Article Illustrations by Carolyn Jao for Mid Theory Collective

In case you missed it, here is a juicy essay for your weekend read.

"When bodies jiggle, shake, leak, or squirt they supply the evidence of a pleasure received. By transposing these expressions from humans to food, our chefs coax bodies to confess without claiming to have triumphed over a real woman’s self-command." Elizabeth Greeniaus on "horny chef videos."

This essay over the new Wuthering Heights

"When bodies jiggle, shake, leak, or squirt they supply the evidence of a pleasure received. By transposing these expressions from humans to food, our chefs coax bodies to confess without claiming to have triumphed over a real woman’s self-command." Elizabeth Greeniaus on "horny chef videos."

If you're an ORB subscriber, you get this linkdump in your inbox, and you know that is what you want: www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/email/f8bfdb...

This week, we published an excerpt on the Oakland sideshow, from Alex Werth's "On Loop: Black Sonic Politics in Oakland," and it's essentially the one thing you need to read to understand the sideshow outside of the envelope of white moral panic: www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/sideshow-his...

We are back from our spring hiatus with a mixtape about spring cleaning! For Mixtape #8, we asked our editors and contributing writers what in culture they’re cleaning out for spring. Here are some of what we’re leaving behind and what we’re making space for this spring.

We are back from our spring hiatus with a mixtape about spring cleaning! For Mixtape #8, we asked our editors and contributing writers what in culture they’re cleaning out for spring. Here are some of what we’re leaving behind and what we’re making space for this spring.

In our latest installment of our 'Adaptation Anxiety' series, Emily Coccia scrutinizes the oft-cited charge that a work of adaptation reads like 'fanfiction' as a short-hand for a host of complaints about recent works written and/or directed by women.

In our latest installment of our 'Adaptation Anxiety' series, Emily Coccia scrutinizes the oft-cited charge that a work of adaptation reads like 'fanfiction' as a short-hand for a host of complaints about recent works written and/or directed by women.

Coming this fall! Started as a Twitter (RIP) conversation and now it’s got a most pleasing cover!

In our latest installment of our "Adaptation Anxiety" series, MTC contributing writer Omid Bagherli writes about 'Hamnet' and the Oscar-winning film's unsteady and anxious relationship with O'Farrell's novel, with hands held and misread, and with "capital L Literature."

In our latest installment of our "Adaptation Anxiety" series, MTC contributing writer Omid Bagherli writes about 'Hamnet' and the Oscar-winning film's unsteady and anxious relationship with O'Farrell's novel, with hands held and misread, and with "capital L Literature."

Happy Oscar Sunday to all those who celebrate. For your consideration, we offer this brilliant analysis of Frankenstein and the abiding anxiety over adapting Shelley's monstrous masterpiece.

Happy Oscar Sunday to all those who celebrate. For your consideration, we offer this brilliant analysis of Frankenstein and the abiding anxiety over adapting Shelley's monstrous masterpiece.

Before the Oscars, I’m nominating myself for Best Supporting Scholar with my 267th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, share widely, & the winner will be … all of us! 🗃️ blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...

Our "Adaptation Anxiety" series continues with MTC contributing writer Charline Jao discussing the recent adaptation of Frankenstein and our protective, possessive attachments to Mary Shelley. "What is this need to tear Shelley away from her intellectual influences, desires, and complexity?"

Our "Adaptation Anxiety" series continues with MTC contributing writer Charline Jao discussing the recent adaptation of Frankenstein and our protective, possessive attachments to Mary Shelley. "What is this need to tear Shelley away from her intellectual influences, desires, and complexity?"

"Rather than being mediated by parties or trade unions, self-organized movements are led by those on the ground, with an absence of hierarchical leadership structures: the doer decides. In addition, the commune and workers’ councils both necessarily entail the occupation of physical space."

MTC contributing writer Matthew Beeber reviews recent books that return Paris Commune of 1871 as way of thinking about contemporary leftist uprisings and the future of revolution.

“If we’ve learned anything from revolutionary history, it’s that we won’t know how it will look until it happens.” Brilliant review by Matt on recent works on history of the left.

MTC contributing writer Matthew Beeber reviews recent books that return Paris Commune of 1871 as way of thinking about contemporary leftist uprisings and the future of revolution.

Maggie Boyd reviews Nina McConigley's debut novel HOW TO COMMIT A POSTCOLONIAL MURDER and the author's self-conscious attempt to foil certain novelistic expectations. "The novel resists resolution at every turn, repeatedly identifying a satisfying story arc and then refusing to take the exit."

