Magazine

February 2023

v.150 n.2

Article

When Literature Stood on Its Own

"I loved Steinbeck's letters so much I want others to know about them too, for they recall an era when literature stood on its own."

By Jo McGowan

February 21, 2023

Letters

History

Article

Continuing Not to Die

Emmanuel Carrère's memoir suggests that you don’t see others clearly by forgetting yourself. You see others clearly by seeing yourself clearly.

By Anthony Domestico

February 17, 2023

Nonfiction

Death and Dying

Feature

‘The Whole Country is a Grave’

In Mexico 'los desaparecidos' are sought by family and community members, who risk their lives to find their missing loved ones.

By Joseph Sorrentino

February 10, 2023

Latin America

Death and Dying

Article

Alone in the City

Edward Hopper’s paintings created a New York that conformed to the contours of his own life. His lonely characters strike a familiar chord for any city dweller.

By Robert Rubsam

February 9, 2023

art

Domestic Affairs

Article

The Dangerous Game

America’s most popular sport is also by far its most violent.

By Dominic Preziosi

February 7, 2023

Sports

Article

The Limits of ‘Longtermism’

‘Longtermism’ promises perfect optimization for future generations. But traditional institutions remain our best moral resources.

By Meghan Sullivan

February 6, 2023

Technology

Philosophy

Article

Making Sense of the Blood Libel

Nothing in the tragic history of Catholic anti-Jewish action rivals the blood libel for horror and folly. How can we understand these accusations of ritual murder?

By Steven Englund

February 6, 2023

Jewish-Christian Relations

Religion

Culture

Article

Another Nigerian Martyr

The tragic death of Nigerian priest Isaac Achi should be met with compassion and solidarity, not sanctions.

February 2, 2023

Article

The Right to Repair

A new right-to-repair law in New York helps increase repair accessibility and competition.

By Isabella Simon

February 1, 2023

Technology

Economy

Article

The GOP Debt Standoff

The GOP remains a party designed to convert the cultural grievances of white working-class voters into low taxes for the wealthy and austerity for the poor.

By The Editors

January 29, 2023

Joe Biden

Economy

Politics

Article

‘At the Crossroads of Migration’

El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz speaks with Commonweal about his meeting with Joe Biden—and what leaders in Washington need to know about the reality on the border.

January 28, 2023

Article

Benedict’s Theological Legacy

At the heart of Joseph Ratzinger's theology lay an insistence that we become intimate friends with Jesus.

January 6, 2023

Article

Trapped in the Aura

Noah Baumbach’s film adaptation of “White Noise” neutralizes the sweeping ideas and absurd plot of DeLillo’s novel.

January 3, 2023

Article

Escaping the Algorithms

The rise of AI will generate cultural content designed not to be original or even to say anything, but to produce, like a drug, the same experience, again and again.

December 29, 2022

Article

Master Builders

Be wary of conservative nostalgia: under the near-dictatorial reign of Francis Cardinal Spellman, vanity, corruption, and abuse flourished.

December 26, 2022

Article

Donald Trump's New York

Maggie Haberman's book shows how Donald Trump’s New York experience set the context for his odd and sometimes dangerous presidential style.

By Paul Moses

February 20, 2023

Donald Trump

Nonfiction

Feature

The Legacy of Albert Schweitzer

Can a racist also be a virtuous and great man? The case of Albert Schweitzer forces us to confront the question.

By Xan Smiley

February 14, 2023

Article

Religious Seekers, or Cultural Thieves?

A new book on religious appropriation provokes the question: how to distinguish spiritual seeking from cultural theft?

February 13, 2023

Article

Can we as a Church listen to the cries within our communities and dare to create the change that is needed for real reform and healing? I hope so.

Letters | Talking about abuse and abusers; Dorothy Day chooses her own way

By The Editors

February 1, 2023

Letters

Article

Benedict the Innovator

“Benedict really cared about the job he had to do, and in resigning demonstrated that the responsible use of power sometimes requires a willingness to give it up.”

By Mollie Wilson O’Reilly

January 31, 2023

Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Francis

Bishops