Roosevelt Family 1903

Alice Roosevelt: The Original First Kid

Alice Roosevelt set the tone for a more public first kid and laid the foundation for post-White-House activism like Chelsea Clinton’s.
Macron, Trudeau, Trump

How Charisma Makes Leaders Great

It's easy to write off charisma as a superficial quality. Yet, studies have proven that charisma is in fact an integral element of good leadership.
Unite the Right flags

White Supremacists and the Rhetoric of “Tyranny”

White supremacists have declared themselves in danger of losing essential rights. It's the kind of argument racists have been making for a long time.
Obama state of the union 2011

Barack Obama and the Nommo Tradition of Afrocentric Orality

A scholar analyzes two of Barack Obama's commencement speeches, using West African nommo oratory as a guide.
NYC intersection

“Jay Walking” and the Fight for the Streets

Debates over the priorities of cars, public transit and "jay walking" are nothing new. There has long been a story class buried within the disagreements.
Dressmaker strike

Does Disunity Hurt the Left?

Does disunity harm a political party? An account of the organizing by unemployed workers in the 1930s may offer some clues.
JFK with Caroline on the Honey Fitz (presidential yacht), 1963

The Ideological Slipperiness of the Kennedy Legacy

Politicians from both sides of the aisle have sought to stake a claim to the evocative power of the Kennedy legend. What is it about Camelot?
Donald Trump golf resort

What Does Trump’s Golfing Reveal about His Personality?

It’s been noted that Donald Trump has been playing a lot of golf since becoming president. Can his habit be explained by his "sky-high extroversion?"
Nixon and Daniel Patrick Moynihan

When “Welfare Reform” Meant Expanding Benefits

50 years ago, Republican politicians proposed, and sometimes won, welfare reform programs that were actually more comprehensive.
Franz Ferdinand assassination

Does Political Violence Generate Real Change?

U.S. law prohibits American leaders from assassinating their counterparts in other nations. But targeted assassination has long been a part of history.