Public Books
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Public Books is an online magazine of ideas, arts, and scholarship. www.publicbooks.org
“One of Arendt’s most surprising insights is that professing love for the X people may be a way to foreclose on freedom and on humanity just as effectively as professing hatred for the Y people.”
New at PB: John Plotz on Arendt's refugee politics.
New at PB: John Plotz on Arendt's refugee politics.
Arendt’s Refugee Politics - Public Books
One of Arendt’s most surprising insights is that professing “love for the X people” may be a way to foreclose on freedom and on humanity just as effectively as professing “hatred for the Y people.”
www.publicbooks.org
November 10, 2025 at 7:18 PM
“One of Arendt’s most surprising insights is that professing love for the X people may be a way to foreclose on freedom and on humanity just as effectively as professing hatred for the Y people.”
New at PB: John Plotz on Arendt's refugee politics.
New at PB: John Plotz on Arendt's refugee politics.
“We need not imagine what Arendt would have had to say about Israel’s crimes against humanity perpetrated on the body of the Gazan people—because we already know.”
Arendt’s Refugee Politics - Public Books
One of Arendt’s most surprising insights is that professing “love for the X people” may be a way to foreclose on freedom and on humanity just as effectively as professing “hatred for the Y people.”
www.publicbooks.org
November 9, 2025 at 5:05 PM
“We need not imagine what Arendt would have had to say about Israel’s crimes against humanity perpetrated on the body of the Gazan people—because we already know.”
“Some hospitals still sterilized patients against their will as the price for agreeing to offer an abortion.”
Karen Weingarten reminds us of Lawrence Lader’s book “Abortion,” the first book to make a case for repealing all abortion laws.
Karen Weingarten reminds us of Lawrence Lader’s book “Abortion,” the first book to make a case for repealing all abortion laws.
After “Abortion”: A 1966 Book and the World That It Made - Public Books
Before the book’s publication, no one, it seemed, wanted to talk about abortion publicly. But something changed with when the book finally arrived in 1966.
www.publicbooks.org
November 9, 2025 at 2:35 PM
“Some hospitals still sterilized patients against their will as the price for agreeing to offer an abortion.”
Karen Weingarten reminds us of Lawrence Lader’s book “Abortion,” the first book to make a case for repealing all abortion laws.
Karen Weingarten reminds us of Lawrence Lader’s book “Abortion,” the first book to make a case for repealing all abortion laws.
“The film doubles down in systematically approving intimate partner violence (IPV). Kale is loudly critical of Ashley, implying that she has weak judgment about people and social norms.”
Eleanor Johnson on the horror of DV—in film and real life.
Eleanor Johnson on the horror of DV—in film and real life.
Unhappy Halloween: “Disturbia” and the Endless Horror of Domestic Violence - Public Books
Actor Shia LaBeouf got a real-life ending like that of his film character: Go continue to be a predator.
www.publicbooks.org
November 8, 2025 at 9:07 PM
“The film doubles down in systematically approving intimate partner violence (IPV). Kale is loudly critical of Ashley, implying that she has weak judgment about people and social norms.”
Eleanor Johnson on the horror of DV—in film and real life.
Eleanor Johnson on the horror of DV—in film and real life.
“Arendt’s refusal of 'love for the Jewish people' is a startlingly radical and highly potent response to the ethnonationalism that in 2025 comes in both antisemitic and philosemitic flavors—which sometimes blend together with surprising ease.”
Arendt’s Refugee Politics - Public Books
One of Arendt’s most surprising insights is that professing “love for the X people” may be a way to foreclose on freedom and on humanity just as effectively as professing “hatred for the Y people.”
www.publicbooks.org
November 8, 2025 at 4:07 PM
“Arendt’s refusal of 'love for the Jewish people' is a startlingly radical and highly potent response to the ethnonationalism that in 2025 comes in both antisemitic and philosemitic flavors—which sometimes blend together with surprising ease.”
“He pitched a long-form article that would present his research on the impact of anti-abortion laws to show the harm they caused. No editor was willing.”
New at PB: Larry Lader’s 1966 “Abortion” turned the tide on abortion activism. Could that ever happen again?
New at PB: Larry Lader’s 1966 “Abortion” turned the tide on abortion activism. Could that ever happen again?
After “Abortion”: A 1966 Book and the World That It Made - Public Books
Before the book’s publication, no one, it seemed, wanted to talk about abortion publicly. But something changed with when the book finally arrived in 1966.
www.publicbooks.org
November 8, 2025 at 2:35 PM
“He pitched a long-form article that would present his research on the impact of anti-abortion laws to show the harm they caused. No editor was willing.”
