History

A police officer stands beside an automobile involved in an accident,

The Reckless History of the Automobile The Reckless History of the Automobile

In The Car, Bryan Appleyard sets out to celebrate the freedom these vehicles granted. But what if they were a dangerous technology from the start?

Mar 13, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Paris Marx

Oscar statues, 1877.

What the Oscars Represent: Meritocracy Without Merit What the Oscars Represent: Meritocracy Without Merit

In Michael Schulman’s extensive history of the awards, Oscar Wars, he documents how the institution’s reactionary origins still leak into today’s film culture.

Mar 8, 2023 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu

J. Edgar Hoover tests a gun.

The Cult of J. Edgar Hoover The Cult of J. Edgar Hoover

A zealot through and through, he ran the FBI like a religious sect.

Mar 7, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Adam Hochschild

US naval officers walking through the city of Olongapo in 1972

The American Repossession of the Philippines The American Repossession of the Philippines

As the US dramatically expands its military presence, colonialist history is repeating itself.

Mar 4, 2023 / Feature / Walden Bello

Dora Maria Tellez

Dora Maria Téllez Is Free at Last—and Able to Speak Freely! Dora Maria Téllez Is Free at Last—and Able to Speak Freely!

The legendary figure from Nicaragua's Sandinista revolution in an exclusive interview following her release from prison and arrival as an exile in the US.

Mar 2, 2023 / Linda Mannheim and Mike Lanchin

Jay Jackson’s Audacious Comics

Jay Jackson’s Audacious Comics Jay Jackson’s Audacious Comics

Written during World War II, Bungleton Green and the Mystic Commandos offered its readers a science-fiction epic that imagined a future liberated from racism and inequality.

Feb 23, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Jeet Heer

The Black Panthers’ Liberation School

Why the United States Needs a New Reconstruction Why the United States Needs a New Reconstruction

In The Third Reconstruction, historian Peniel Joseph examines how how the broken promises of racial equality in the past might be fulfilled in the future.

Feb 22, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Robert Greene II

Naomi Oreskes

America’s Toxic Romance With the Free Market America’s Toxic Romance With the Free Market

A conversation with Naomi Oreskes about her new book with Erik M. Conway, The Big Myth, and how market fundamentalists convinced Americans to loathe government.

Feb 17, 2023 / Q&A / Claudia Dreifus

Newly elected US Representative Bernie Sanders poses in front of an image of labor leader Eugene V. Debs

Bernie Sanders: Anti-Union Capitalism Is Wrecking America Bernie Sanders: Anti-Union Capitalism Is Wrecking America

Workers deserve a better deal than the unfettered capitalism that is destroying our health, our democracy, and our planet.

Feb 16, 2023 / Feature / Sen. Bernie Sanders with John Nichols

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, You’re No Jack Kennedy

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, You’re No Jack Kennedy Sarah Huckabee Sanders, You’re No Jack Kennedy

Trying to evoke a lost Cold War consensus, the GOP’s rising star conflated “normal” with “crazy.”

Feb 10, 2023 / Jeet Heer

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