‘Tokens’ Pays Attention to the Moneyish Side of Things
Tokens is about all those things that are moneyish—monetary-like exchanges that are tracked and programmable, shady and social, hard coded and beyond borders.
Business
The Elites Who Are Just So Over Humanity
The depth of anti-humanist sentiment related by Douglas Rushkoff in his latest book, Survival of the Richest, is harrowing and illuminating.
Does Gay Fandom Help Pop Divas?
Looking at Rina Sawayama, Azealia Banks, Charli XCX, and Kim Petras’ rise and fall in the charts one wonders – does gay fandom help pop divas’ careers?
Automation and the Future of Work (excerpt)
In Automation and the Future of Work, Aaron Benanav uncovers the structural economic trends that will shape our working lives far into the future. In this excerpt, courtesy of Verso Books, he considers what's on our minds these days, "What if everyone suddenly had access to enough healthcare, education, and welfare to reach their full potential?"
Books/Business/Featured: Top of Home Page/Features/Film/Love in the Time of Coronavirus/SAVE/ IGNORE: popular
Will COVID-19 Kill Movie Theaters?
Streaming services and large TV screens have really hurt movie theaters and now the coronavirus pandemic has shuttered multiplexes and arthouses. The author of The Perils of Moviegoing in America, however, is optimistic.
J.M. Coetzee’s ‘The Death of Jesus’Uses Cervantes’ ‘Don Quixote’ as Subtext
Whereas J.M. Coetzee's writing regularly utilizes parables, The Death of Jesus purposely destabilizes. It dazzles in its ability to present profound questions while challenging the reader to remain critical and question the meaning derived from any and all parables.
‘Adults and Other Children’: The Bitter and the Sweet
The similes in Miriam Cohen's impressive debut short story collection, Adults and Other Children, are perfectly attuned to the essence of her characters.
Old Kings Yelling at Clouds: Art vs. Commerce in the Battle for Box-Office Relevance
Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and other members of the old guard might be battling with the MCU about the quality of superhero movies, but the business of how we consume film is changing, like it or not.
When Chicago Became a Shoppers’ Paradise for Women, Men Had to Step Aside
Creating a culture of consumption in 20th century Chicago meant making space for shoppers, which meant integrating women into public life, in a downtown dominated by men. Historian Emily Remus revels in the ramifications of that cultural shift in A Shoppers' Paradise.
Hope Sandoval’s Quiet Rebellion Against the Music Industry
Absent from Instagram and Twitter and mostly uncommunicative to the press, listeners must wait patiently for the reclusive Hope Sandoval's return without any hints as to what she may bring.
The Plight of Itinerant Educators
Critic Herb Childress exposes some uncomfortable truths in The Adjunct Underclass that are both painfully difficult for adjunct professors to admit and essential reading for those concerned with the cultural and intellectual future of America.
Books/Business/Culture/Economics/Featured: Top of Home Page/Features/History/PopMatters Picks/SAVE/ IGNORE: popular
Will a New Form of Socialism Rise? On Bhaskar Sunkara’s ‘The Socialist Manifesto’
Socialists need to do better in fighting against identity-based discrimination, as editor of Jacobin Bhaskar Sunkara notes in The Socialist Manifesto, but that struggle will only be effective if waged as part of a larger struggle against neoliberal capitalism.