A Journal of Ideas

Culture

Console-ation Prize

By Christopher Byrd

Elvis Was in the Building

Many Cold War-era manifestations of American high and pop culture were great, for sure. But what if any thematic thread binds them?

By Jordan Michael Smith

How to Be American

Why cultivating a shared cultural core is more important than ever—and why such a project serves progressive ends.

By Eric Liu

Moral Witness Through Comedy

Imagining the hastening of the day when Arab Americans are just another unsuspected and unsurprising part of American culture.

By Michael Tomasky

Like a Horse and Carriage

The data show it: Nations that have legalized gay marriage have witnessed no resulting harm to the institution.

By Adam Haslett