Anders Walker— The recent opening of a lynching memorial in Montgomery, Alabama underscores the role that violence played in upholding racial segregation, or Jim Crow. From the 1870s through the 1950s, even the slightest challenge to white supremacy could spark a violent, terrifying backlash. And yet, the actual incidence of
James Kirchick— As you read this, Europe is undergoing convulsions greater than anything it has experienced in decades. Just five years after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, the European Union, one of the most ambitious political projects in history, is crumbling. Threatening its very existence is the convergence of several
Cybersecurity expert and former Google privacy analyst Susan Landau on the increasing risks of not securing our data and devices and the threat from outside entities such as Russia and North Korea. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Soundcloud | Spotify
We recently had the great pleasure of interviewing Barbara Haskell, American art historian and curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art. She curated the current exhibition, Grant Wood: American Gothic and Other Fables, and edited the accompanying book. Yale University Press: Grant Wood hasn’t had a major exhibition in
A hero to the right, a foe to the left, Antonin Scalia was one of the most influential Supreme Court justices to ever serve. Richard Hasen discusses Scalia’s legacy. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Soundcloud | Spotify
Susan Dunn— In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt SUGGESTED a two-year experiment: he proposed moving the date of Thanksgiving up one week from the customary last Thursday in November. The point was to help businesses and the economy by extending the lucrative shopping season between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Most states agreed
Class in America, often ignored, has shaped the country from the very beginning. We take a look at the changing role of class and how it has led us to where we are today. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Soundcloud
Brian Fagan— There really is something to Indiana Jones, except that it’s all wrong. It’s rumored that Jones was an amalgam of several early twentieth century archaeologists, but Lucas Films is firmly mum on the subject. The history of archaeology over the past century-and-a-half is indeed replete with bold exploits
Scott A. Shane— We Americans aren’t creating new businesses with employees at the rate we once did. The formation of new employers has fallen below its replacement rate and many policymakers and pundits have become worried. Lesser entrepreneurship would mean a more rigid economy, less able to respond to shocks.
Terry Eagleton— Over half a century ago, in an excellent little book entitled Communications, Raymond Williams outlined a socialist plan for the arts and media which rejected state control of its content on the one hand and the sovereignty of the profit motive on the other. Instead, the active contributors