Every year, Americans hurt and kill each other fighting over Black Friday deals. To understand why, turn to nihilist horror author Thomas Ligotti.

Right-wingers have been getting books removed from shelves across the United States. But they’re a fringe minority of weirdos, and they can be beaten. Here’s how.

For Peter Thiel, JD Vance, and other figures on today’s far right, the works of J.R.R. Tolkien have become a cultural touchstone. Pity they don’t understand the first thing about them.

In Compact magazine, Jacob Savage complains that the “white male writer” is becoming an endangered species. But that’s a lazy, self-absorbed narrative that obscures the real threats to literature today.

Afrofuturism, the centuries-long intellectual and creative tradition of imagining Black futures through speculative narratives, could not be more relevant right now as we face racial, social, and economic inequities alongside a worsening climate crisis.

The world’s richest man has taken to verse, and the results are just as unpleasant as the rest of his ideas.

In his 100th year, there's a danger in celebrating Baldwin without recognizing his true radicalism.

Not everyone has the available time or energy to do deep reading. But if you’re going to make confident public pronouncements on matters that require a lot of research, books will help you avoid dangerous foolishness.