The Rise of the “Scenario,” a Trendy Way of Forecasting our Dystopian Future
Gideon Lewis-Kraus reviews Annie Jacobsen’s novel “Biological War,” and asks what we miss when we try to predict the future.
The Weekend Essay
admin The Voice of Google
Claire Stapleton writes that she cracked the code for generating corpspeak with personality, then lost faith in what Google was…
Our Plastic-Surgery Nightmare
As cosmetic procedures become both more invisible and more extreme, our connection to reality is fraying, Jia Tolentino writes.
The Popularity Contests of “Love Island”
Most romantic reality TV would have us believe that dating is about getting married, or simply being chosen, Lillian Fishman…
A Diehard Drinker Accidentally Quits
Sarah Miller writes about quitting drinking in spite of never having been convinced by cultural arguments for sobriety that revolve…
Kate Millett Disappears
The writer and artist’s 1972 installation “Terminal Piece” shows us the failure of language in the face of violence. Rachel…
When Should You Say Goodbye to a Pet?
Sunita Puri on the growing pet-hospice industry within veterinary medicine.
When the Religious Right Came for Martin Scorsese
Isaac Butler on how “The Last Temptation of Christ,” Scorsese’s 1988 epic, became one of the first victims of a…
What Gets Kept
Joyce Johnson writes about her affair with Jack Kerouac, whom she met on a blind date in New York before…
Can Art Teach?
Calling something “didactic” has become grounds for immediate dismissal, David S. Wallace writes. But do the merits of works with…