Radio is a medium with extraordinary propagandistic power — seductively transmitting ideas into the quotidian intimacy of one’s home and life. That power and potential was recognized early on by the state following the First World World. It was also appreciated by opponents of war, including the anarchist pacifists who founded KPFA Radio and the … Continued
The idea that we and the world around us vibrate with flows of energy has deep roots in North America. Historian Jackson Lears argues that vitalism or animism has played a crucial but contradictory role in U.S. politics and society. On the one hand, it has been fueled by capitalism and the almost magical function … Continued
While the United States is in the throes of upheaval over police murders, we take a historical look back at another time of great social ferment: a century ago, when the workers of Seattle shut that city down. The first major general strike in the United States coincided with the last widespread pandemic — the … Continued
When looking back at pandemics in modern history, the 1918 Spanish influenza stands out. It took the lives of somewhere between 50 and 100 million people — and while it devastated the countries of the Global North, it took its greatest toll in the Global South. Science writer Laura Spinney reflects on the similarities — … Continued
It was an epoch-making event, buoyed by hopes of human emancipation, that still shapes our notion of revolutionary change today. The Russian Revolution, which took place a hundred years ago, was born out of war and poverty, and profoundly altered the course of the 20th century. The writer China Miéville recreates those days of revolution, … Continued
