Frances Perkins: Architect of the New Deal
She designed Social Security and public works programs that helped bring millions out of poverty. Her work has been largely forgotten.
Abolitionist “Wide Awakes” Were Woke Before “Woke”
“Now the old men are folding their arms and going to sleep,” said William H. Seward while campaigning for Lincoln, “and the young men are Wide Awake.”
The Sinatra Movie Some Blamed for JFK’s Death
In the 1950s, Frank Sinatra starred in Suddenly, a movie that happens to depict a plot against the President.
Bipartisan Forever Wars
A critical analysis of both political parties is necessary to understand how the US has created its informal empire—and to envision a different future.
Paul Krugman: Everything Is Political
An interview with the Nobel prize-winning economist on what to do about the “zombie ideas” that animate contemporary political discourse.
Who Survives a Political Scandal?
For a public figure, a scandal is a predictable hazard of the trade. What's less predictable, however, is who survives one.
Lawrence Lessig: How to Repair Our Democracy
Law professor and one-time presidential hopeful Lawrence Lessig on campaign finance, gerrymandering, and the electoral college.
A Nation in Decline, as Always
What does it really mean for a nation to be “in decline?” And why does it make for such appealing political rhetoric?
America, Where the Dogs Don’t Bark and the Birds Don’t Sing
The Comte de Buffon's thirty-six volume Natural History claimed that America was a land of degeneracy. That enraged Thomas Jefferson.
Talk about This, Not That
Looking to avoid politics at the holiday dinner table? Food trivia, ground-up mummy pigment, and snake jaws ought to do the trick.