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A Political and Literary Forum Menu Search Donate Shop Join Weekly Newsletter Poetry Matters: Weekly Poetry Newsletter Boston Events: Boston Review-sponsored events in the Boston area Reading List: Deep dives from Boston Review's archives, hand-picked by our editors Special Offers from Boston Review Science & Nature Medicine's Machine Learning Problem As Big Data tools reshape health care, biased datasets and unaccountable algorithms threaten to further disempower patients. Rachel Thomas Read More Reading Lists Our Top 21 Essays of 2020 To ring in 2021, here are Boston Review 's top 21 essays of the year. Boston Review Politics The False Promise of Obama's 'Promised Land' In his new memoir the former president makes clear he had no intention of being a savior. Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins Print Issues New Book: Climate Action How are we to meet the challenge of global warming before it is too late? And if global diplomacy initiatives like the Paris Agreement can’t get us there, what can? Preorder our latest book now. Class & Inequality , Philosophy & Religion A More Perfect Meritocracy Two new books take aim at the moral failures of meritocracy. But we can advocate for a more just society without giving up on merit. Agnes Callard Arts in Society Return to the Gay Underground Dennis Cooper became famous in the 1980s for his transgressive fiction about marginalized men. A new biography makes a case for what his works can offer readers now, in our era of deep suffering and infuriating indifference. David B. Hobbs Class & Inequality , Politics What We Still Get Wrong About Alexander Hamilton Far from a partisan for free markets, the Founding Father insisted on the need for economic planning. We need more of that vision today. Christian Parenti , Michael Busch Print Issues New Book: Thinking in a Pandemic In addition to our usual four annual print books, this fall we are publishing a special supplement on the crisis of science and policy in the age of COVID-19. Preorder now. Arts in Society Untangling Fiction and Reality in the Balkans The award-winning documentary ‘Honeyland’ sets out to offer a timeless environmental parable, but in the process it also explores misconceptions about the region’s culture and history. Daniel Petrick Gender & Sexuality Feminism in Lockdown The pandemic has foregrounded women's exploitation in the home and challenged feminism to once again go beyond middle-class concerns. Jessa Crispin Race Caste Does Not Explain Race The celebration of Isabel Wilkerson’s ‘Caste’ reflects the continued priority of elite preferences over the needs and struggles of ordinary people. Charisse Burden-Stelly Philosophy & Religion Can We Deduce Our Way to Salvation? A new book suggests that modern readers can still follow the path of reason that Spinoza traced to true well-being, but they might not want to. Carlos Fraenkel Arts in Society Caring in Viral Times Indifference toward the most vulnerable has driven the death toll of COVID-19, just as it did during the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Against this backdrop, even small acts of kindness can make a difference. Michael McColly Advertisement -- Science & Nature Thinking in a Pandemic The latest on COVID-19 from Boston Review Read More Sign Up for Our Newsletter Vital reading on politics, literature, and more in your inbox Weekly Newsletter Poetry Matters: Weekly Poetry Newsletter Boston Events: Boston Review-sponsored events in the Boston area Reading List: Deep dives from Boston Review's archives, hand-picked by our editors Special Offers from Boston Review Gender & Sexuality Feminism in Lockdown Jessa Crispin Why We Shouldn't Compare Transracial to Transgender Identity Robin Dembroff , Dee Payton When Quotas Come Up Short Marie E. Berry , Milli Lake Pathologizing Desire Jessa Crispin Sexual Violence and Sexual Spectacle Stephanie Sy-Quia Save the Equal Rights Amendment Julie C. Suk The Obligation of Self-Discovery Vivian Gornick Four Ways to Escape a Sex Panic Kevin Henderson , Joseph J. Fischel Whose Anger Counts? Whitney Phillips Philosophy & Religion Can We Deduce Our Way to Salvation? Carlos Fraenkel Donald Trump, Our Prophet of Deceit Charles H. Clavey A More Perfect Meritocracy Agnes Callard The Angel of History John Merrick Why Privatization Is Wrong Chiara Cordelli Repertoires of Rage David Konstan Why We Shouldn't Compare Transracial to Transgender Identity Robin Dembroff , Dee Payton 2020's Existentialist Turn Carmen Lea Dege The Obligation of Self-Discovery Vivian Gornick READING LISTS Voting Is Underway, But Our System Is Broken READING LIST BR writers on how we can fix it. View This Reading List » | View All Reading Lists » Abolition Isn't Only About Police READING LIST We also need to abolish prisons—as well as put an end to counterterrorism. An abolitionist reading list. View This Reading List » | View All Reading Lists » Advertisement -- Sign Up for Our Newsletter Vital reading on politics, literature, and more in your inbox Weekly Newsletter Poetry Matters: Weekly Poetry Newsletter Boston Events: Boston Review-sponsored events in the Boston area Reading List: Deep dives from Boston Review's archives, hand-picked by our editors Special Offers from Boston Review Boston Review Copyright © 1993-2021 Boston Review and its authors. 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