Portside

Poet Ehrhart questions how our Declaration of Independence can be true, even as the nation moved toward democracy, perhaps a warning that Constitutional originalism is equally absurd.

There were no words for what to say about the war for 19-year-old combat vets coming home in 1967. Words like post-traumatic stress, survivor guilt did not exist. This book reveals the inner world of many war veterans that home folks haven’t a clue.

This book looks at asset managers, the new capitalists that the author says "increasingly own and control our most essential physical systems and frameworks, providing the most basic means of social functioning and reproduction.”

A portrait of the byzantine madness of America and its cold, dispassionate systems regarding the immigrant experience.

Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda isolated glutamic acid, naturally present in seaweed, tomatoes, Parmesan cheese etc; he dubbed it the 5th taste: umami. His discovery, called MSG, was popular before concern arose about food additives in the 60's.

Critic Emily Nussbaum makes the case for the guilty pleasure as an art form.

What the Garden Bodes, poet Carol Kanter implies, is not about flowers alone but about the political seasons in the run-up to the coming elections.

These beautifully written letters, diary entries and extracts from novels, skillfully edited by Peter Parker, add up to an essential study of postwar gay life.

Donald Sutherland (1935–2024) projected equal parts warmth, intelligence, and menace on the big screen. But he wasn’t just a brilliant actor — he was a man of the Left who never abandoned those values.

A vast constellation of celebrities, from Kelly Ripa to the McDonald’s mascot Grimace, have helped push dairy sales.