Books and Ideas

A.J. Muste (left, seated) leading a class at Brookwood in 1925.

To Build Working-Class Power, We Need a Workers’ Education Movement To Build Working-Class Power, We Need a Workers’ Education Movement

A century ago, labor colleges transformed American unions. It’s time to bring them back.

Aug 13, 2024 / Feature / Daniel Judt

American tennis star Althea Gibson hits a return shot to Colette Monnot during her singles match at the Surrey Grass Court Championship, held at the Surbiton Racket and Fitness Club.

Althea Gibson Let the Racquet Do the Talking Althea Gibson Let the Racquet Do the Talking

A recent biography of the complicated tennis legend underlines the sport’s persistent challenges with race, class, and celebrity.

Aug 13, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Alisa Solomon

Photo of a historical inscription in the Remterkeller of Halberstadt Cathedral.

Their Atrocities—and Ours: Thinking About the Wrong Side of History Their Atrocities—and Ours: Thinking About the Wrong Side of History

Can a cause still be just, even if atrocities have been committed on its behalf?

Aug 12, 2024 / Bruce Robbins

“The Measure Should Not Be Called the Johnson Bill, but the Ku Klux Klan Bill”

“The Measure Should Not Be Called the Johnson Bill, but the Ku Klux Klan Bill” “The Measure Should Not Be Called the Johnson Bill, but the Ku Klux Klan Bill”

When Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1924 a century ago, The Nation issued a prescient warning to its readers.

Aug 12, 2024 / Richard Kreitner

Helen Stephens winning the Women's 100m at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

The Trans Panic in Sports Is Nearly a Century Old The Trans Panic in Sports Is Nearly a Century Old

Michael Waters’s eye-opening history of gender and athletics in the lead-up to the 1936 Olympics reveals just how old this reactionary movement in athletics is.

Aug 8, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Ben Kesslen

Gender Diversity at the Olympics

Gender Diversity at the Olympics Gender Diversity at the Olympics

There are at least 155 out LGBTQ athletes from 25 countries competing in this year’s Olympic games in Paris.

Aug 6, 2024 / OppArt / Andrea Arroyo

Susan Neiman

What’s Left After Wokeness? What’s Left After Wokeness?

An interview with political philosopher Susan Neiman, the author of Left Is Not “Woke.”

Aug 6, 2024 / Column / Katha Pollitt

A soccer team consisting of members of the Communist International. Moscow, Russia, 1921.

The Lost Stories of the Communist International The Lost Stories of the Communist International

The focus of Brigitte Studer’s Travellers of the World Revolution is not the leadership and changing politics of the Comintern but the history of its rank and file.

Aug 6, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Tony Wood

“Opus 40,” the environmental sculpture park created by Harvey Fite in Saugerties, New York.

Hari Kunzru’s Novels of Creative Destruction Hari Kunzru’s Novels of Creative Destruction

Like his prior two, his latest tells a story of artistic and political frustration.

Aug 5, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Nawal Arjini

Donald Trump sitting on stage at a panel in front of American flag

Donald Trump’s Divide-and-Conquer Scheme for Black America Donald Trump’s Divide-and-Conquer Scheme for Black America

The twisted political agenda behind smearing Kamala Harris as a political and racial chameleon.

Aug 2, 2024 / Jeet Heer

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