Portside

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.

The show’s first queer storylines have been met with backlash, homophobia, and misogynoir.

California poet Teresa Pham-Carsillo opens the reader to summertime; show some gratitude!

In 47 essays written from the early 1970s to the late 1990s, prominent Second Wave feminists question how nonviolence might be applied to effectively transform violent systems of aggression, from rape to war.