Political and cultural criticism. Since 1988. Online and in print. https://thebaffler.com/
“If you love a chewy, bloody skirt or a stewed bottom round, I don’t think you would like Wagyu. It can’t be cooked for too long, or it will melt away to nothing. It can’t be cooked for too short a time, or the fat running through it will remain firm.”
Against Wagyu | Dylan Levi KingIn Japan, beef is an imposition as improbable as the American bases.thebaffler.comWith cyclospora on our minds, these aren’t lettuce’s salad days—far from it. But back in 2023, Aaron Timms wrote about Sweetgreen, Chopt, and their ilk, purveyors of what we might now call the “slop bowl.”
Everywhere in Salad Chains | Aaron TimmsThe corporate salad appears has emerged from the pandemic stronger than ever—a dominant culinary form of the knowledge economy.thebaffler.com“You want to think the future is going to be great. But here, on the far south edge of Texas, you can glimpse what our overlords actually have in mind for us by way of a future.”
Rocket Racket | Joseph BullingtonSpaceX is transforming the wildlife refuges of South Texas into testing sites for the rockets it promises will one day terraform Mars.thebaffler.comAcross the country, activists and their legal teams are fighting to loosen public health regulations and mandates around school vaccine requirements. Leina Gabra writes on medical autonomy and mutual obligation.
There’ll Be Health to Pay | Leina GabraIn New York, the “reinstate and compensate” movement treats mutual obligation as akin to tyranny.thebaffler.comIn Trump’s America, the pestilence du jour is cyclosporiasis, but let us not forget the other horrors that plague the nation. In 2012, Will Boisvert wrote on the humble bedbug and the scorched-earth militance it inspires.
Delusional Parasitosis and Me | Will BoisvertIn New York, bedbugs don’t need to bite, or even make a cameo appearance, to provoke scorched-earth militance in the city’s class struggle.thebaffler.comIn a recent issue, Noah McCormack wrote on our new age of orality—one where we apparently aren’t talking all that much. thebaffler.com/salvos/we-us...
Sure, the threat of parasite-borne cyclosporiasis hangs heavy over the country—but what about cimex lectularius? Have you thought of them? From the Archives: Will Boisvert writes on the humble bed bug.
Delusional Parasitosis and Me | Will BoisvertIn New York, bedbugs don’t need to bite, or even make a cameo appearance, to provoke scorched-earth militance in the city’s class struggle.thebaffler.comThe number of beef farms in Japan has fallen off in recent years, but as Dylan Levi King points out, cattle were already an unlikely source of red meat for the country.
Against Wagyu | Dylan Levi KingIn Japan, beef is an imposition as improbable as the American bases.thebaffler.comAnother day, another accolade for Ben Lerner. Earlier this year, @anathanwest.bsky.social set aside the hype and searched Lerner’s body of work for substance.
A Portrait of the Artist as an Artist Portraying the Artist | Adrian Nathan WestThe seduction of the topical has dogged Ben Lerner since his first poetry books.thebaffler.comBarack ObamaIt’s that time of year again: here are some of the books I’ve enjoyed this summer. If you’ve read any good ones, let me know!
Leina Gabra reports on New York City’s “reinstate and compensate” movement, originally organized on behalf of teachers and municipal employees who refused the Covid vaccine—and now welcomed with open arms into the MAHA movement.
There’ll Be Health to Pay | Leina GabraIn New York, the “reinstate and compensate” movement treats mutual obligation as akin to tyranny.thebaffler.com
An interesting reminder that the "real" Japan is more complicated than the shinkansen ekiben and jazz kissa one often sees on TV.
Against Wagyu | Dylan Levi KingIn Japan, beef is an imposition as improbable as the American bases.thebaffler.com“The American flags that fly on the streets and steaks of Tokyo are mostly benign symbols. The American flag on my meat is only meant to suggest West Texas ranchland or barbecues on television shows or approval by hearty American appetites.”
Against Wagyu | Dylan Levi KingIn Japan, beef is an imposition as improbable as the American bases.thebaffler.com
I've thoroughly enjoyed reading these essays about writing while trying to make a living and juggling all of the things that come with life, but I was disappointed that not one of these essays was about writing while being a primary caregiver...
The BafflerPeople in the publishing industry are weirdly quiet about money. But as Wes Enzinna points out, every literary career is underwritten by some sort of capital, be it from a wealthy family member, a fellowship, or a dubious side gig.
Jesus Christ, how many giant busts of Warren G Harding does one country need?
Presidents Park - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.orgThe BafflerFor our latest issue, Andrew Norman Wilson photographs the two-ton, eighteen-to-twenty-foot presidential busts of sculptor David Adickes. thebaffler.com/odds-and-end...
From Elon Musk’s Blindsight to Palmer Luckey’s EagleEye, a slew of new technologies promise to restore or “enhance” our vision by locking us into data-processing networks that will do the seeing for us.
Blindsighted | Leo KimSilicon Valley wants to “enhance” human vision—whether we like it or not.thebaffler.com“The ‘reinstate and compensate’ movement, as it is sometimes referred to by its devotees, is a microcosm of the libertarian approach to public health that has been galvanized nationwide since the pandemic.”
There’ll Be Health to Pay | Leina GabraIn New York, the “reinstate and compensate” movement treats mutual obligation as akin to tyranny.thebaffler.comFrom the Archives: Will Boisvert writes on how the Big Apple’s war against vermin can often become an excuse to regiment, marginalize, and evict the poor.
Delusional Parasitosis and Me | Will BoisvertIn New York, bedbugs don’t need to bite, or even make a cameo appearance, to provoke scorched-earth militance in the city’s class struggle.thebaffler.com“The Vivisectors” by Missouri Williams has been longlisted for the Booker Prize. @spiccarella.bsky.social reviewed it for our site earlier this year:
Society of the Spectacle | Stephen PiccarellaImages are everywhere. It takes great strength of character to believe there’s something else to see.thebaffler.comTPS is set to end for hundreds of thousands of Haitian migrants living in the United States. ICE is gearing up for deportations. Last year, Pooja Bhatia described the economic and spiritual effects of mass deportation in one Ohio community. thebaffler.com/salvos/home-...
Home City, USA | Pooja BhatiaThe residents of Springfield, Ohio, have been terrorized by Donald Trump—and many now face the prospect of state-sponsored violence.thebaffler.comPoetry from Baffler no. 84: “Time Lapse” by Adam J. Gellings.
Time Lapse | Adam J. GellingsDon’t ever come here unannounced. I carry / a blank stare into every encounter.thebaffler.com