Christopher Nolan’s Ancient Greek Hero Is Suspiciously Modern
Review of "The Odyssey" (2026)
Department
Culture.
Society, trends, and the human experience.
Lately on the shelf
30 of 2303“I’m not a provocateur,” insists Alex Byrne, the MIT philosopher who helped author a report for the Trump administration on youth gender medicine
“I’m not a provocateur,” insists Alex Byrne, the MIT philosopher who helped author a report for the Trump administration on youth gender medicine
Trenchant but sententious, John Berger could sound like Platonov one moment, the next like Alain de Botton
Trenchant but sententious, John Berger could sound like Platonov one moment, the next like Alain de Botton
Increasingly “ancient history” is not just Greco-Roman, but leads through such locales as Kerala, Tillya Tepe, and Guangzhou
Increasingly “ancient history” is not just Greco-Roman, but leads through such locales as Kerala, Tillya Tepe, and Guangzhou
Durkheim called it "collective effervescence." The rest of us call it getting gussied up to drink, dance, and have fun
Durkheim called it "collective effervescence." The rest of us call it getting gussied up to drink, dance, and have fun
No, we are not post-literate. The reading panic is merely the result of histrionic op-eds that misdiagnose the erosion of literary culture
No, we are not post-literate. The reading panic is merely the result of histrionic op-eds that misdiagnose the erosion of literary culture
Nose hairs tweezed just so, and set with Krazy Glue. Gently dappled liver spots. Their art is increasingly rare, but a few morticians are hanging on
Nose hairs tweezed just so, and set with Krazy Glue. Gently dappled liver spots. Their art is increasingly rare, but a few morticians are hanging on
For some conservatives, the Great Books are simply an anti-woke bulwark. But the case for them is much grander and more provocative
For some conservatives, the Great Books are simply an anti-woke bulwark. But the case for them is much grander and more provocative
"Anonymity is what the aesthete fears above all," says Mark Lilla. One task of poetry is to assert the individual against the masses
"Anonymity is what the aesthete fears above all," says Mark Lilla. One task of poetry is to assert the individual against the masses
In 1994, Stanley Fish described deconstruction as dead in the same way that Freudianism is dead: "It is everywhere.” He had a point
In 1994, Stanley Fish described deconstruction as dead in the same way that Freudianism is dead: "It is everywhere.” He had a point
The Canadian poet Margaret Avison lived with such intense inwardness that Northrop Frye called her “a conscientious objector to life”
The Canadian poet Margaret Avison lived with such intense inwardness that Northrop Frye called her “a conscientious objector to life”
The Machine Answered Too Easily
A savage dialogue before the Second Axial Age
Synthetic (AI) generated towns
Starting with this article I got intrigued and infuriated in equal measure because the journalism didn’t explain what was going on.
The human does not disappear
The Second Axial Age could therefore be post-anthropocentric without being anti-human.
The One Hundred Milliseconds Between the World and You: Oliver Sacks on Perception
“If the doors of perception were cleansed,” William Blake wrote, “everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.” But we are finite creatures, in time and in space, and there is a limit to how much reality we can bear — evolution gave us consciousness so t…
#354 When Faced Against a Cannon...
Protests and Education
How ISO Works
Inspired by Om I’ve been getting back into my DSLR photography. I learned a lot about how ISO settings work from this delightful physics YouTube channel MinutePhysics.
How to Live a Miraculous Life
Suppose we agree that we are here to love anyway — to love even though the work is almost unbearably difficult, even though we know that everything alive is dying, that everything beautiful is perishable, that everything we love will eventually be taken from u…
How Two Souls Can Interact with One Another: Simone de Beauvoir on Love and Friendship
It is in relationships that we discover both our depths and our limits, there that we anneal ourselves and transcend ourselves, there that we are hurt the most and there that we find the most healing. But despite what a crucible of our emotional and spiritual…
Elizabeth Bowen: as good as Henry James
Tessa Hadley in the Times
How to Win a Billion Dollars and Ruin Your Life
The Perfect Bet: A Review of A. Natasha Joukovsky’s Satire ‘Medium Rare’
Pluralistic: Apple's robo-repo (25 Jul 2026)
Today's links Apple's robo-repo: Privatizing the risk premium, socializing its costs. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Printed batteries; Monopoly credit cards; Mapping airport power outlets; EMI loves pirates; Mexican indigenous pho…
The Eras of Francis Fukuyama: His Life and Ideas
Francis Fukuyama discusses the experiences and individuals that shaped him.
Suggested Readings
A few recommendations by Figs in Winter for your reading pleasure
The rise of Youtube “street content”
I wrote in April about Knockout Audit: a strange mix of urban exploration, traditional auditing, nightlife content and vigilantism which I suspected would rapidly grow. I just stumbled across this piece from an agency website documenting how it has grown over…
Look on my Outcomes, ye Mighty and despair
The knockoff educational product economy (Part 1)
How to Stop Waiting and Start Living: A Jolt from Henry James
"It wouldn't have been failure to be bankrupt, dishonoured, pilloried, hanged; it was failure not to be anything."
Rearranging the deckchairs on HMS Unserious
And other things - not just the new British PM
This Week at Persuasion
London pub meet next Friday! Plus, a new episode of The Good Fight Club.
Kahlil Gibran on the Art of Becoming Yourself Across the Sweep of Life
A roadmap to the fulfilled belonging on the other side of "the great aloneness which knows not what is far and what is near, nor what is small nor great."