Joshua Rothman

In the cultural wasteland of the Reagan era, they showed that a band could break through to mass appeal without being cheesy, or nostalgic, or playing hair metal.

The morning after the election, the historian discussed some books that shed light on the precedents for our fractured political moment.

From the daily newsletter: Nathan Heller on why details didn’t matter in this election. Plus: an ultra-contemporary artist; how Elon Musk rebranded Trump; and is the twentieth-century novel a genre?

“There’s a tension between planning and future-tripping, and I’m trying not to future-trip too much” the MSNBC host says. “The first big thing that we all got to get our heads around is: What is this mass-deportation thing going to look like?”

In the days since Donald Trump’s reëlection, art has offered a distraction for those reeling from the news. But what does it mean to turn away when circumstances demand our attention?

Technology is dramatically changing political speech, rewarding quantity and variety over the neat messages of the past.

Other Western democracies have been roiled by the use of spyware to target political opponents, activists, journalists, and other vulnerable groups. Could it happen here?

From the “cozy gaming” trend to a new generation of A.I. companions, our devices are trying to swath us in a digital and physical cocoon.

On the occasion of his new memoir, the “Dune” actor reflects on some of his formative reading experiences.

From the daily newsletter: Ronan Farrow on new spyware tech. Plus: the Northeast is becoming fire country; what Trump means for Ukraine; and tech enters its cozy era.