Books and Ideas

American flag

Defending the Right of Radical Dissent Is the Highest Expression of Patriotism Defending the Right of Radical Dissent Is the Highest Expression of Patriotism

A new book by David Maraniss captures the spirit of the Independence Day far more truly than Trump’s parade.

Jul 3, 2019 / John Nichols

The Ugly Myth of the Welfare Queen

The Ugly Myth of the Welfare Queen The Ugly Myth of the Welfare Queen

Josh Levin’s The Queen examines how politicians and the media used Taylor's story to change public opinion around government aid and the poor.

Jul 2, 2019 / Jeremy Lybarger

The Long and Grim Road to ‘Plessy v. Ferguson’

The Long and Grim Road to ‘Plessy v. Ferguson’ The Long and Grim Road to ‘Plessy v. Ferguson’

Steven Luxenberg’s new book offers a vivid account of the events that led to the ruling.

Jul 2, 2019 / Books & the Arts / David Cole

Namwali Serpell’s Postcolonial Epic

Namwali Serpell’s Postcolonial Epic Namwali Serpell’s Postcolonial Epic

The Old Drift tells the multigenerational story of Zambia coming into being.

Jul 2, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Nawal Arjini

Trump

Foreign-Policy Decision Making Foreign-Policy Decision Making

Conflicting views are heard. The mood is tense. Around the president advisers cluster. But at the end he sticks to his approach— His formula of ignorance plus bluster.

Jul 2, 2019 / Column / Calvin Trillin

Plato

The Philosophical Origins of Patriarchy The Philosophical Origins of Patriarchy

Plato, Hippocrates, and Aristotle laid the foundations on which centuries of sexism were built.

Jul 1, 2019 / Christia Mercer

Stonewall Inn interior

It Doesn’t Matter Who Threw the First Brick at Stonewall It Doesn’t Matter Who Threw the First Brick at Stonewall

Infighting over ownership of the riots obscures their significance as a messy, spontaneous, diverse rebellion.

Jun 30, 2019 / Morgan M. Page

Marsha P Johnson

What We All Owe to Gay Liberation What We All Owe to Gay Liberation

Stonewall shows us what fighting back looked like in an era when state power was hostile.

Jun 27, 2019 / Emily Douglas and The Nation

Ann Quin’s Surrealist Novel ‘Berg’ Annihilates All Expectation

Ann Quin’s Surrealist Novel ‘Berg’ Annihilates All Expectation Ann Quin’s Surrealist Novel ‘Berg’ Annihilates All Expectation

The newly reissued 1964 book is a hallucinatory mix of crime fiction, vaudeville, and modernist experimentation.

Jun 26, 2019 / Shane Anderson

‘The Farm’ Looks at a Future Where Pregnancy Is Outsourced to the Poor

‘The Farm’ Looks at a Future Where Pregnancy Is Outsourced to the Poor ‘The Farm’ Looks at a Future Where Pregnancy Is Outsourced to the Poor

In Joanne Ramos’s debut novel about a venture-capitalist funded surrogacy clinic, class war begins in the womb.

Jun 19, 2019 / Noah Flora

x