Why Is There Still So Much Nostalgia for Nuclear Apocalypse?
The popularity of nuclear apocalypse is nostalgia for a time when our worries were wrapped in a single nuclear package, and all we needed was a bunker and a dream.
cold war
Baby Boomer Optimism and Regret in the Star Wars Trilogies
While the original Star Wars trilogy display George Lucas’ youthful optimism, the prequels reveal his dismay and regret at the world created by the Boomer generation.
States of (Gay) Liberation in East Germany and West Germany
Samuel Clowes-Huneke’s decades-spanning, groundbreaking history of gay liberation in East Germany and West Germany challenges conventional assumptions about dictatorships and democracies.
Is Louis Menand Right About the Death of Art and Thought in America?
For intellectual historian Louis Menand, the Cold War gave rise to prospects and paradoxes in America, and Art was given status through essential criticism.
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Biographer Kai Bird Shows Former US President Jimmy Carter as a Man Ahead of His Times
Kai Bird’s biography argues that former US President Jimmy Carter was a prophet of uncomfortable truths who urged America to reevaluate its myths and thorniest problems.
Sidney Lumet’s Atomic Bomb Thriller ‘Fail Safe’ and the (De)Evolution of Cold War Ethics
Directed by the master of claustrophobic tension Sidney Lumet, Fail Safe is one of the most gripping Atomic Bomb Era thrillers ever made and its message resonates to this day.
Pawel Pawlikowski’s ‘Cold War’ Is a Lustrous, Slyly Subversive Melodrama
Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski's Cold War, a sweeping romance, is equally indebted to grand spectacle and the practical compromises of wartime Europe.
Allen Ginsberg’s Journals Offer Insight into Poetry, Culture, and Politics During the Cold War
Beginning in Cuba in 1965, Ginsberg recorded his experiences behind the Iron Curtain. Iron Curtain Journals: January-May 1965 brings us with him, via his intimate diary.
On George Orwell’s Long-lost Human Rights Manifesto
A newly discovered document sheds important light on the author, his thought, and the struggle against authoritarianism, as discussed with Orwell researcher David Smith.
‘Bright Signals’ Is a Rich Cultural and Social History of a Taken-for-granted Medium
In the development of television, "color wars" are analogous to the adoption of VHS over BetaMax and Blu-ray over HD-DVD technologies. Murray's study shows how the adoption of standards in media technology directly impact audiences to this day.
Going Back to Things Unknown with ‘The Outer Limits’
The Outer Limits is a mix of science fiction, nightmares, and surrealism -- the very things that make life worth living even though they scare the bejeebers out of us.
‘The Prisoner’ Has Superbly Outlived Its Original Context
Rogue filmmaker Alex Cox ties The Prisoner's island mentality and palpable "cupcake fascism" to current political events, including Brexit, in I Am Not a Number.
