Craigslist’s lessons for a weirder, more ethical internet February 07, 2020 When I first started teaching undergrad courses on the internet and society, it was 2010. Back then, students usually walked into the classroom with a fairly positive attitude about digital technology. They saw the internet as a vital tool for democracy, an important way to network for future jobs and connect with their friends. Read More
James Baldwin’s reckless idea February 06, 2020 In 1961 James Baldwin found himself in the studios of WBAI radio in New York, looking into the eyes of Malcolm X. Malcolm was, by then, the most recognizable face associated with the Nation of Islam (NOI), a religious sect that was inspiring hope in the hearts of some and fear in the hearts of others. Read More
The smart move: we learn more by trusting than by not trusting February 05, 2020 We all know people who have suffered by trusting too much: scammed customers, jilted lovers, shunned friends. Indeed, most of us have been burned by misplaced trust. These personal and vicarious experiences lead us to believe that people are too trusting, often verging on gullibility. Read More
Getting to know Nat Turner February 03, 2020 Nat Turner is known to history as a thirty-year-old Virginia slave who led a bloody rebellion that resulted in the death of fifty-five whites, mostly women and children. Beyond that, he is famous for being well-nigh unknowable. Read More
Donald and Winston at the Ministry of Alternative Facts January 31, 2020 Is George Orwell the most influential writer who ever lived? Yes, according to John Rodden’s provocative book about the transformation of a man into a myth. Read More
By Design | Sunnis and Shi’a: A Political History January 31, 2020 A typographic cover design poses a unique challenge. Unlike book covers that avail themselves of rich imagery, an all-type cover has to articulate a book’s subject with a greater economy of means. Read More
Jessa Lingel on An Internet for the People January 28, 2020 Begun by Craig Newmark as an e-mail to some friends about cool events happening around San Francisco, craigslist is now the leading classifieds service on the planet. It is also a throwback to the early internet. Read More
Why we need snarky book reviews—according to reviewers January 23, 2020 In 2010, the Huffington Post compiled a list of “The Five Meanest Book Reviews Ever: Franzen, Foer, Larson, and more.” The chart included some real zingers. Read More
Fei-Hsien Wang on Pirates and Publishers January 22, 2020 In Pirates and Publishers, Fei-Hsien Wang reveals the unknown social and cultural history of copyright in China from the 1890s through the 1950s, a time of profound sociopolitical changes. Read More
Melancholy, remorse, and resignation in a year of Communist anniversaries January 17, 2020 Vanguard of the Revolution is a sweeping history of one of the most significant political institutions of the modern world. The communist party was a revolutionary idea long before its supporters came to power. Read More
Phillipa Chong on Inside the Critics’ Circle January 14, 2020 Taking readers behind the scenes in the world of fiction reviewing, Inside the Critics’ Circle explores the ways that critics evaluate books despite the inherent subjectivity involved, and the uncertainties of reviewing when seemingly anyone can be a reviewer. Read More
What do you really know about gullibility? January 08, 2020 Not Born Yesterday explains how we decide who we can trust and what we should believe—and argues that we’re pretty good at making these decisions. Read More
Robert Frank on Under the Influence January 07, 2020 Psychologists have long understood that social environments profoundly shape our behavior, sometimes for the better, often for the worse. But social influence is a two-way street—our environments are themselves products of our behavior. Read More
For the beauty of invisibility January 06, 2020 Human beings are naturally visual creatures. Our eyes, capable of counting single photons, have been optimized over evolutionary time to the very limits of the laws of physics. Read More
7 books to start the new year December 26, 2019 Opening the page to another year can be a time for reflection, resolve, anticipation, and contemplation. For many of us, it’s a time for setting goals and committing to change. But in our increasingly hurried lives, it’s equally a time to consider undertaking the challenge of doing less. Read More