New at PB: Larry Lader’s 1966 “Abortion” turned the tide on abortion activism. Could that ever happen again?
New at PB: Larry Lader’s 1966 “Abortion” turned the tide on abortion activism. Could that ever happen again?
“Instead of feeling worried about Ashley, and instead of seeing Kale as a criminal and predator, Disturbia encourages us to celebrate their relationship and to think of him as the hero.”
New at PB: Eleanor Johnson on DV and horror films:
New at PB: Eleanor Johnson on DV and horror films:
Unhappy Halloween: “Disturbia” and the Endless Horror of Domestic Violence - Public Books
Actor Shia LaBeouf got a real-life ending like that of his film character: Go continue to be a predator.
www.publicbooks.org
November 7, 2025 at 11:55 PM
“Instead of feeling worried about Ashley, and instead of seeing Kale as a criminal and predator, Disturbia encourages us to celebrate their relationship and to think of him as the hero.”
New at PB: Eleanor Johnson on DV and horror films:
New at PB: Eleanor Johnson on DV and horror films:
“Nineteenth-century anti-abortion rhetoric framed abortion as unnatural or as interfering with (white) women’s moral duty to reproduce for the state. Despite these restrictions, however, abortion did not go away.”
After “Abortion”: A 1966 Book and the World That It Made - Public Books
Before the book’s publication, no one, it seemed, wanted to talk about abortion publicly. But something changed with when the book finally arrived in 1966.
www.publicbooks.org
November 7, 2025 at 7:18 PM
“Nineteenth-century anti-abortion rhetoric framed abortion as unnatural or as interfering with (white) women’s moral duty to reproduce for the state. Despite these restrictions, however, abortion did not go away.”
“The ‘natality’ that brings each thinking being into the world with a different outlook from that of any other being is what makes protecting the rights of each so indispensable.”
New at PB: John Plotz on Arendt’s universalism that respects difference.
New at PB: John Plotz on Arendt’s universalism that respects difference.
Arendt’s Refugee Politics - Public Books
One of Arendt’s most surprising insights is that professing “love for the X people” may be a way to foreclose on freedom and on humanity just as effectively as professing “hatred for the Y people.”
www.publicbooks.org
November 7, 2025 at 2:35 PM
“The ‘natality’ that brings each thinking being into the world with a different outlook from that of any other being is what makes protecting the rights of each so indispensable.”
New at PB: John Plotz on Arendt’s universalism that respects difference.
New at PB: John Plotz on Arendt’s universalism that respects difference.
“Still, all this was—and is—part of the incomprehensible commotion: the pleasure of not understanding.”
Two Ways of Disliking Poetry - Public Books
When I was fourteen, a friend invited me to stay a week with his family on the Outer Banks. What I remember most vividly about that week is a book.
www.publicbooks.org
November 6, 2025 at 11:55 PM
“Still, all this was—and is—part of the incomprehensible commotion: the pleasure of not understanding.”
“I support films that cause us to encounter the vulnerability and harm done to people, whether as individuals or as classes. Indeed, this is precisely what I value about horror films: that they enable us to feel someone else’s vulnerability as our own.”
Unhappy Halloween: “Disturbia” and the Endless Horror of Domestic Violence - Public Books
Actor Shia LaBeouf got a real-life ending like that of his film character: Go continue to be a predator.
www.publicbooks.org
November 6, 2025 at 9:07 PM
“I support films that cause us to encounter the vulnerability and harm done to people, whether as individuals or as classes. Indeed, this is precisely what I value about horror films: that they enable us to feel someone else’s vulnerability as our own.”
New at PB: In a review of Diane Seuss’s “Modern Poetry,” Jonathan Elmer talks about the pleasure of disliking poetry.
Two Ways of Disliking Poetry - Public Books
When I was fourteen, a friend invited me to stay a week with his family on the Outer Banks. What I remember most vividly about that week is a book.
www.publicbooks.org
November 6, 2025 at 5:46 PM
New at PB: In a review of Diane Seuss’s “Modern Poetry,” Jonathan Elmer talks about the pleasure of disliking poetry.
New at PB: John Plotz explores Hannah Arendt’s often-overlooked wartime essay, “We Refugees” (1943), in which Arendt envisions a universalism that is nonetheless cautious about assimilation as shape-shifting.
