Christopher Hitchens

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Letter to an Old Contrarian

Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011
Most of the classes I had with Christopher Hitchens began the same way.
By CHRIS FARAONE | December 21, 2011

Harvard and Yale once again lead the way . . . for academic censorship
Harvard and Yale universities felt the sting of the global economic collapse firsthand in 2009, as the endowments of these stalwart New England Ivy League members dropped by nearly a third. The schools didn’t fare much better in the free marketplace of ideas, either.
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | June 30, 2010

High-octane coverage

The Huffington Post owns Gulf coverage; plus, that Hitchens memoir
Despite admirable wall-to-wall coverage from the national mainstream press and unusually in-depth reports from network television and cable, the Huffington Post has emerged as perhaps the single best go-to source for developing news and wide-ranging commentary about the British Petroleum (BP) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
By PETER KADZIS | June 07, 2010

Ken Miller just can’t win

Brown biology professor attacked by Darwin-hating fundies and leftie atheists alike
What’s an honorable man to do?
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | March 03, 2010

Greg Epstein, Atheist Superstar

Can Harvard's humanist chaplain save nonbelief from itself?
Once an intellectual taboo, atheism has become one of the great growth industries of the third millennium.
By ADAM REILLY | November 24, 2009

Black beauty

Fences, plus The Savannah Disputation and Mister Roberts
August Wilson pioneered a magical realism all his own.
By CAROLYN CLAY | September 22, 2009

Ideas and emotions

The Gamm delivers Grace at a fever pitch
Grace takes place in the recent memories of the title character as well as in her difficult present. The basic concern here, which nags her like a toothache, is the non-existence of the divine.
By BILL RODRIGUEZ | March 17, 2009

100 Unsexiest Men of the Year Follow-Up

Because There Was an Election
The problem with dropping our Unsexiest list in March of an election year is that we never know what kind of weasels, Republicans, and Republican weasels will urinate in America’s stream of consciousness down the final stretch.
By CHRIS FARAONE | December 12, 2008

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Chick schtick

The case of Sandra Bernhard vs. Sarah Palin begs the question: is it ever okay to use “rape” in a punch line?
Sandra Bernhard was supposed to be performing in Boston this week. But that was before she challenged whether Sarah Palin would keep the baby if she became pregnant after being violated by a group of black men in New York.
By SARA FAITH ALTERMAN | October 22, 2008

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Should Americans Send Books to Iraq?

Foreign relations
Sending books to Iraq to promote civic culture in Iraq might help you to sleep more soundly. But do small-scale efforts make more than a symbolic impact?
By A.J. PACITTI | August 20, 2008

Photos: North Korea's surreal Mass Games

While everyone else watches the Olympics, Asia's weirdest sporting event transpires in the world's most secretive country
While the world’s eyes are focused on the Olympic Games in Beijing, just 500 miles away another major sporting extravaganza will kick off in the more austere communist capital of Pyongyang. The Mass Games, held twice annually in North Korea, is the most incredible spectacle to witness in the most secretive country on earth.
By MICHAEL GAO | September 08, 2008

Second thoughts

Amis yes and no
Amis hasn’t had this much press since he fell out with Julian Barnes.
By JAMES PARKER | June 03, 2008

Don't tase me, bro

The year in would-be catch phrases
2007 was the year that viral humor hit critical mass.
By JAMES PARKER | December 21, 2007

The Mist

Ridiculously alright
Frank Darabont’s adaptation of the Stephen King novella spawns a horror beyond human comprehension. Yes, I’m talking about another performance by Marcia Gaye Harden.
By PETER KEOUGH | November 20, 2007

Angels in America

If the world’s saintliest woman can have doubts about God, surely the world’s most cynical man can also question his non-belief?
The publication this month of the selected correspondence of Mother Teresa has revealed that, for many years, the Saint of Calcutta entertained significant doubts about the existence of God.
By JAMES PARKER | September 19, 2007

Bewilderedbeests

Letters to the Boston editor: September 14, 2007
In two weeks of “Talking Politics” columns about Massachusetts politics, David S. Bernstein has left us bewildered about what candidates think.
By BOSTON PHOENIX LETTERS | September 12, 2007

Dance Monkey: Lizz Winstead

A visiting comic in the hot seat
It will be called Harry Pott-him .
By SARA FAITH ALTERMAN | July 16, 2007

Holy War!

A new army of atheists is taking no prisoners in its battle with God and his self-appointed faith dealers
There’s no doubt about it: right now, God is on the side of the atheists.
By JAMES PARKER | June 06, 2007

Real-world follies

A year in television
For hard rock, heated debate, child-care tips, and latex puppetry, 2006 was a banner year in television. Who says the culture’s going to the dogs?
By JAMES PARKER | December 18, 2006

Windbags of change

A front-row seat at the midterm elections
Regardless of which major party sits astride Capitol Hill, Washington is a conservative city. Not in ideological terms, mind you.
By CHRIS LEHMANN | November 08, 2006

My Chomsky

As the lefty linguist’s most recent book rises to the top of Amazon’s bestseller list, a partisan explains why Noam Chomsky’s all that
Had Groucho Marx been a Marxist and stopped in the middle of A Night at the Opera to praise Karl Marx, the effect might have been a little like that which greeted Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez after he lauded Noam Chomsky at the UN General Assembly last week. The Phoenix interviews Noam Chomsky (1999) Ali G interviews Noam Chomsky
By GEORGE SCIALABBA | September 27, 2006

Flashbacks: September 29, 2006

The Boston Phoenix has been covering the trends and events that shape our times since 1966.
These selections, culled from our back files, were compiled by Dan Peleschuk, Ian Sands, and Eva Wolchover.
By PHOENIX FLASHBACKS | September 27, 2006