Since its inception, one of the main preoccupations of the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been black rebellion. From the early days of the Harlem Renaissance until at least J. Edgar Hoover’s death in 1972, the FBI has had a fascinated fear of African American literature. William J. Maxwell discusses how the FBI extensively surveilled … Continued
In an era of massive cuts to social services, the largesse of the wealthy seems a blessing. But what do the rich get in return for their philanthropy? Linsey McGoey argues that they receive both financial benefits and great influence over policy. She traces the history of philanthropy in the United States and discusses the … Continued
The Vietnam War came to an end in 1975. But another battle is brewing — as Obama has launched a decade of commemoration — and that is over how the war is to be remembered. Was it a noble cause that was poorly executed? Or was the war itself immoral? And when we look at … Continued
Americans are struggling economically and personal finance gurus think that’s our fault. If we could just save money from small indulgences — like lattes — and sock it away in the stock market, we could end up millionaires. So claim the likes of Suze Orman and Robert Kiyosaki. But, according to journalist Helaine Olen, such … Continued
Since its inception, one of the main preoccupations of the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been black rebellion. From the early days of the Harlem Renaissance until at least J. Edgar Hoover’s death in 1972, the FBI has had a fascinated fear of African American literature. William J. Maxwell discusses how the FBI extensively surveilled … Continued
For Americans who are concerned about the ways that big agribusiness grows our food—whether it’s the pesticides in vegetables, the ecological impact of food being shipped around the country, or the tastelessness of much mass produced food—local food production on family farms seems like a holistic alternative. But, as political scientist Margaret Gray argues, there’s … Continued
Santiago, the capital of Chile, was a hotbed of radical, non-sectarian organizing in the early 1920s, when a repressive backlash led to the death of poet José Domingo Gómez Rojas. Historian Raymond Craib tells the story of anarchists and communists, students and workers, radicals and reactionaries, the pursuing and the pursued, whose politics echo down … Continued
Every day, the police kill someone in America. But in the last several years, widespread anger about police violence had led many to take to the streets — and the prevailing model of policing, known as broken windows, seems to be in crisis. What will replace it? And how should we understand the role that … Continued
Movements like Black Lives Matter have turned a spotlight on the mass criminalization of people of color in the United States. But are we any closer to understanding why the American state locks up its residents in record numbers? Radical scholar Jordan Camp discusses working class insurgency from below—from the Watts Rebellion to the Los … Continued
In these anti-utopian times, many of us long for a place that’s free from the reach of capitalism and the repressive arm of the state. But we assume such things, even in partial form, don’t exist. Historian Andrej Grubacic discusses the spaces where people have attempted to operate outside of the state and market—and some … Continued
