On Blackface, Bert Williams, and Excellence By Danielle Jackson A complicated racial anxiety rests at the heart of American entertainment.
“This Halloween is Something to Be Sure”: An Examination of Lou Reed’s New York By Matt Giles New York might be Lou Reed’s most politically active album, especially on tracks like “Halloween Parade,” which functions both as a dirge and call-to-action confronting societal torpidity.
Help Us Fund More Original Essays (and Great Art to Go with Them) By Sari Botton Member contributions help us to amplify diverse voices and give chances to new writers.
This Month In Books: “Once You Can See the Pattern” By Dana Snitzky A lot of what you’ll read in this month’s books newsletter is about things not seeming to be what they really are.
Why Are We Still Ignoring Lee Krasner? By Matt Giles Lee Krasner wasn’t just instrumental to the evolution of Jackson Pollock as an artist. Her influence extended across the Abstract-Expressionist movement.
Lady Gaga, Celeb Profiles, and the Third Remake of “A Star is Born” By Danielle Jackson Rachel Syme profiles Lady Gaga and dives deep into the mystique and mythology of “A Star is Born.”
Remembering G. Dep, the Rapper Who Confessed to a 17-Year Old Cold Case By Matt Giles Lil Wayne’s reimagining of G. Dep’s “Special Delivery” has thrust the ex-Bad Boy rapper back into the pop culture spotlight.
Did We Learn Nothing From the 2008 Crisis? By Matt Giles The continuation of the false narrative of what caused the 2008 financial collapse is alarming.
How I Fell In Love With Ranch Dressing By Matt Giles The complexities of the “American dressing” are subtle.
Eight Days in September, A Decade Later By Matt Giles Looking back at the weekend that nearly destroyed America’s economy.
Did We Learn From Anita Hill? By Danielle Tcholakian Or will Democrats sell out Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser, too?
This Month in Books: ‘Everything That We Are and Ever Have Been’ By Dana Snitzky This month’s books newsletter has a lot to say about identities — mistaken, misunderstood, transformed, false, false, fictional, or as anonymous as the op-ed.
Naomi Osaka Deserves to Have Her Moment By Mike Dang Much is being written about the contentious U.S. Open women’s final match, but this moment belongs to Naomi Osaka.
Michael, Aretha, Beyoncé, and the Black Press By Danielle Jackson The Black press has always been where Black artists could have their work spoken about with integrity.
This Month In Books: ‘Name the Very Specific Situation Around You’ By Dana Snitzky This month’s books newsletter has a lot to say about truth and lies, fact and fiction.
One Dollar a Word? That’ll Be $28,000 By Matt Giles Fresh off Watergate, Carl Bernstein next turned to expose the connection between the CIA and newspapers. For his efforts, he was paid $28,000. Inside one of publishing’s biggest boondoggles.
The Far Right’s Fight Against Race-Conscious School Admissions By Danielle Jackson Jeff Sessions and the Justice Department rescinded Obama-era policy documents that provided guidelines on affirmative action.
An Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Reading List By Danielle Tcholakian The New York Times came under fire for asking, “Who is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?” A lot of outlets already knew.
This Month in Books: ‘What Used To Be Me Before the World Buried It’ By Dana Snitzky Everyone is feeling very alone in this month’s books newsletter.
Our Planet Still Has Secrets: Talking Tasmanian Tigers with Journalist Brooke Jarvis By Aaron Gilbreath Investigating the people who search for the extinct Tasmanian Tiger.
A Reading List for Reconsidering the Fourth of July By Danielle Jackson How should we think about the Fourth of July given the current circumstances?
On Mourning, Learning a More Sober Fandom, and Letting Go By Danielle Jackson The death of popular rapper XXXTentaction raises questions of ethical consumption.
How the Self-Publishing Industry Changed, Between My First and Second Novels By Nicole Dieker In the last few years, self-publishing and marketing your own books has become increasingly more difficult.
Puma’s Ploy to Become Relevant in Basketball Again By Matt Giles Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley spurned Nike and Adidas to sign with Puma. This isn’t the first time the sneaker company has made basketball history.
Surviving Depression By Danielle Tcholakian What can you do for a loved one with depression? Sometimes presence can make all the difference in the world.
If Tim Russert Could Interview Trump Today By Catherine Cusick On the tenth anniversary of Tim Russert’s death, one question rings out over the last decade in American politics: What Would Tim Ask?
This Month in Books: ‘We Have Nothing to Weigh Our Hearts Against’ By Dana Snitzky When I look at this month’s Books Newsletter, all I can think about are borders, crossings, the terrible distances between people who have been separated.
