The Baffler
@thebaffler.com
Political and cultural criticism. Since 1988. Online and in print. https://thebaffler.com/
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The Baffler
@thebaffler.com
· Oct 28
The poptimists and sloptimists have won. Our new issue, “After Words,” describes our postliterate moment, when everything from serious criticism to literary fiction to children’s books seems on the verge of being replaced by content trash.
thebaffler.com/issues/no-81
thebaffler.com/issues/no-81
“Creating societies that seek to eliminate the social contract will inevitably attract those who have the most to gain from the erosion of civil society, whether it’s techno-warlords, violent skinheads, or simply charismatic grifters.”
That’s All, Volks! | Henry Luzzatto
The folk community cautionary tale of the hippie-Nazi commune Volksberg.
thebaffler.com
November 27, 2025 at 9:55 PM
“Creating societies that seek to eliminate the social contract will inevitably attract those who have the most to gain from the erosion of civil society, whether it’s techno-warlords, violent skinheads, or simply charismatic grifters.”
From the Archives: In 1994, Tom Vanderbilt wrote on the advertised life and foresaw the transformation of the electronic frontier into a cybermall.
thebaffler.com/salvos/the-a...
thebaffler.com/salvos/the-a...
November 27, 2025 at 7:22 PM
From the Archives: In 1994, Tom Vanderbilt wrote on the advertised life and foresaw the transformation of the electronic frontier into a cybermall.
thebaffler.com/salvos/the-a...
thebaffler.com/salvos/the-a...
“The sign posted outside our kennel says it’s ‘ideal’ for both dogs to be adopted together because one of us has separation anxiety, and I guess it’s nice of them not to specify which one.”
Crutches | Amy X. Wang
Love is not about anything but that.
thebaffler.com
November 27, 2025 at 5:30 PM
“The sign posted outside our kennel says it’s ‘ideal’ for both dogs to be adopted together because one of us has separation anxiety, and I guess it’s nice of them not to specify which one.”
In “What Debt Demands,” Kristin Collier confronts the Kafkaesque task of trying to discharge fraudulent student loans taken out in her name—by her mother. While the circumstances of her case are unusual, her indebtedness is anything but.
The Family Loan | Kristen Martin
The American student loan system assumes and reinforces familial financial entanglement.
thebaffler.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:41 PM
In “What Debt Demands,” Kristin Collier confronts the Kafkaesque task of trying to discharge fraudulent student loans taken out in her name—by her mother. While the circumstances of her case are unusual, her indebtedness is anything but.
“What can cinema say about political violence in the age of Trump, when the greatest shocks to the collective conscience are the work of government?”
American Psychos | Aaron Timms
When the extremism is already on screen, what place is left for the cinematic representation of political terror?
thebaffler.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:20 PM
“What can cinema say about political violence in the age of Trump, when the greatest shocks to the collective conscience are the work of government?”
Poetry from Baffler no. 81: “The Song of Other Things” by Rafil Kroll-Zaidi.
The Song of Other Things | Rafil Kroll-Zaidi
This article is about “emptiness” in a general sense.
thebaffler.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Poetry from Baffler no. 81: “The Song of Other Things” by Rafil Kroll-Zaidi.
“While at points devastating, eerie, and frenzied, ‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You’ is also a feminist comedy of errors: at every stage of the film, husbands abdicate domestic responsibilities while wives nearly drown under the weight of their burdens.”
Mommy Dearest | Alana Pockros
While at points devastating, eerie, and frenzied, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” is also a feminist comedy of errors.
thebaffler.com
November 27, 2025 at 12:03 AM
“While at points devastating, eerie, and frenzied, ‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You’ is also a feminist comedy of errors: at every stage of the film, husbands abdicate domestic responsibilities while wives nearly drown under the weight of their burdens.”
Are podcasts the new reading? Are hosts your friends? How does one become the liberal Joe Rogan? Find answers to all these questions and more:
The Hatred of Podcasting | Brace Belden
In 2015, if you said, “I heard it on a podcast,” you were trying to sound smart. In 2025, it’s better to lie.
thebaffler.com
November 26, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Are podcasts the new reading? Are hosts your friends? How does one become the liberal Joe Rogan? Find answers to all these questions and more:
“In a realm that could have been designed by Kafka, we shall all awake not as giant insects but as ‘productive reach’ targets of an innovative marketing plan.”
