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Princeton University Press
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On Our Nightstands: July 2026
At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, a behind-the-scenes look at what we have been reading this month. Nicholas Dames Editor in Chief Frederic…
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It’s Not Optimal
Four books about a new age of AI tell stories of sluggish processes, ambiguous outcomes, emotionally charged issues, and generous margins for error.
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Time Well Spent: Beyond Success and Failure in Romancelandia and Academia
What is writing a romance for? What is this essay for? Is work all there is?
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“We’re Losing a Sense That We Made Them”: Webb Keane on AI and Human Morality
“We can’t fully grasp what’s new about it unless we also understand what we’ve seen before.”
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When Language Is Lost, What Can Be Gained?
Aphasia brings up existential questions that get at the heart of human connection: Who are we without language?
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You Could Use the Exercise
In the face of AI, the time is right to practice our writing techniques for invention and surprise.
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Arabic ≠ Latin: Sacred Language in a Secular Age
Lienau’s exposition illustrates that the Orientalist position of Quranic Arabic’s essential untranslatability is rooted not in historical fact but racist fantasy.
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White Suburbs and Drug Wars
To understand the racism of the drug war, in other words, we must look to the ways policymakers sought to protect white suburban youth.
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“The Unique Magic That Happens When Two People Come Together”: Allison Pugh on Building a Society of Connection
“What we are doing by mechanizing encounters is bleeding out the unique and rather mysterious social outcome.”
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On Our Nightstands: May 2023
A behind-the-scenes look at what Public Books editors and staff have been reading this month.
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“We Want More Housing, but How?” Talking with Max Holleran
“There are a lot of basic things that America has still not accepted in terms of how to live a happy urban life.”
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Cooking, Monasteries, Arithmetic: Lorraine Daston on the History of Rules
“There is a deadly earnestness with which children take up whatever rules have been established for a particular context.”
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Public Thinker: Ruha Benjamin on Uprooting Oppression and Seeding Justice
“Keep your cosmetic change, if you’re making no attempt to deal with the underlying practices that perpetuate harm.”
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“At the End of Everything”: Talking with Shannon Mattern
“My first book was used by actual librarians, planners, architects. I realized, wow I can do work that matters beyond the academy.”
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“Love and Beauty Their Prison”: Talking with Carolyn Dever on Michael Field
“The diary has challenged every category of literary analysis for me.”
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Succeeding through Failure: Andrew Lakoff on Preparing for Emergencies
“What is the range of available measures to address our catastrophic future?”
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Hiding in Plain Sight: Talking Aquifer Depletion with Lucas Bessire
“The everyday ways that people challenge environmental destruction can be quite powerful.”
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Portrait of the Global Migrant Crisis
COVID-19 highlights how the global order is built on, and excels in, closing the path of migrants unjustly.
