The Morality of Having Kids in a Burning, Drowning World Two recent books, “The Quickening” and “The Parenthood Dilemma,” consider the ethics of procreation in the age of man-made climate change. November 20, 2023 Briefly Noted Book Reviews “Fear Is Just a Word,” “Beyond the Wall,” “Let Us Descend,” and “The Love of Singular Men.” November 20, 2023 What if Nostalgia Isn’t What It Used to Be? As our faith in the future plummets and the present blends with the past, we doomscroll and catastrophize and feel certain that we’ve reached the point where history has fallen apart. November 20, 2023 Barbra Streisand’s Mother of All Memoirs In “My Name Is Barbra,” the icon takes a maximalist approach to her own life, studying every trial, triumph, and snack food of a six-decade career. November 14, 2023 The War on Charlie Chaplin He was one of the world’s most celebrated and beloved stars. Then his adopted country turned against him. November 13, 2023 What the Doomsayers Get Wrong About Deepfakes Experts have warned that utterly realistic A.I.-generated videos might wreak havoc through deception. What’s happened is troubling in a different way. November 13, 2023 Briefly Noted Book Reviews “Flee North,” “Mapping the Darkness,” “A Council of Dolls,” and “January.” November 13, 2023 How Can Determinists Believe in Free Will? Some people think that we can’t be held responsible for what we do, given that our actions are the inevitable consequence of the laws of nature. They’re only half right. November 6, 2023 When the World’s Most Famous Writer Visits a Hotbed of Amorous Intrigue Tan Twan Eng’s novel “The House of Doors” reimagines W. Somerset Maugham’s adventures in Penang and conjures a set of secrets behind a classic story. November 6, 2023 Briefly Noted Book Reviews “Dimensions of a Cave,” “A Volga Tale,” “Omega Farm,” and “Crossings.” November 6, 2023