The Advertised Life | Tom Vanderbilt
The advertised life is not merely what you see on television, it is what the television sees.
thebaffler.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:55 PM
“In a realm that could have been designed by Kafka, we shall all awake not as giant insects but as ‘productive reach’ targets of an innovative marketing plan.”
“Rather than acknowledge that tattoos may be a product of coercion or a means of survival—or the remnant of an abandoned path—U.S. immigration enforcement uses tattoos as proof of dangerous intent.”
Marked for Life | Olivia Heffernan & Steve Brooks
Tattoos criminalize El Salvadoran refugees in the eyes of Homeland Security.
thebaffler.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:49 PM
“Rather than acknowledge that tattoos may be a product of coercion or a means of survival—or the remnant of an abandoned path—U.S. immigration enforcement uses tattoos as proof of dangerous intent.”
In our most recent issue, Sophie Pinkham considers the underwhelming, overstimulating world of children’s YouTube.
Speak and Sell | Sophie Pinkham
The siren song of Ms. Rachel cannot be understood outside of America’s ongoing impoverishment of families.
thebaffler.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:22 PM
In our most recent issue, Sophie Pinkham considers the underwhelming, overstimulating world of children’s YouTube.
Mary Bronstein’s “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” is a psychological thriller about motherhood with a dark and frenetic energy. It is also, @apockros.bsky.social writes, a feminist comedy of errors.
Mommy Dearest | Alana Pockros
While at points devastating, eerie, and frenzied, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” is also a feminist comedy of errors.
thebaffler.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Mary Bronstein’s “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” is a psychological thriller about motherhood with a dark and frenetic energy. It is also, @apockros.bsky.social writes, a feminist comedy of errors.
“It was obvious what was happening: B, shrewd as she was, had sensed me pulling away and decided to take proactive revenge by pretending to care more for my new dog than for me.”
Crutches | Amy X. Wang
Love is not about anything but that.
thebaffler.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:30 PM
“It was obvious what was happening: B, shrewd as she was, had sensed me pulling away and decided to take proactive revenge by pretending to care more for my new dog than for me.”
Kristin Collier’s mother took out hundreds of thousands of dollars of private student loans in her daughter’s name. But as @kwistent.bsky.social explains, Collier’s new book on student debt doesn’t cast her as a villain.
The Family Loan | Kristen Martin
The American student loan system assumes and reinforces familial financial entanglement.
thebaffler.com
November 26, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Kristin Collier’s mother took out hundreds of thousands of dollars of private student loans in her daughter’s name. But as @kwistent.bsky.social explains, Collier’s new book on student debt doesn’t cast her as a villain.
In “Indignity,” Lea Ypi sets out to uncover her grandmother’s mysterious past. The book at once resembles a family saga, philosophical text, and history of interwar southeast Europe. It’s riddled with historical errors.
A Philosopher After All
Lea Ypi’s “Indignity” tries to be too many things—and doesn’t quite succeed at any.
thebaffler.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:41 PM
In “Indignity,” Lea Ypi sets out to uncover her grandmother’s mysterious past. The book at once resembles a family saga, philosophical text, and history of interwar southeast Europe. It’s riddled with historical errors.
Reposted by The Baffler
If you asked me in the past couple of months if I’ve read anything interesting for review lately, I would have talked up Kristin Collier’s WHAT DEBT DEMANDS. If you ever filled out a FASFA, you’ll find solidarity here. My review for @thebaffler.com: thebaffler.com/latest/the-f...
The Family Loan | Kristen Martin
The American student loan system assumes and reinforces familial financial entanglement.
thebaffler.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:34 AM
If you asked me in the past couple of months if I’ve read anything interesting for review lately, I would have talked up Kristin Collier’s WHAT DEBT DEMANDS. If you ever filled out a FASFA, you’ll find solidarity here. My review for @thebaffler.com: thebaffler.com/latest/the-f...
The Department of Homeland Security is using tattoos as a pretext to deport immigrants back to El Salvador, where they risk being disappeared into the notorious CECOT prison without due process and without hope.
