Literary criticism is a supremely occasional skill, where you have to be bold enough to operate where there aren’t any...

How should we live? Socrates famously claimed that this is the question we must take “more seriously” than any other. We all want to live a successful,

Hear poet Tom Bailey read poems for wave 19 of literary poetry journal iamb.

William H. Gass’s newly reissued classic is a challenging, esoteric, vulgar trip through the mental crannies of its author.

My insomnia had no cause but its effects were everywhere, which is one of Aristotle's definitions of God. Vincenzo Latronico on four decades of…

My insomnia had no cause but its effects were everywhere, which is one of Aristotle's definitions of God. Vincenzo Latronico on four decades of…

An invigorating guide to fighting back—part philosophy, part history, and part manual for living with integrity in an age of conformity and authoritarian drift How do we push back in a world where...

stop it right now

Podcast Episode · The Midlife Chrysalis · February 27 · 1h 2m

Podcast Episode · Untangle · 01/06/2026 · 56m

1. The world is the totality of socks, not shoes. 1.1. “I remember one time when Wittgenstein was mentioning Nietzsche’s remark: ‘We—i. e., philosophers—want to be learnt by heart.’ … he said that he ...

1. The world is the totality of socks, not shoes. 1.1. “I remember one time when Wittgenstein was mentioning Nietzsche’s remark: ‘We—i. e., philosophers—want to be learnt by heart.’ … he said that he ...

I did more reading than writing this year—at least, so I’m tempted to say; but as I realize mid-sentence, I don’t know what that means. What common metric could make sense of the comparison? Still, it...

I did more reading than writing this year—at least, so I’m tempted to say; but as I realize mid-sentence, I don’t know what that means. What common metric could make sense of the comparison? Still, it...

This post is the third in an accidental mini-series on creativity, which started out derivative, took a turn through the need for a certain stupidity, and now goes slightly mad.

This post is the third in an accidental mini-series on creativity, which started out derivative, took a turn through the need for a certain stupidity, and now goes slightly mad.

The Oasis reunion tour was a series of football stadium nostalgia-fests, with the fans the unmistakable stars of the show.

The Oasis reunion tour was a series of football stadium nostalgia-fests, with the fans the unmistakable stars of the show.

Literary studies have been starved by austerity, but their core methodology remains radical.

I discovered William Kentridge by erroneous inference and epistemic luck. Memory said: “This name has come up more than once in recent weeks, in venues that review art exhibitions.” Reason listened, a...

I discovered William Kentridge by erroneous inference and epistemic luck. Memory said: “This name has come up more than once in recent weeks, in venues that review art exhibitions.” Reason listened, a...

Two poems by Murdoch are published below Miles Leeson’s essay During her lifetime, only one collection of poems by Iris Murdoch was made widely available: A Year of Birds, first published in 1978. A s...

Until recently, I knew exactly one story about Alice Ambrose, to whom (along with Francis Skinner), Ludwig Wittgenstein dictated what would come to be known as the “Brown Book” in 1934-35.

Until recently, I knew exactly one story about Alice Ambrose, to whom (along with Francis Skinner), Ludwig Wittgenstein dictated what would come to be known as the “Brown Book” in 1934-35.

A mantra to repeat in the philosophy of self-help: being happy is not the same as living well. Philosophers make the case with “experience machines” that offer streams of blissful, meaningless illusio...

A mantra to repeat in the philosophy of self-help: being happy is not the same as living well. Philosophers make the case with “experience machines” that offer streams of blissful, meaningless illusio...

“In what did Socrates’ irony really lie?”, Søren Kierkegaard asked, and answered rhetorically: "In expressions and turns of speech, etc.? No, such trivialities, even his virtuosity in talking ironical...

“In what did Socrates’ irony really lie?”, Søren Kierkegaard asked, and answered rhetorically: "In expressions and turns of speech, etc.? No, such trivialities, even his virtuosity in talking ironical...

In my experience, every kind of writing requires some kind of self-soothing Jedi mind trick, and, when it comes to essay composition, the rectangle is mine.

YouTube video by 10% Happier

YouTube video by 10% Happier

One of the pleasures of writing here is that you don’t need a bold new insight or novel argument to justify posting about a book: you can simply share something you’ve read and loved—or that you happe...

One of the pleasures of writing here is that you don’t need a bold new insight or novel argument to justify posting about a book: you can simply share something you’ve read and loved—or that you happe...

Philosophers Troy Jollimore and Robert Jones welcome fellow philosopher Kieran Setiya for a discussion of his recent work on the philosophy of humor, jokes, and standup comedy. (60m)

Philosophers Troy Jollimore and Robert Jones welcome fellow philosopher Kieran Setiya for a discussion of his recent work on the philosophy of humor, jokes, and standup comedy. (60m)

Philosophy and poetry are mired in an ancient quarrel, so we’re told—on one side, the pursuit of demystifying truth; on the other, enchanted polyphony. And yet they have one thing in common: each is s...

A few months into the pandemic, my wife and I adopted a new pastime: we would complete the New York Times crossword puzzle every day.

A few months into the pandemic, my wife and I adopted a new pastime: we would complete the New York Times crossword puzzle every day.

It shouldn’t be surprising that art critics have wanted to read Doors—Christian Marclay’s looping montage of movie clips, in which one protagonist enters a door and another steps out, seamlessly, over...

It shouldn’t be surprising that art critics have wanted to read Doors—Christian Marclay’s looping montage of movie clips, in which one protagonist enters a door and another steps out, seamlessly, over...

Pedants complain that the word “literally” is more often misused than used correctly. “This post will literally blow your mind! Your brain will literally explode!” “Literally?” they exclaim. “Then I h...

Pedants complain that the word “literally” is more often misused than used correctly. “This post will literally blow your mind! Your brain will literally explode!” “Literally?” they exclaim. “Then I h...

I confess that, when I allow myself to think about it, I am amazed that I understand so little about what it is we philosophers do.

I confess that, when I allow myself to think about it, I am amazed that I understand so little about what it is we philosophers do.

I became a Baskerville convert in 2012, the year film-maker Errol Morris ran an uncontrolled experiment in The New York Times. By his arrangement, an article about the risk of asteroids colliding with...

I became a Baskerville convert in 2012, the year film-maker Errol Morris ran an uncontrolled experiment in The New York Times. By his arrangement, an article about the risk of asteroids colliding with...

This language is not poetic, but ridiculous, sententious, blinded by self-love and pirouetting over a chasm. Vuong...