Louis Menand
Louis Menand has contributed to The New Yorker since 1991, and has been a staff writer since 2001. His book “The Metaphysical Club” was awarded the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for history and the Francis Parkman Prize from the Society of American Historians. His book “The Free World: Art and Thought in the Cold War” was published in 2021 and named a notable book of the year by the New York Times Book Review. He is the Lee Simpkins Family Professor of Arts and Sciences and the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of English at Harvard University. In 2016, he was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama.
Academic Freedom Under Fire
Politicians despise it. Administrators aren’t defending it. But it made our universities great—and we’ll miss it when it’s gone.
When Preachers Were Rock Stars
A classic New Yorker account of the Henry Ward Beecher adultery trial recalls a time in America that seems both incomprehensible and familiar.
Stephen Breyer to the Supreme Court Majority: You’re Doing It Wrong
In our system of government, the Constitution has the final say. But it doesn’t come with a user manual.
Is A.I. the Death of I.P.?
Generative A.I. is the latest in a long line of innovations to put pressure on our already dysfunctional copyright system.
The War on Charlie Chaplin
He was one of the world’s most celebrated and beloved stars. Then his adopted country turned against him.
The Civil-Rights Showdown Nobody Remembers
Clinton High was the first Southern school to be integrated by court order. Why did reluctant acceptance turn to violence?
The Rise and Fall of Neoliberalism
The free market used to be touted as the cure for all our problems; now it’s taken to be the cause of them.
The Origins of Creativity
The concept was devised in postwar America, in response to the cultural and commercial demands of the era. Now we’re stuck with it.
When Americans Lost Faith in the News
Half a century ago, most of the public said they trusted the news media. Today, most say they don’t. What happened to the power of the press?
Who Paul Newman Was—and Who He Wanted to Be
He thought his success was just a matter of hard work and good luck. Other people had a different perspective.
Was Rudy Giuliani Always So Awful?
A lively new biography explores how the man once celebrated as “America’s mayor” fell into disgrace.
American Democracy Was Never Designed to Be Democratic
The partisan redistricting tactics of cracking and packing aren’t merely flaws in the system—they are the system.
Modern Art and the Esteem Machine
Picasso was a joke. Then he was a god. How did his art finally take off in America?
Yoko Ono’s Art of Defiance
Before she met John Lennon, she was a significant figure in avant-garde circles and had created a masterpiece of conceptual art. Did celebrity deprive her of her due as an artist?
The Very Public Private Life of Andy Warhol
Warhol’s diaries, the subject of a new Netflix series, detail almost everything the artist did. But do they tell us anything about his art?
The People Who Decide What Becomes History
However fastidious they may be about facts, historians are engaged in storytelling, not science.
The Crisis That Nearly Cost Charles Dickens His Career
The most beloved writer of his age, he had an unfailing sense of what the public wanted—almost.
What’s So Great About Great-Books Courses?
The humanities are in danger, but humanists can’t agree on how—or why—they should be saved.
It’s Time to Stop Talking About “Generations”
From boomers to zoomers, the concept gets social history all wrong.
Are Liberals to Blame for Our Crisis of Faith in Government?
Progressives as well as conservatives have promoted suspicion of the establishment, but lack of trust is not the same as apathy.
Academic Freedom Under Fire
Politicians despise it. Administrators aren’t defending it. But it made our universities great—and we’ll miss it when it’s gone.
When Preachers Were Rock Stars
A classic New Yorker account of the Henry Ward Beecher adultery trial recalls a time in America that seems both incomprehensible and familiar.
Stephen Breyer to the Supreme Court Majority: You’re Doing It Wrong
In our system of government, the Constitution has the final say. But it doesn’t come with a user manual.
Is A.I. the Death of I.P.?
Generative A.I. is the latest in a long line of innovations to put pressure on our already dysfunctional copyright system.
The War on Charlie Chaplin
He was one of the world’s most celebrated and beloved stars. Then his adopted country turned against him.
The Civil-Rights Showdown Nobody Remembers
Clinton High was the first Southern school to be integrated by court order. Why did reluctant acceptance turn to violence?
The Rise and Fall of Neoliberalism
The free market used to be touted as the cure for all our problems; now it’s taken to be the cause of them.
The Origins of Creativity
The concept was devised in postwar America, in response to the cultural and commercial demands of the era. Now we’re stuck with it.
When Americans Lost Faith in the News
Half a century ago, most of the public said they trusted the news media. Today, most say they don’t. What happened to the power of the press?
Who Paul Newman Was—and Who He Wanted to Be
He thought his success was just a matter of hard work and good luck. Other people had a different perspective.
Was Rudy Giuliani Always So Awful?
A lively new biography explores how the man once celebrated as “America’s mayor” fell into disgrace.
American Democracy Was Never Designed to Be Democratic
The partisan redistricting tactics of cracking and packing aren’t merely flaws in the system—they are the system.
Modern Art and the Esteem Machine
Picasso was a joke. Then he was a god. How did his art finally take off in America?
Yoko Ono’s Art of Defiance
Before she met John Lennon, she was a significant figure in avant-garde circles and had created a masterpiece of conceptual art. Did celebrity deprive her of her due as an artist?
The Very Public Private Life of Andy Warhol
Warhol’s diaries, the subject of a new Netflix series, detail almost everything the artist did. But do they tell us anything about his art?
The People Who Decide What Becomes History
However fastidious they may be about facts, historians are engaged in storytelling, not science.
The Crisis That Nearly Cost Charles Dickens His Career
The most beloved writer of his age, he had an unfailing sense of what the public wanted—almost.
What’s So Great About Great-Books Courses?
The humanities are in danger, but humanists can’t agree on how—or why—they should be saved.
It’s Time to Stop Talking About “Generations”
From boomers to zoomers, the concept gets social history all wrong.
Are Liberals to Blame for Our Crisis of Faith in Government?
Progressives as well as conservatives have promoted suspicion of the establishment, but lack of trust is not the same as apathy.