Why consolidation is bad for journalism—and how the government can fix it

The pandemic has only accelerated a years-long trend of cultural homogenization—and it is bound to get worse.

Why we can’t afford to make peace with white supremacists

The curious appeal of the country legend in a divided nation

Elif Batuman was duped by a source’s fabrications about the country’s rent-a-family industry. What went wrong?

Her new story collection poses thorny questions and defies her critics.

The director’s “Small Axe” anthology intimately portrays Black spaces.

What critics’ obsession with the vicious takedown says about the current state of food journalism

What critics get wrong about the genre’s long-standing diversity problems

Reassessing the legacies of past black organizing

An elaborate secret life was a necessity for children’s author Louise Fitzhugh.

Three new books show how Northern states betrayed Black people, and why many found Mexico a safer destination.

He was the dean of American cooking. He embodied some of food culture’s most persistent problems.

The recent appearance of so-called monoliths in Utah and around the world taps into a deep-seated fascination.

The strange new push for space privatization

What is lost when houses become fortresses against fires, floods, and disease?

The upheavals of Hong Kong’s history lie just beneath the surface of his greatest films.

More than iron, stone, or oil, wood explains human history.

The star New York Times reporter has shown an extraordinary ability to do a dirty job with a clean conscience.

Walter Tevis’s novel portrayed an alternative to the Cold War game that Bobby Fischer dominated. Today, the chess world is finally catching up.