scandal in Chicago.

Kari Lydersen

Culture

The Age of Maintenance

How should England care for its elderly population?

Jane Miller

Culture

Arthritic Docs

Documentaries are everywhere, but they've become stale and clichéd.

Michael Atkinson

Culture

Rage Within the Machine

Rapper Killer Mike takes on neoliberalism.

Gavin Mueller

Culture

The Class That Dare Not Speak its Name

The talk deemed too "political" for TED.

Chris Lehmann