MTC is running a series of reading & writing groups this spring & summer. Our first reading group on the recent English translation of Punjabi novella Keeru by Fauzia Rafique hosted by Nico Millman & the translator Haider Shabaz will meet on April 15 @ 6pm ET. Sign up here: tinyurl.com/yfvycxut

Congratulations to Jess! You can read her piece for MTC on precarity and platform hygiene MTC: mid-theory.com/2025/04/03/o...

adaptation really IS everywhere!

Adaptation is everywhere! This spring MTC is running a new series called ADAPTATION ANXIETY, where new and returning writers consider literary adaptations from the last few years. To kick off our managing editor Martha Henzy takes on the unsexy absolution of the gothic monster.

MTC is running a series of reading & writing groups this spring & summer. Our first reading group on the recent English translation of Punjabi novella Keeru by Fauzia Rafique hosted by Nico Millman & the translator Haider Shabaz will meet on April 15 @ 6pm ET. Sign up here: tinyurl.com/yfvycxut

Reading the pedagogy column at @mid-theory.bsky.social and finding it to be quite good! mid-theory.com/category/ped...

Our monthly newsletter just went out. And because humans, committed and overcommitted humans do our homework the newsletter which goes out on February 23 can have "January" in its subject line. Check out what we have been up to and what is coming! tinyurl.com/53tanrns

MTC is launching a pedagogy section, where we invite our colleagues to reflect on a question, an assignment, an activity, an experience, a challenge, or a joy they have had in the classroom. To kick off, Alec Abramson, a recent college graduate, discusses his adventures with "dramaturgy design."

Love this idea and encourage my HS pedagogy people to follow along!

MTC is launching a pedagogy section, where we invite our colleagues to reflect on a question, an assignment, an activity, an experience, a challenge, or a joy they have had in the classroom. To kick off, Alec Abramson, a recent college graduate, discusses his adventures with "dramaturgy design."

This episode opens with an extraordinary—if also utterly banal, routine—story of a professional ethical lapse told by @bakaari.bsky.social, which you must hear. It's in the first four minutes. But you won't want to stop after that.

Some friendly corruption from us!

This is just another way of saying that I love mixed methods work, I guess. Archival research? Yes! Data collection? Yes! Quantitative analysis? Yes! Close reading? Yes! Case studies? Yes! Theoretical speculation? Yes! Let’s do it all why not

For MTC, our contributing writer Charline Jao writes about Shih-Ching Tsou’s new film LEFT-HANDED GIRL and the melodrama of late capitalism. Illustrations by MTC Contributing Illustrator Carolyn Jao

"There is a lose-lose conundrum: male characters repeatedly make each female character’s life harder in some way (debt, romantic disappointment, etc.), yet the absence of a patriarch or “protector” is its own burden." Catch Charline Jao on Shih-Ching Tsou’s new film!

For MTC, our contributing writer Charline Jao writes about Shih-Ching Tsou’s new film LEFT-HANDED GIRL and the melodrama of late capitalism. Illustrations by MTC Contributing Illustrator Carolyn Jao

Our colleagues at Lateral Journal are working on a special issue, titled "Performance Between Post-Truths." Check out their CfP at the link below and consider submitting.

For @newyorker.com, I wrote about Bruce Springsteen and also the guy from Staind: www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

For the Saturday crowd.

For MTC, a reading group reflects on Tsai's WALKER, the literature & legacy of the flâneur, and why thinking needs straying. "After metaphysics, the monk becomes the aesthete; the empty space left behind by the death of God is filled up by art, literature, and, of course, Tsai Ming-Liang’s cinema."

I ordered this book because of the review. Just a shout out to book reviews.

Today we have such a cool practice-focused piece out! The talented folks of Los Angeles Performance Practice let us peek behind the curtain and eavesdrop into one of their post- mortem conversations. It's also an experiment in coauthorship, with the Co-Directors of LAPP speaking as one voice! 🎭

Book clubs! This essay was so interesting—and I can’t wait to read the book. More convos about reading and what it means for all of us.

Today we have such a cool practice-focused piece out! The talented folks of Los Angeles Performance Practice let us peek behind the curtain and eavesdrop into one of their post- mortem conversations. It's also an experiment in coauthorship, with the Co-Directors of LAPP speaking as one voice! 🎭

Check out the CFP for this pair of VIRTUAL mini-conferences on SLOP and NOSTALGIA, held by DLC+. I attended some of the previous mini-conference they put on it and it was great. Highly recommend. Keynote by the great Tess McNulty @dlcplus.org docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

So grateful for this engaged and thoughtful review of my book!