Marked for Life | Olivia Heffernan & Steve Brooks
Tattoos criminalize El Salvadoran refugees in the eyes of Homeland Security.
thebaffler.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:31 PM
The Department of Homeland Security is using tattoos as a pretext to deport immigrants back to El Salvador, where they risk being disappeared into the notorious CECOT prison without due process and without hope.
“I figured, what the hell, I’ll do this for work. Then Covid hit and podcasts went through the roof, and now I have the salary of a dermatologist and live in Brooklyn, which is Israel for podcasters.”
The Hatred of Podcasting | Brace Belden
In 2015, if you said, “I heard it on a podcast,” you were trying to sound smart. In 2025, it’s better to lie.
thebaffler.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:29 AM
“I figured, what the hell, I’ll do this for work. Then Covid hit and podcasts went through the roof, and now I have the salary of a dermatologist and live in Brooklyn, which is Israel for podcasters.”
“In reframing who is to blame for her student debt, Collier opens up a broader view of what justice would look like—one that seeks to free millions of student debtors from a system that the government has chosen to trap them in.”
The Family Loan | Kristen Martin
The American student loan system assumes and reinforces familial financial entanglement.
thebaffler.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:03 AM
“In reframing who is to blame for her student debt, Collier opens up a broader view of what justice would look like—one that seeks to free millions of student debtors from a system that the government has chosen to trap them in.”
Parents trying to help their children develop a love of literature are fighting an uphill battle against iPad games and streaming content.
Speak and Sell | Sophie Pinkham
The siren song of Ms. Rachel cannot be understood outside of America’s ongoing impoverishment of families.
thebaffler.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Parents trying to help their children develop a love of literature are fighting an uphill battle against iPad games and streaming content.
“It’s less that the book is historically inaccurate, and more that it is built on emotional deception that depends on the readers’ gullibility.”
A Philosopher After All
Lea Ypi’s “Indignity” tries to be too many things—and doesn’t quite succeed at any.
thebaffler.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:55 PM
“It’s less that the book is historically inaccurate, and more that it is built on emotional deception that depends on the readers’ gullibility.”
Consumerism is stitched into our national fabric, inscribed onto the edifice of American life. Back in December of 1994, Tom Vanderbilt bemoaned this sad state of affairs.
The Advertised Life | Tom Vanderbilt
The advertised life is not merely what you see on television, it is what the television sees.
thebaffler.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Consumerism is stitched into our national fabric, inscribed onto the edifice of American life. Back in December of 1994, Tom Vanderbilt bemoaned this sad state of affairs.
It’s difficult to express complex thoughts via podcast. They don’t break out easily into soundbites, and most listeners are only half-listening. In that sense, they are the perfect soundtrack to our dumbed-down, post-literate age.
The Hatred of Podcasting | Brace Belden
In 2015, if you said, “I heard it on a podcast,” you were trying to sound smart. In 2025, it’s better to lie.
thebaffler.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:22 PM
It’s difficult to express complex thoughts via podcast. They don’t break out easily into soundbites, and most listeners are only half-listening. In that sense, they are the perfect soundtrack to our dumbed-down, post-literate age.
When Alyssa’s friendship with B expires, she goes to the shelter to find the worst dog around. “Crutches” is a story of separation, transformation, and an incontinent tripod Vizsla.
Crutches | Amy X. Wang
Love is not about anything but that.
thebaffler.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:01 PM
When Alyssa’s friendship with B expires, she goes to the shelter to find the worst dog around. “Crutches” is a story of separation, transformation, and an incontinent tripod Vizsla.
“Reading to your child is promoted as an inherently educational act. But could I, a professional book critic, get behind the idea that reading anything at all was good? Don’t children, even small ones, have a right to high-quality art?”
Speak and Sell | Sophie Pinkham
The siren song of Ms. Rachel cannot be understood outside of America’s ongoing impoverishment of families.
thebaffler.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:52 PM
“Reading to your child is promoted as an inherently educational act. But could I, a professional book critic, get behind the idea that reading anything at all was good? Don’t children, even small ones, have a right to high-quality art?”