The Power of Sibling Bonds in The Brothers Karamazov
In the year of Dostoevsky's bicentennial, a revisiting of familial relationships in one of his most popular works.
The History of Postmortem Photography
Ever since the medium was invented, people have used photography to document loss.
Why James Bond Villains Prefer Post-Soviet Architecture
In No Time to Die, Bond blows up the villain’s post-Soviet missile silo—just as he does every other modernist building he encounters.
The Ghosts of Slavery in Charles Chesnutt’s Fiction
What begins as a magical escape from the horrors of plantation life soon turns into a spine-chilling testament to slavery’s dehumanizing effects.
How to Hear Images and See Sounds
Artists Shannon Finnegan and Andy Slater talk accessibility, transdimensional hearing, alt-text as poetry, sound descriptions, and Instagram captions for McSweeney’s Audio Issue.
Thank You, Tweens, for Your Pop Music Icons
Olivia Rodrigo is only the latest star to emerge from the wonderful world of Disney.
Science and Slavery in Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko
In one of the first novels written in English, a West African prince, fascinated with navigation, boards a ship for a fateful journey.
How Latin Camp Rocked the New York Underground
Puerto Rican queers produced theater and film that made them mainstays of the New York underground arts movement of the 1950s and ’60s.
Why Mystery Fiction Is So Engaging
Tracking down the killer appeal of the hit show Only Murders in the Building.