History

“At certain times of the day,” wrote Karl Kraus, in a critique of the mass media taken up by Walter Benjamin, “a particular quantity of work has to have been procured and prepared for the machine.”

Nothing Remains Unchanged but the Clouds Nothing Remains Unchanged but the Clouds

With his worries about the gigantic power of technology and the minuscule moral illumination it can afford, Walter Benjamin remains our contemporary.

Nov 18, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Neima Jahromi

Sheldon Wolin speaks with Bill Moyers in 2008.

Sheldon Wolin, 1922–2015 Sheldon Wolin, 1922–2015

The late scholar and Nation contributor brought left-leaning political philosophy to the fore.

Oct 30, 2015 / Richard Kreitner

October 30, 1885: Ezra Pound Is Born

October 30, 1885: Ezra Pound Is Born October 30, 1885: Ezra Pound Is Born

“There is no reason why poetry should not be so perplexingly simple as Mr. Pound’s, and be about nothing at all.”

Oct 30, 2015 / Richard Kreitner

Ester Dean (left) and B.o.B. perform at CinemaCon, March 27, 2014.

It’s an Old Trope, but How Well Does the Factory Model Explain Pop Music? It’s an Old Trope, but How Well Does the Factory Model Explain Pop Music?

A new book about the music industry misses the fact that we’ve already entered the post-industrial age.

Oct 29, 2015 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu

Mandate boundary lines in the Pacific islands, 1921.

Imperialism With an Internationalist Face Imperialism With an Internationalist Face

In her masterful new study of the League of Nations, Susan Pedersen shows how the organization helped prolong the era of colonialism.

Oct 29, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Martti Koskenniemi

Margo Jefferson

10 Questions for Margo Jefferson 10 Questions for Margo Jefferson

The author of Negroland explains her long journey from cheerleader to literary critic.

Oct 22, 2015 / Jon Wiener

How Bernie Sanders Should Talk About Democratic Socialism

How Bernie Sanders Should Talk About Democratic Socialism How Bernie Sanders Should Talk About Democratic Socialism

Instead of looking to Europe, Sanders could evoke the rich heritage of American radicalism.

Oct 21, 2015 / Eric Foner

East End Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, is one of several historic black cemeteries that have been overtaken by weeds and trash.

Black Deaths Matter Black Deaths Matter

Historic black cemeteries have devolved into trash dumps and overgrown forests, while tidy Confederate memorials still draw public funding.

Oct 15, 2015 / Feature / Seth Freed Wessler

Reclaiming Black History, One Grave at a Time

Reclaiming Black History, One Grave at a Time Reclaiming Black History, One Grave at a Time

Photojournalist Brian Palmer documents the effort to restore a Virginia cemetery overtaken by trash and brush during years of official neglect.

Oct 15, 2015 / Photo Essay / Brian Palmer and Erin Hollaway Palmer

2015 Nobel Prize in Literature winner Svetlana Alexievich.

Nobel Prize Laureate Svetlana Alexievich’s Oral Histories Are Chronicles of the Future Nobel Prize Laureate Svetlana Alexievich’s Oral Histories Are Chronicles of the Future

In her cantos of loss readers feel a sense of communion, of a shared humanity in the face of horror.

Oct 9, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Andrew Meier

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