Killing the Buddha

the noise of democracy

exegesis

Reviews and commentary

The Moon is Elsewhere

The Moon is Elsewhere

by Ananya Vajpeyi

The presence—or absence—of the gods can make a Hindu out of even the most secular.

Still Just a Comic Book

Still Just a Comic Book

by Garrett Baer

Asterios Polyp and the fate of life lived through modernism.

You Call <em>That</em> God?

You Call That God?

by Tibor Krausz

Why Karen Armstrong’s Case for God isn’t one.

Against Closure

Against Closure

by Graham Hillard

Why television’s Lost should resist the urge to tell all.

Into the Weird

Into the Weird

by Alexander Zaitchik

Mitch Horowitz unleashes America’s occult past.

Astral Procrastination

Astral Procrastination

by Gordon Haber

Why is it so hard to face up to one’s astrological nature?

Experiments in Sincerity

Experiments in Sincerity

by David Dark

John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats helps bring the Age of Irony to a close.

Journey to the End of the Night

Journey to the End of the Night

by David Griffith

The sounds of the soul stretch from 16th-century Spain to David Lynch’s LA.

The Big Placebo

The Big Placebo

by Sarah Posner

Bet you can’t guess what Pastor Timothy Keller thinks Manhattan needs more of.

Long Count

Long Count

by Alexander Zaitchik

Suffering through 2012, Roland Emmerich’s take on a Mayan prophecy.

2012 or Bust!

2012 or Bust!

by Jessica Weisberg

Talking down to prophecy nuts is a delicate art.

Eden as Asylum

Eden as Asylum

by Becky Garrison

Lars von Trier’s Antichrist takes this reviewer through her soul’s own dark nights.

Prodigal Son

Prodigal Son

by Mary Gordon

The running father, the starving son, the fatted calf, the husks, and the unbearable question.

Grass Huts and Hermits

Grass Huts and Hermits

by Karen Maezen Miller

Travels in China, on the trail of American Buddhism.

Music for the Crossroads

Music for the Crossroads

by Alex Rose

Oscar Bettison’s O Death: A Requiem Masque for Six Players as out-of-body experience.

The Heretical Imperative

The Heretical Imperative

by James Chappel

A new book probes the modern meaning of ancient heresy.

Crumb’s Genesis

Crumb’s Genesis

by Paul W. Morris

Keep on truckin’ in the Garden of Eden.

Modernity’s Fraternity

Modernity’s Fraternity

by Samuel Biagetti

Why the new Dan Brown book is a love letter to the Freemasons.