Persons of Interest
Profiles of artists, thinkers, and newsmakers.
The Heart of Low
Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker’s marriage was one of the most extraordinary collaborations in rock. Now, a year and a half after Parker’s death, Sparhawk is back on the road.
The Rise and Fall of the Trad Wife
Alena Kate Pettitt helped lead an online movement promoting domesticity. Now she says, “It’s become its own monster.”
Vaclav Smil and the Value of Doubt
A ruthless dissector of unwarranted assumptions takes on environmental catastrophists and techno-optimists.
The Artist Holding Valuable Art Hostage to Protect Julian Assange
Using a thirty-two-ton Swiss bank safe, Andrei Molodkin says he will destroy works by Picasso, Rembrandt, and Warhol if the WikiLeaks founder dies in prison.
The Deaf Artist Reinventing Conversation
For decades, Joseph Grigely has collected the notes that people use to communicate with him. What do they show us?
Kate Zambreno Collects Herself
The autofictionist has made the drama of finding and losing the self central to her work. Raising two children during the pandemic prompted a change in focus.
The Arts Center at Ground Zero Is Finally Here. Can Bill Rauch Make It Work?
Rauch has been called the “nicest man in show business.” Now he’s trying to bring the spirit of community theatre to a building that cost half a billion dollars.
A Sleater-Kinney Album Mutated by Grief
When writing music after a family tragedy, Carrie Brownstein says, “everything had to rear its head.”
How Lea Ypi Defines Freedom
The Albanian-British political philosopher insists that democracy is a “demanding ideal.”
Isabelle Huppert Lives from Scene to Scene
Throughout her career, the celebrated French actor has worked with auteurs ranging from Jean-Luc Godard to Hong Sangsoo—and maintained a matter-of-fact approach to her craft.