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The Baffler

@thebaffler.com

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Political and cultural criticism. Since 1988. Online and in print. https://thebaffler.com/

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The Baffler @thebaffler.com · Sep 3

The Baffler no. 80 is now available online and in print.

“American Vendetta” considers our grudges and grievances: blood feuds and broadsides, lawsuits and gang wars, and the racist paranoia driving immigration policy.

Start reading now.

no. 80—American Vendetta

Gauche, in my opinion, to settle a grudge worthy of the name with money. (Did you not nurse that grievance? Would you sell your child?) But when the payoff grows big enough, cooler heads prevail…

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 2h

“In Southern West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky, everyone is obliged to be a Hatfield, a McCoy, or both. From the outside, there is something quintessentially American about it. For the actual family members, things are considerably more complicated.”

Blood Complicated | Lauren Fadiman

The Hatfield-McCoy feud has become both folktale and marketing play, as descendants and historians dispute how the story is told—and for whose benefit.

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 4h

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The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 6h

“In 2025, politically incorrect comedy is not the kind of speech that’s being suppressed; no comedian is in danger of going to jail for racist or homophobic material. Suggesting that Charlie Kirk’s killer voted for Trump? That’s another story.”

Who’s Laughing Now | Adam Wilson

Must we concede to broadband sanction of all comedic material, no matter how repulsive we find it?

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 8h

Can you really “just do things?” @jjvincent.bsky.social considers agency and individualism in the post-AI world.

High-Agency Individuals | James Vincent

The exhortation to “just do things” is in part a response to the specter of automation.

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 10h

“Part of Krasznahorkai’s genius has been his ability to absorb the tectonic changes of politics and culture into his singular style: his challenge of despair is applicable under any economic system.”

Dust to Dust | David Schurman Wallace

Sitting for a while with your earthly meaninglessness in the face of László Krasznahorkai’s fiction is oddly sobering, even calming.

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 12h

Are we on the brink of another catastrophic financial crisis? Quite possibly. In 2010, Maureen Tkacik combed through more than a dozen studies of the Great Recession, most of which read like the memoirs of people trying to make themselves feel less stupid.

Journals of the Crisis Year | Maureen Tkacik

A stemwinding survey of the literature that came out of the Great Recession.

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 13h

When the original combatants in Hatfield-McCoy war died out, their names took on lives of their own. As the myth grew, context was lost to history and narratives rewritten to suit how America felt about Appalachia at the time.

Blood Complicated | Lauren Fadiman

The Hatfield-McCoy feud has become both folktale and marketing play, as descendants and historians dispute how the story is told—and for whose benefit.

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 1d

In an age of economic transformation, Pittsburgh finds itself without a daily paper. But the city—and its news market—are on the upswing. And that’s just one of the many contradictions frustrating the striking workers at the Post-Gazette.

Stop the Presses | Tadhg Larabee

In Pittsburgh, one newsroom has been on strike for more than two years. Something has to give. Will it be the workers?

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 1d

Elon Musk claimed that Trump has saved comedy from the killjoys on the left. Was he picturing the politically incorrect, sophomoric stylings of “Kill Tony?” Quite possibly.
thebaffler.com/latest/whos-...

Who’s Laughing Now | Adam Wilson

Must we concede to broadband sanction of all comedic material, no matter how repulsive we find it?

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 1d

“The current financial system was constructed to make us all feel stupid, and in the process of building it the architects allowed themselves to become stupid as well.”

Journals of the Crisis Year | Maureen Tkacik

A stemwinding survey of the literature that came out of the Great Recession.

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 1d

The Block family could fully fund the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette if they wanted to. Indeed, meeting the demands of the striking workers would be cheaper than replacing them and retaining a union-busting firm.

Stop the Presses | Tadhg Larabee

In Pittsburgh, one newsroom has been on strike for more than two years. Something has to give. Will it be the workers?

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 1d

To be predictable is to be replaceable in today's tech industry, and its workers are desperate to become “high variance.”