Arendt’s Refugee Politics - Public Books
One of Arendt’s most surprising insights is that professing “love for the X people” may be a way to foreclose on freedom and on humanity just as effectively as professing “hatred for the Y people.”
www.publicbooks.org
November 6, 2025 at 5:07 PM
New at PB: John Plotz explores Hannah Arendt’s often-overlooked wartime essay, “We Refugees” (1943), in which Arendt envisions a universalism that is nonetheless cautious about assimilation as shape-shifting.
The 1966 book “‘Abortion’ proclaimed loudly that all abortion laws should be repealed, that there was no shame in seeking an abortion, and that without legal abortion women would never be free.”
After “Abortion”: A 1966 Book and the World That It Made - Public Books
Before the book’s publication, no one, it seemed, wanted to talk about abortion publicly. But something changed with when the book finally arrived in 1966.
www.publicbooks.org
November 6, 2025 at 2:35 PM
The 1966 book “‘Abortion’ proclaimed loudly that all abortion laws should be repealed, that there was no shame in seeking an abortion, and that without legal abortion women would never be free.”
“Faced with an American society that for all its political freedom still rejects social nonconformity, Arendt urges refugees to be conscious pariahs, not Disraeli-like infiltrators: Beat them, don’t join them.”
Arendt’s Refugee Politics - Public Books
One of Arendt’s most surprising insights is that professing “love for the X people” may be a way to foreclose on freedom and on humanity just as effectively as professing “hatred for the Y people.”
www.publicbooks.org
November 5, 2025 at 9:07 PM
“Faced with an American society that for all its political freedom still rejects social nonconformity, Arendt urges refugees to be conscious pariahs, not Disraeli-like infiltrators: Beat them, don’t join them.”
“Doctors saw firsthand how anti-abortion laws killed, maimed, and emotionally destroyed women who couldn’t have safe and legal abortions.”
After “Abortion”: A 1966 Book and the World That It Made - Public Books
Before the book’s publication, no one, it seemed, wanted to talk about abortion publicly. But something changed with when the book finally arrived in 1966.
www.publicbooks.org
November 5, 2025 at 7:18 PM
“Doctors saw firsthand how anti-abortion laws killed, maimed, and emotionally destroyed women who couldn’t have safe and legal abortions.”
New at PB: John Plotz puzzles out what seems like a contradiction in Hannah Arendt's work: reconciling her enlightenment universalism with her reflections on the deceptiveness, or even the impossibility, of disavowing one’s ethnic or religious origins.
Arendt’s Refugee Politics - Public Books
One of Arendt’s most surprising insights is that professing “love for the X people” may be a way to foreclose on freedom and on humanity just as effectively as professing “hatred for the Y people.”
www.publicbooks.org
November 5, 2025 at 5:43 PM
New at PB: John Plotz puzzles out what seems like a contradiction in Hannah Arendt's work: reconciling her enlightenment universalism with her reflections on the deceptiveness, or even the impossibility, of disavowing one’s ethnic or religious origins.
“Now you may go continue to be a predator elsewhere on your own recognizance.” So ends the 2007 film Disturbia, starring Shia LaBeouf. Going on to become a predator is exactly what he did.
New at PB: Eleanor Johnson on Disturbia & all too real domestic violence.
New at PB: Eleanor Johnson on Disturbia & all too real domestic violence.
Unhappy Halloween: “Disturbia” and the Endless Horror of Domestic Violence - Public Books
Actor Shia LaBeouf got a real-life ending like that of his film character: Go continue to be a predator.
www.publicbooks.org
November 5, 2025 at 2:35 PM
“Now you may go continue to be a predator elsewhere on your own recognizance.” So ends the 2007 film Disturbia, starring Shia LaBeouf. Going on to become a predator is exactly what he did.
New at PB: Eleanor Johnson on Disturbia & all too real domestic violence.
New at PB: Eleanor Johnson on Disturbia & all too real domestic violence.
“Reader’s Digest excerpted 8 pages. This thrust Lader into the limelight, turning him from a journalist into an abortion activist almost overnight.”
New at PB: The 1966 book that changed the landscape of Abortion activism.
New at PB: The 1966 book that changed the landscape of Abortion activism.
After “Abortion”: A 1966 Book and the World That It Made - Public Books
Before the book’s publication, no one, it seemed, wanted to talk about abortion publicly. But something changed with when the book finally arrived in 1966.
www.publicbooks.org
November 4, 2025 at 7:18 PM
“Reader’s Digest excerpted 8 pages. This thrust Lader into the limelight, turning him from a journalist into an abortion activist almost overnight.”
