Essay The reinvention of boredom July 29, 2026 If a medieval monk, a nineteenth-century poet, and a psychiatrist from the 1950s could agree on one thing, it would be this: boredom was not something anyone should actively seek. Today, we seem to believe the exact opposite. Read More
Podcast Listen in: The Making and Breaking of the American Constitution July 21, 2026 The Making and Breaking of the American Constitution is a provocative new history of America's constitution and an urgent call to action for a nation confronted by challenges its founders could never have imagined. Read More
Essay Game, scam, cult: The many faces of QAnon July 17, 2026 When viewed within the corpus of 4953 similar posts that accreted over the months between October 2017 and December 2020, Drop #199 was nothing out of the ordinary. Read More
Essay What it means to lose a farm July 17, 2026 There are only three times when a farm receives a lot of visitors: during an open house after expanding, after the farmer gets seriously injured, and when the farm sells out and auctions its machinery. My father experienced all three. Read More
Essay How to succeed in college the old-fashioned way July 16, 2026 Around two thousand years ago, in a Greek city that had long been both politically and culturally under the sway of the Roman empire, a teenaged boy named Nicander participated in a coming-of-age ritual. Read More
Podcast Listen in: The Fall of Republics July 13, 2026 Thomas Madden explores the people, events, and factors that led to the collapse of some of the world’s most enduring republics—from Carthage to Rome to Venice and beyond—and examines the worrying lessons these failures hold for the United States and other democracies today. Read More
Space travel for armchair astronauts July 01, 2026 Humanity has long contemplated the mysteries of the night sky. From ancient stargazers to modern astrophysicists, our journey to understand the cosmos has been one of awe, curiosity, and discovery. Exploring topics from black holes to the Big Bang, to the search for habitable planets, our special “Space Exploration Day” reading list illuminates humanity’s exploration of space—from the scientific to the philosophical. Read More
Essay A new biography of Darwin July 01, 2026 This idea for this book began with a simple question: Why do so many modern biologists have a picture of Charles Darwin hanging in their laboratories? Read More
Essay The uneaten artichoke: Notes from a French village July 01, 2026 If you’re truly devoted to observing plant patterns in nature, you learn that hunger can wait. Read More
Essay Jaws (1975): A study of American masculinity June 30, 2026 When I first saw Jaws?in the 1980s, I was probably about 9 or 10 years old, and I was plum terrified. I was terrified of the shark, obviously, but even more terrified of the water—the idea that the monster could be right underneath you or your boat, but you couldn’t access him or see him. Read More
Interview Christen E. Civiletto on Thundering Waters June 30, 2026 Interweaving environmental crime, history, and memoir, Thundering Waters exposes the astonishing story of exploitation and ongoing abuse lurking in the shadows of one of the world’s most treasured natural wonders. Read More
Essay Americans and Europeans must learn from each other on free speech June 25, 2026 Americans and Europeans fundamentally misunderstand one another on free speech. Read More
Reading List Reflecting on America’s 250th anniversary: Rupture and reconstruction June 22, 2026 Moments of rupture have repeatedly forced Americans to rethink the nation’s political, social, and moral foundations. This list explores how periods of crisis—from revolution and civil war to reconstruction and reform—have redefined the principles of American democracy. Read More
Reading List Reflecting on America’s 250th anniversary: Immigration, citizenship, and belonging June 22, 2026 Immigration has been integral to the United States from its conception and continues to redefine belonging today. This list explores what it means to be an immigrant and how the politics of immigration control have impacted the quest for citizenship. Read More
Reading List Reflecting on America’s 250th anniversary: Revolution, the Constitution, and the founders June 22, 2026 This reading list revisits the Revolution, the Constitution, and the Founders to examine how their ideas were forged, contested, and continue to shape the American experiment. Read More