High-Agency Individuals | James Vincent

The exhortation to “just do things” is in part a response to the specter of automation.

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 1d

In an environment where outspoken late-night standups face cancellation or suspension, the coast is clear for Kill Tony’s anti-woke brand of right wing comedy. @adamwilson.bsky.social reviews a new Netflix special.

Who’s Laughing Now | Adam Wilson

Must we concede to broadband sanction of all comedic material, no matter how repulsive we find it?

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 1d

László Krasznahorkai has won the Nobel Prize in Literature for a body of work that, “in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art.”

David Schurman Wallace reviewed his grim and funny “Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming” on our site back in 2019.

Dust to Dust | David Schurman Wallace

Sitting for a while with your earthly meaninglessness in the face of László Krasznahorkai’s fiction is oddly sobering, even calming.

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 2d

“By demolishing Zoxx, Janesville will erase the last spot of life on the GM site, one created not by the prospect of financial gain but by the initiative of its own citizens.”

Last Call at Zoxx Social Club | Nick Rommel

Will a power-guzzling data center take the place of a beloved watering hole in Wisconsin?

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 2d

Get yourself something nice for once. Subscribe to The Baffler for just $50—that’s five print issues, plus a full year of our online-only stories.

Subscribe to The Baffler Today

We’re making it easier than ever to join The Baffler’s far-flung disaffiliates program, which currently has subscribers across the world. When you subscribe, you’ll receive five issues of commentary…

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 2d

“Moved to disbelief by so much mercy, I began to weep like Jesus Christ, about whom I’d heard great things in the past, despite being a bit of a pussy in comparison to the kings of today.”

Walden Homes | Blake Butler

Maybe not every shitty story had to end so shittily if we only knew how to interpret it.

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 2d

“At first, nobody thought the strike would last more than a few weeks; then nobody expected it go on past six months, one year, two. The journalists are exhausted and eager to get back to work.”

Stop the Presses | Tadhg Larabee

In Pittsburgh, one newsroom has been on strike for more than two years. Something has to give. Will it be the workers?

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 2d

After the multi-trillion-dollar disaster known as the Great Recession. Countless gigabytes of prose explicated the origins and corrupt ideologies that made it happen. In Baffler no. 18, Maureen Tkacik surveyed the literature.

Journals of the Crisis Year | Maureen Tkacik

A stemwinding survey of the literature that came out of the Great Recession.

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 2d

Whither agency in the AI age?

High-Agency Individuals | James Vincent

The exhortation to “just do things” is in part a response to the specter of automation.

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 2d

Poetry from Baffler no. 80: “Mouse Song” by Yongyu Chen.

Mouse Song | Yongyu Chen

There is so much intuition left on the exposed outcrops. Won’t we scrape it off the / beams, the split plinths, until nothing is left?

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 2d

The Zoxx Social Club was a once popular watering hole for General Motors workers. When the factory closed, the bar persevered—until the city of Janesville started eminent domain proceedings.

Last Call at Zoxx Social Club | Nick Rommel

Will a power-guzzling data center take the place of a beloved watering hole in Wisconsin?

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 3d

The state of contemporary criticism is dire, but here at The Baffler, we’re still plugging away. Subscribe to Culture Trust to see the fruits of our efforts.

Sign up for The Baffler’s Culture Trust Newsletter

Get reliable access to the eviscerating cultural reportage for which The Baffler is known worldwide!

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 3d

The Block family could fully fund the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette if they wanted to. Indeed, meeting the demands of the striking workers would be cheaper than replacing them and retaining a union-busting firm.

Stop the Presses | Tadhg Larabee

In Pittsburgh, one newsroom has been on strike for more than two years. Something has to give. Will it be the workers?

The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 3d

“Everywhere we look, the world is ceding control to automatic systems that cannot be reasoned with like humans and whose decisions are often inscrutable, interrogated only after the damage has been done.”

High-Agency Individuals | James Vincent

The exhortation to “just do things” is in part a response to the specter of automation.