Let me begin with a story. A few weeks ago, I submitted an essay to a well-known American publication. The piece explored the digital present — more specifically, the uneasy future in which human creativity may become as unthinkable without machine assistance as, say, sneaker…

Recently, for the umpteenth time, I watched The Wall again — Pink Floyd and Alan Parker. Only this time, unlike before, I was watching it with my son. I tried to warn him in advance not to pay attention to me: basically, the electric jolt I get every time I encounter this…

“When one morning Gregor Samsa awoke from troubled dreams…” “Wait, wait! Can’t we do something else today?” He tried not to show any signs of irritation, closed the small luxury volume — carefully tucking in the straw — and slowly lifted his eyes toward the camera. The face in…

It begins in a drowsy provincial town — Prespan, somewhere deep in 1980s Bulgaria — at a moment when history quietly forgets its manners. The so-called “Revival Process” is in full swing, and neighbour turns against neighbour in a fog of fear, confusion, and officially…