Los Angeles Review of Books

Erik Davis on the Art of LSD
Erik Davis joins Kate Wolf to speak about his latest book, “Blotter: The Untold Story of an Acid Medium.”
LARB Radio HourMay 31
Featured Artist
Anchor in the Landscape
Images from Adam Broomberg and Rafael Gonzalez’s The Anchor in the Landscape (MACK, 2024). Courtesy of the artists’ and MACK.
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Keeping Humans in the Loop: On Hilke Schellmann’s “The Algorithm”
Evan Selinger reviews Hilke Schellmann’s “The Algorithm: How AI Decides Who Gets Hired, Monitored, Promoted, and Fired and Why We Need to Fight Back...
Evan SelingerMay 31
- Nonfiction
- Science & Technology
How to Raise Your Artificial Intelligence: A Conversation with Alison Gopnik and Melanie Mitchell
Julien Crockett interviews Alison Gopnik and Melanie Mitchell about complexity and learning in AI systems, and our roles as caregivers.
Julien CrockettMay 31
- Science & Technology
This Is Also a Test: On Newborn Island
From underneath a sleeping baby, Nada Alic offers a dispatch “from the first draft of motherhood,” in an excerpt from LARB Quarterly no. 41, “Truth.”
Nada AlicMay 30
- LARB Quarterly
- Memoir
The Mouth Agape: On Bertrand Bonello’s “The Beast”
Brendan Boyle considers Bertrand Bonello’s 2023 film “The Beast.”
Brendan BoyleMay 30
- Film

Looking for a beach read? Read “The Future Was Color” with the LARB Book Club!
“Patrick Nathan’s The Future Was Color is a sumptuous novel that captures the class, guilt, art, sex, and politics of 1950s Los Angeles” –Mark Haber.

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The LARB Quarterly
LARB Quarterly, no. 41: Truth
Become a member to get LARB Quarterly, no. 41: “Truth” featuring Sarah Yanni, Rachel Cusk, Ira Sachs, CAConrad, and more!
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LARB Radio Hour
Erik Davis on the Art of LSD
Erik Davis joins Kate Wolf to speak about his latest book, “Blotter: The Untold Story of an Acid Medium.”
May 31

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Latest

The Commonsense Critic: A Personal Tribute to Helen Vendler
Cinque Henderson writes a personal tribute for Helen Vendler.
Cinque HendersonMay 29
Sustained, Energetic Engagement with the Object: On Becca Rothfeld’s “All Things Are Too Small”
Kenneth Dillon reviews Becca Rothfeld’s “All Things Are Too Small: Essays in Praise of Excess.”
Kenneth DillonMay 29
- Nonfiction
- Philosophy
Some Other I Before Me: On Seeking Guidance From AAPI Memoirs
For AAPI month, Rajpreet Heir writes about the creative guidance she’s found in memoirs by AAPI authors.
Rajpreet HeirMay 28
Chloe Martinez’s “The open door”
In an excerpt from LARB Quarterly no. 41, “Truth,” Chloe Martinez presents a new poem about what happened, what could have happened, and why it all...
Chloe MartinezMay 28
- LARB Quarterly
- Poetry
California Communism and Its Afterlives: On Robert W. Cherny’s “San Francisco Reds”
Matt Ray and Matthew Wranovics review Robert W. Cherny’s “San Francisco Reds: Communists in the Bay Area, 1919–1958.”
Matt Ray and Matthew WranovicsMay 27
- History
- Politics and Economics

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Short Takes

Paint the Town Red, in Flames
Madeleine Connors investigates the Ed Ruscha exhibition at LACMA, which is not currently on fire.
May 31
Whether Painter or Painted
Stephanie Bastek steps into artist Mickalene Thomas’s glittery childhood living room at the Broad in Los Angeles.
May 30
Pearl Jam Won’t Back Down
A. J. Urquidi finds that the Pearl Jam cottage industry is “still alive” and rockin’ in the free world of the Forum.
May 27
A Fair’s in Order
Brittany Menjivar catches a Rave Wave and accepts Grogu’s invite to an exhibition of nerds at the L.A. County Fair.
May 26

View All Short Takes

LARB Radio Hour

LARB Radio Hour
Erik Davis on the Art of LSD
Erik Davis joins Kate Wolf to speak about his latest book, “Blotter: The Untold Story of an Acid Medium.”
May 31
LARB Radio Hour
Legacy Russell’s “Black Meme”
Writer and curator Legacy Russell joins Kate Wolf to discuss her new book, “Black Meme,” which theorizes the history of viral images of Blackness in...
May 24
LARB Radio Hour
Miranda July’s “All Fours”
Miranda July speaks to Kate Wolf about her latest novel, “All Fours.”
May 17
LARB Radio Hour
Danielle Dutton’s “Prairie, Dresses, Art, Other”
Kate Wolf and Medaya Ocher are joined by writer and publisher Danielle Dutton, author of “Prairie, Dresses, Art, Other” as well as “Margaret the...
May 10