New at PB: The 1966 book that changed the landscape of Abortion activism.
New at PB: The 1966 book that changed the landscape of Abortion activism.
“Stalking is a form of violence against women. And not only because it’s repeatedly been shown to be a risk factor for other forms of violence and assault; it’s a crime on its own terms, because it’s a categorical violation of privacy and bodily autonomy.”
Unhappy Halloween: “Disturbia” and the Endless Horror of Domestic Violence - Public Books
Actor Shia LaBeouf got a real-life ending like that of his film character: Go continue to be a predator.
www.publicbooks.org
November 4, 2025 at 5:45 PM
“Stalking is a form of violence against women. And not only because it’s repeatedly been shown to be a risk factor for other forms of violence and assault; it’s a crime on its own terms, because it’s a categorical violation of privacy and bodily autonomy.”
“Before Lader’s book, no one, it seemed, wanted to talk about abortion publicly. But something changed with the 1966 'Abortion.'”
New at PB: In our post-Roe age, Karen Weingarten explores a forgotten book from 1966 that once made cultural change.
New at PB: In our post-Roe age, Karen Weingarten explores a forgotten book from 1966 that once made cultural change.
After “Abortion”: A 1966 Book and the World That It Made - Public Books
Before the book’s publication, no one, it seemed, wanted to talk about abortion publicly. But something changed with when the book finally arrived in 1966.
www.publicbooks.org
November 4, 2025 at 4:05 PM
“Before Lader’s book, no one, it seemed, wanted to talk about abortion publicly. But something changed with the 1966 'Abortion.'”
New at PB: In our post-Roe age, Karen Weingarten explores a forgotten book from 1966 that once made cultural change.
New at PB: In our post-Roe age, Karen Weingarten explores a forgotten book from 1966 that once made cultural change.
“Through one family crisis after another—even the final catastrophe—the novel’s refrain is ‘we always thought that everything in the end was going to be all right.’”
New at PB: Adela Pinch on child narrators.
New at PB: Adela Pinch on child narrators.
B-Sides: Rebecca West’s “The Fountain Overflows” - Public Books
Do you find child narrators–their perceptiveness as well as their misprisions, their loyalties, their prejudices–endlessly absorbing?
www.publicbooks.org
November 4, 2025 at 2:35 PM
“Through one family crisis after another—even the final catastrophe—the novel’s refrain is ‘we always thought that everything in the end was going to be all right.’”
New at PB: Adela Pinch on child narrators.
New at PB: Adela Pinch on child narrators.
It's the perfect season to watch a horror film.
But, writes Eleanor Johnson, “we have absolutely got to stop making films that condone predatory behavior.”
But, writes Eleanor Johnson, “we have absolutely got to stop making films that condone predatory behavior.”
Unhappy Halloween: “Disturbia” and the Endless Horror of Domestic Violence - Public Books
Actor Shia LaBeouf got a real-life ending like that of his film character: Go continue to be a predator.
www.publicbooks.org
November 3, 2025 at 9:07 PM
It's the perfect season to watch a horror film.
But, writes Eleanor Johnson, “we have absolutely got to stop making films that condone predatory behavior.”
But, writes Eleanor Johnson, “we have absolutely got to stop making films that condone predatory behavior.”
New at PB: Eleanor Johnson uses the 2007 film Disturbia to argue against the genre of horror films that frames abusers as heroes.
Unhappy Halloween: “Disturbia” and the Endless Horror of Domestic Violence - Public Books
Actor Shia LaBeouf got a real-life ending like that of his film character: Go continue to be a predator.
www.publicbooks.org
November 3, 2025 at 6:08 PM
New at PB: Eleanor Johnson uses the 2007 film Disturbia to argue against the genre of horror films that frames abusers as heroes.
“In both of my novels, if there is an antagonist, it’s often the nation itself. I’m really interested in how the fractures of the nation make their way into domestic spaces, be it family life or marriage.”
The Past as a Site of Radical Otherness in Nishant Batsha’s “A Bomb Placed Close to the Heart” - Public Books
“I am a novelist first and a historian second. That’s how the tension you mention resolves itself: I know I’m trying to tell a story.”
www.publicbooks.org
November 3, 2025 at 5:06 PM
“In both of my novels, if there is an antagonist, it’s often the nation itself. I’m really interested in how the fractures of the nation make their way into domestic spaces, be it family life or marriage.”