John Foster / 29 Sep 2023
Political Capitalism and Ideology
The Brenner-Riley Controversy, Part II
Race dominates American politics. From human rights to foreign policy, it permeates everything.(...)
Germany
Charlie Bertsch / 27 Sep 2023
Love After Fascism
Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s The Marriage of Maria Braun
The Marriage of Maria Braun is a cinematic speedball, tugging the heart in opposite directions until it cannot bear the strain.(...)
Charlie Bertsch / 21 Sep 2023
The End of Privacy
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s The Lives of Others
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s superb 2006 film The Lives of Others looks back at the final years of East Germany.(...)
Joel Schalit / 11 Sep 2023
Reading Politics
The Battleground’s Fall Books List
Journalists don't read books. Or if they do, very sparingly. Trained to follow the 24-hour news cycle, they focus on the daily flow of events, hour by hour, minute by minute. That's the narrative we know.(...)
John Foster / 11 Aug 2023
Max Weber Today
Wendy Brown’s Nihilistic Times
Max Weber is the thinker of modernity par excellence.(...)
Charlie Bertsch / 02 Aug 2023
Never Done With Nazism
Remembering Germany in Autumn
Watching the anthology film Germany in Autumn today, a sequel feels urgently necessary.(...)
Wieland Hoban / 26 Jul 2023
Faking the Other
German Jewish Realities and Fantasies
According to the Berlin-based Jewish philosopher Susan Neiman, "There is nothing more German than wanting to be Jewish."(...)
Basilio Korman / 07 Jul 2023
Twilight of a Populist
The End of Silvio Berlusconi
It’s often written that Silvio Berlusconi’s political fortunes lasted almost thirty years, from 1994 to his death in 2023. But this is not true.(...)
Charlie Bertsch / 28 Jun 2023
Back to the Future
Decisive Pink’s Ticket to Fame
Ticket to Fame, the debut LP by avantpop duo Decisive Pink, isn’t likely to take them far. But the band's refusal to follow the playbook for success gives the record a staying power that hit-minded music rarely achieves.(...)
Henrietta Foster / 19 Jun 2023
Sex and the Gallery
Painted Love, Wedding Cake and Ugly Duchess
June is busting out all over, so love must be in the air. Or rather, it's a less romantic version - coupling, whether conscious or unconscious.(...)