The first Public Books article was a review of Jeffrey Eugenides's novel The Marriage Plot by founding editor Sharon Marcus.
Since its founding, Public Books has shown interest in American politics, art, finance, climate change and pop culture (especially television shows and comics).
Bustle described Public Books as a place to find articles that blend "reading, writing, and art with activism—making space for the diverse voices we need to keep hearing more of.
"[3] Public Books is one of several new online and print magazines—including Jacobin and n+1—that the Chronicle of Higher Education credits with catalyzing an "intellectual renaissance" in the United States.
In June 2016, historians N. D. B. Connolly and Keisha N. Blain published a syllabus at Public Books for a potential course on the political success of Donald Trump in the 2016 American presidential election.