Culture
To Thine Own Self Be True
Tara Isabella Burton’s new book ‘Self-Made’ surveys the grand, and sometimes ridiculous, history of how crafting identities shaped our modern world.
‘The Chosen’ Is ‘Message’ Entertainment Done Right
Plus: The New Mexico’s governor’s shameful whiff on fighting crime.
George Orwell’s Diagnosis of Modern Russia
Masha Karp’s ‘George Orwell and Russia’ explores the country’s pathologies through the novelist’s eyes.
Catastrophizing the Classroom
Cara Fitzpatrick’s ‘The Death of Public School’ overblows public education’s demise—and wrongly goes after school choice.
What ‘Painkiller’ Omits About the Opioid Crisis
Netflix’s OxyContin series offers a comic-book version of a complex story.
MLK and the Content of Character
Reflecting on Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous words on the 60th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington.
Retconning Capitalism
Sohrab Ahmari’s critiques of free markets in ‘Tyranny, Inc.’ conflate private power with state-backed coercion.
What ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ Gets Right
The song’s admittedly uncomplicated narrative reflects the nation’s rural-urban divide.
An Essayist’s Defense of the Novel
Joseph Epstein’s new book explains why serious fiction matters, and what we’ll lose if we stop reading it.
To Understand ‘Oppenheimer,’ Look Back at Prometheus
Christopher Nolan’s film, like the Greek myth, refuses to simply glorify its protagonist.
‘Love of Home’ Environmentalism
Better climate policy begins with awe for America’s natural heritage.
