The Latest
People Who Report More Stress
Beating cancer should be the biggest challenge in his life, not trying to catch a cab in Manhattan. Short Story
Markets v. Lives
Claims that the cure is worse than the disease rely on a false tradeoff between human needs and the economy.
Thomas Piketty Takes On the Ideology of Inequality
Inequality, he shows, is not our destiny; it is our choice.
The Plots Against America
Alternate histories like Philip Roth’s force us to imagine a different America.
Adora
An aging AI researcher, alone with her robot companion, must make a difficult decision when the android begins to malfunction. Short Story
Step One in Fighting the COVID-19 Economic Crisis
We must act now to support families and businesses. Greatly expanding U.S. unemployment insurance is an obvious way to go—in part because the system is already up and running.
Communism Doesn’t Work
Stuck in an apartment with his ex-boyfriend, a man meets with the government agent who will decide whether the couple has really broken up. Short Story
Cannibal Acts
In the aftermath of a flu pandemic that kills most of the population, a survivor, barricaded in Alaska, remembers her life while contemplating a grisly choice. Short Story
Taxing the Superrich
For the sake of justice and democracy, we need a progressive wealth tax.
English as a Sexual Language
Garth Greenwell’s Cleanness movingly depicts the vulnerabilities of queer desire, but it also continues a long tradition of exoticizing Eastern European sexuality.
Alone Against the Virus
Decades of neoliberal austerity will make it harder to fight the pandemic. We must rebuild our social safety net and forge a New Deal for public health.
How to Mend Our Broken Electoral Process
We must institute a method of electing a president that is sensitive to the votes of Americans everywhere.
The Robots Are Coming
Rumors of thinking robots are greatly exaggerated. Still, we cannot leave decisions about even lesser AI in the hands of those who stand to profit from its use.
The Pruner’s Tale
An ancient pilgrimage route inspires a project of cooperative storytelling which pairs writers with detained immigrants, such as the Mexican horticulturalist in this story.
Courting War
Despite claims to the contrary, the Trump administration wants regime change in Iran and is risking a full-scale war in order to get it.
Remy Charlip’s Postmodernism for Kids
For him, books were instruments—things to do something with.
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