Contributing opinion writer
Trevor J. Levin
Latest Content
On (Transformative) Experience, Or: The Hot Take Column
Most books should be journal articles, and most journal articles should be footnotes. You get the point: Most columns should be tweets.
Asking the Right Questions
At Harvard, we’re presented with nearly infinite options with how to spend our time. Yet when sheer circumstance highlights one option as a path of lesser resistance, we often glide right along.
Telling the Story of the Migrant Caravan
When we see other human beings in pain, we experience empathy. We try to help. That should have been the story of the migrant caravan.
‘Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1’: Rock’s Super-Supergroup Turns 30
As Harrison might have recalled from his alter ego project 21 years earlier, the mask of a fake band encouraged creativity and humor.
Take Harvard-Yale Back From the Puritans
The University’s paternalistic attempts at intervention will make The Game less fun and more dangerous.
The Endowment Tax and Myths of Democratic Accountability
When non-profit entities like Harvard, private citizens like Jay-Z, or even robber barons like Jeff Bezos fund things that benefit society, we should applaud them.
Make Cambridge Harder to Drive In
In the century following the Model T, Cambridge redesigned itself to be as car-friendly as possible. With a few miles of bike lanes and a handful of Birds, the city has only begun to reverse the catastrophe.
From Lollapalooza 2018: Bruno Mars Performs from the Top of the Pop World
Mars put a wide range of talents on display—not only singing and dancing but also soloing on a (gold, naturally) Stratocaster on “Calling All My Lovelies.”
‘Dark Side of the Moon’: An Existentialist Masterpiece
When I first listened to “The Dark Side of a Moon,” which turned 45 years old in March, as an angsty, leftist teen, I was blown away.
From Lollapalooza 2018: Børns Leads Lolla into the Night
Perhaps unsurprisingly for an artist who toured with Lana del Rey, Børns is a creature of the moon. For every degree the sun sank on Lollapalooza during his hour-long 7:30 p.m. set, he seemed to gain in power.
From Lollapalooza 2018: Arctic Monkeys’ Retro-Hypermodernism on Full Display
Arctic Monkeys’ future experiments, whether with Dr. Dre-inspired beats or space-themed concept albums or something else entirely, will likely evince a continuing battle between the old and new.
From Lollapalooza 2018: Trevor’s Day 1 Roundup
In the day’s low point, Lolla displayed a Fortnite tournament—yes, you heard right—at full volume on the main stage during Camila Cabello’s set on the directly-opposite Lake Shore stage. The former Fifth Harmony star best known for “Havana” carried on with a tight, energetic set complete with impressive dance routines, but what were they thinking?
The Ethics of ‘Selling Out’
By reducing the dizzying variety of post-graduation pursuits to “selling out” versus “not selling out," we obscure the real ethical distinctions.
Leftward Ho, Libertarians!
As a Democrat-voting libertarian — a label I accept hesitatingly, given its baggage — I’ve watched DSA’s ascendance ambivalently.
What Is the Value of a Harvard Degree?
Rather than elevating our tastes and abilities, Harvard has merely reshuffled the deck of future employees—with its graduates closer to the top.
