History

German Jewish refugees looking through portholes aboard an ocean liner arriving in Antwerp, 1939.

What the Jewish History of Exile Means Now What the Jewish History of Exile Means Now

A recent book on Jewish identity before and after Zionism shows the limitations of a progressive critique that doesn't truly account for the experience of Palestinians.

Oct 14, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Eli Rudavsky

Stefan Bakałowicz's “Roman poet Catullus reading to his friends” (1885).

The Age-Old Struggle of Translating Catullus The Age-Old Struggle of Translating Catullus

A crisp new rendering of the Roman poet’s poems underlines how difficult it is to fully relate all his complexities and contradictions.

Oct 3, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Nicolas Liney

After discovering Jane in 1971, Shannon joined Chicago’s famous abortion underground.

The Story of Sakinah Ahad Shannon, an Early Hero of Abortion Liberation The Story of Sakinah Ahad Shannon, an Early Hero of Abortion Liberation

Sakinah discovered Chicago’s Abortion Counseling Service, better known as Jane, because she wanted to help a friend. Then she became an essential part of it.

Oct 1, 2024 / Feature / Renee Bracey Sherman and Regina Mahone

Jock the monkey listens in on the Scopes trial, 1923.

The Scopes Trial and the Two Visions of US Democracy The Scopes Trial and the Two Visions of US Democracy

A new history revisits “the Trial of the Century” and its legacy in contemporary politics.

Sep 30, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Michael Kazin

A crowd outside Minneapolis’s Farmers and Mechanics Savings Bank during an economic crisis in May 1893.

The Radical Past and Future of Debt Resistance The Radical Past and Future of Debt Resistance

The deep roots of debt relief activism in the United States.

Sep 25, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Astra Taylor

Frantz Fanon at a press conference in 1959.

Taking Frantz Fanon at His Word Taking Frantz Fanon at His Word

There has been an effort to negate Fanon’s ideas and sever them from the people of Palestine. But in his work, I find the beginning of a credible path towards liberation.

Sep 18, 2024 / StudentNation / Sazi Bongwe

A man and a woman choose from an array of credit cards and dollar banknotes, 1979.

The Age of Public Austerity and Private Luxury The Age of Public Austerity and Private Luxury

A conversation with Melinda Cooper about the recent history of neoliberalism and her new book Counterrevolution: Extravagance and Austerity in Public Finance.

Sep 12, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins and Kate Yoon

How Historical Fiction Redefined the Literary Canon

How Historical Fiction Redefined the Literary Canon How Historical Fiction Redefined the Literary Canon

In contemporary publishing, novels fixated on the past rather than the present have garnered the most attention and prestige.

Sep 11, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Alexander Manshel

The Enduring Influence of Marx’s Masterpiece

The Enduring Influence of Marx’s Masterpiece The Enduring Influence of Marx’s Masterpiece

No book has done more than Capital to explain the way the world works.

Sep 9, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Wendy Brown

Assassination Nation

Assassination Nation Assassination Nation

The Nation magazine was founded in the startled wake of Abraham Lincoln’s murder—the first presidential assassination in the country. It wouldn’t be the last.

Sep 3, 2024 / Richard Kreitner

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