Portside

"Joker" is bold reinvention of 'superhero cinema' and about the dehumanizing effect of a capitalistic system that greases the economic ladder, blurring the line between private wealth and personal worth until life itself loses its absolute value.

It is worth noting the existence of this thing as a cultural symbol of the way in which Venezuela—which, whatever your thoughts on it, is not, like, al-Qaeda—is becoming the new Russia.

For Labor Day week, Seattle poet Alex Gallo-Brown reminds us that unpleasant bosses often receive their just rewards without knowing why.

Acclaimed Marxist sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein, author of numerous works on capitalism as a world-system, including a sterling four volume study completed in 2011, died on August 31 at the age of 88. A fulsome remembrance appears below.

Followers and chroniclers of jazz have long known Detroit as the home and source of a host of the music's finest practitioners. This new book documents much of that history, bringing the story up to today.

“The story of Miles Davis—who he was as a man and artist—has often been told as the tale of a drug-addled genius,” said director Stanley Nelson. “You rarely see a portrait of a man that worked hard at honing his craft..."

Part of the allure of sour is the physical shock, followed by uncertainty: Is this pain or pleasure? The sensation can be overwhelming.

American Factory offers a unique journey into the transformation of an Ohio factory, and the lives of all those caught in it.

Labor Day Special: Former Poet Laureate of the United States Robert Pinsky reads his poem “Shirt,” among the great works of poetry about labor.

Peter Martin's The Dictionary Wars: The American Fight Over the English Language shows Noah Webster as the sort of ideologue who's convinced he has a historical mission and carries himself accordingly, writes Scott McLemee.