Erasmus 1509 The less talent they have, the more pride, vanity and arrogrance they have. All these fools, however, find other fools who applaud them"

so it's been like this for a while I see

In Defense of the Traditional Review Far from being a journalistic relic, as suggested by recent developments at the New York Times, arts criticism is inherently progressive, keeping art honest and pointing toward its future.

“There’s a special pleasure for critics in hearing from readers who are unsure whether to take a particular review as positive or negative.)”

Truth.

In Defense of the Traditional Review www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

Escaping Trouble With a Blowpipe and a Plan

Big thanks to @christopherbyrd.bsky.social at The New York Times for their coverage of Eriksholm 👇https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/arts/eriksholm-stolen-dream-review.html

Finding Yourselves in a Gloriously Stressful Sci-Fi Adventure

We gave this a NYT Critic’s Pick: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/a...

"This book contains nothing gratuitous, nothing self-serving, no special pleading, no striving to persuade or please. It offers no false consolation – not in sentiment, nor tone or structure." --Charlotte Wood

A Spectacular R.P.G. Has Balletic Combat and Powerful Twists

The best single-player game I’ve reviewed so far this year: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/07/a...

3 Video Games You May Have Missed in March Karma: The Dark World takes inspirations like BioShock and “Severance” to the next level with creepily surreal and bizarrely utopian set pieces. Expelled! and Centum also delight.

I like how our monthly indie games roundup at The New York Times is shaping up. I’m super curious about the games that Harold Goldberg and Yussef Cole picked.

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/28/a...

2025 deserves a new Pynchon book. It’s only fair.

Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon: 9781594206108 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books The new novel from Thomas Pynchon Milwaukee 1932, the Great Depression going full blast, repeal of Prohibition just around the corner, Al Capone in the federal pen, the private investigation busines...

Glory to God. 🙏🏽 www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/316427...

An Interview with Suzanne Scanlon - Believer Magazine I was first introduced to Suzanne Scanlon at Dixon Place in the Lower East Side of Manhattan over a decade ago, at a now seemingly prescient gathering that Kate Zambreno had assembled in collaboration...

“It took a while for me to think that writing about my experience was a possibility.”

—@suzannescanlon.bsky.social, interviewed by Anne K. Yoder

www.thebeliever.net/an-interview...

RIP Wilson Center. Musk staffers visited the center, and shortly after, its leadership staff and senior government employees were ousted. Dozens of federal employees, about a third of the center’s workforce, were also slated for administrative leave.

An Interview with Lisa Lucas - Believer Magazine The first time I met Lisa Lucas was around 2012, through mutual publishing friends, in the early days after my arrival in New York City. While I was a wide-eyed foreigner trying to cobble together a n...

I’m happy to see this @likaluca.bsky.social interview in @thebeliever.net www.thebeliever.net/an-interview...

The Game Designer Playing Through His Own Psyche Davey Wreden found acclaim in his twenties, with the Stanley Parable and the Beginner’s Guide. His new game, Wanderstop, grapples with the depression that followed.

I profiled the visionary game designer Davey Wreden for @newyorker.com www.newyorker.com/culture/pers...