Los Angeles Review of Books

Poor Reading, Weak Theory: An Excerpt from “The Amateur”
LARB presents an excerpt from Saikat Majumdar’s “The Amateur: Self-Making and the Humanities in the Postcolony.”
Saikat MajumdarJul 9
Featured Artist
Kentaro Kawabata and Bruce Nauman
Bruce Nauman’s Manipulating a Fluorescent Tube (1969), black and white video with sound, courtesy of Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), New York; Kentaro Kawabata at Nonaka-Hill. Courtesy of Kentaro Kawabata and Nonaka-Hill, Los Angeles.
More from Kentaro Kawabata and Bruce Nauman View all artists

Waiting in Null Space
Dan Hartland reviews Christopher Priest’s “Airside.”
Dan HartlandJul 9
- Speculative Fiction
“Chinatown” at 50, or Seeing Oil Through Cinema
Michael Rubenstein writes on the 50th anniversary of “Chinatown” and the beginning of the end of petromodernity.
Michael RubensteinJul 8
The Gap at the End of the World
In an excerpt from LARB Quarterly no. 41, “Truth,” Cynthia Cruz seeks truth in melancholia, Hegel, and capitalist civilization’s possible futures.
Cynthia CruzJul 8
- Film
- LARB Quarterly
Lyrical Silicone
Cristóbal Riego explores the hybrid nonfiction writings of Chilean author Pedro Lemebel.
Cristóbal RiegoJul 7
- Memoir
- Nonfiction

Writing Climate Futures
Los Angeles Review of Books and The Berggruen Institute present Writing Climate Futures, featuring David Wallace-Wells, Jenny Offill, Bharat Venkat, and Jonathan Blake.

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The LARB Quarterly
LARB Quarterly, no. 41: Truth
Become a member to get LARB Quarterly, no. 41: “Truth” featuring Sarah Yanni, Rachel Cusk, Ira Sachs, CAConrad, and more!
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LARB Radio Hour
Nell Irvin Painter at the Crossroads of Art, Politics, and Race in America
Eric Newman speaks with author Nell Irvin Painter about her latest collection of essays, “I Just Keep Talking.”
Jul 5

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Latest

An Unforgettable Miscarriage of Justice
Laurie Levenson reviews Ronald Collins’s “Tragedy on Trial: The Story of the Infamous Emmett Till Murder Trial.”
Laurie L. LevensonJul 7
Economics for the Age of TikTok
Rachel Dec reviews Kyla Scanlon’s “In This Economy? How Money and Markets Really Work.”
Rachel DecJul 6
The Lie of the Land: June Fourth, Censorship, and “On the Edge”
Thomas Chen reviews Margaret Hillenbrand’s “On the Edge: Feeling Precarious in China.”
Thomas ChenJul 6
- Cultural Studies
- History
Nell Irvin Painter at the Crossroads of Art, Politics, and Race in America
Eric Newman speaks with author Nell Irvin Painter about her latest collection of essays, “I Just Keep Talking.”
LARB Radio HourJul 5
Reviving “Ophelia”: On Returning to the Music of Natalie Merchant
Jenny Boyar writes about her midlife rediscovery of singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant.
Jenny BoyarJul 5

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Short Takes

What Ever Happened to Reasonably Priced Red Vines?
Madeleine Connors can’t believe her Bette Davis eyes at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery’s “Baby Jane” screening.
Jul 9
Death Blows
Tosten Burks watches Photay and Celia Hollander throw caution to “The Wind” at Fairfax’s Brain Dead Studios.
Jul 6
I Had the Time of My Afterlife
Brittany Menjivar attends Boardner’s goth club in Hollywood and finds that she’s in parties. It’s in the can!
Jul 4
Quality Control
At the Lucy Bull opening’s after-party, Eli Diner assesses the state of criticism, L.A. art, and the ridiculous way collectors are treated.
Jul 1

View All Short Takes

LARB Radio Hour

LARB Radio Hour
Nell Irvin Painter at the Crossroads of Art, Politics, and Race in America
Eric Newman speaks with author Nell Irvin Painter about her latest collection of essays, “I Just Keep Talking.”
Jul 5
LARB Radio Hour
Emily Nussbaum’s “Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV”
Eric Newman and Medaya Ocher are joined by New Yorker staff writer and former television critic Emily Nussbaum to discuss her book “Cue the Sun...
Jun 28
LARB Radio Hour
A Queer Vision of Old Hollywood
Medaya Ocher and Eric Newman speak with author Patrick Nathan about his latest novel, and this month’s LARB Book Club pick, “The Future Was Color.”
Jun 21
LARB Radio Hour
Claire Messud’s “This Strange Eventful History”
Claire Messud joins Medaya Ocher and Kate Wolf to discuss her latest novel, “This Strange Eventful History.”
Jun 14