The Latest
The Bartleby Strategy
Our democracy may depend on government workers, and indeed all of us, saying “I would prefer not to.”
On the Poetry of Institutional Violence
The anonymous collective BLUNT RESEARCH GROUP transmutes voices from the archive into lyric form.
To Remake the World: Slavery, Racial Capitalism, and Justice
How the history of slavery prompts us to rethink our notion of justice.
The Myth of the Muslim Country
Calling the nations subjected to the ban Muslim is sloppy, misguided, and dangerous.
Hamilton’s Choice
Hamilton presents us with the Choice of Hercules retold as a choice between two kinds of political life.
#Milosexual and the Aesthetics of Fascism
Milo Yiannopoulos was the paradoxical poster boy for the alt-right—until he wasn’t.
Foreword: Poems for Political Disaster
Introducing a special collection of poetry, published on the inauguration of Donald Trump.
The President’s House Is Empty
Opting out, as Trump has done with the White House, is a neoliberal habit. But who bears the cost?
Six Poems for Political Disaster
Trump’s inauguration featured no poetry. We fixed that.
Poems for Political Disaster
Marking a moment of rupture, summoning the collective strength found in the language of poetry.
Reagan Used MLK Day to Undermine Racial Justice
The holiday was legislated as part of a strategy to defang King of his most radical qualities while co-opting him into the ideology of colorblindness.
When W. E. B. Du Bois Was “Un-American”
At the height of the McCarthy era, he was punished for trying to keep alive a free and open debate about U.S. military, economic, and foreign policy.
What Did Cedric Robinson Mean by Racial Capitalism?
A critique that anticipated the political currents of contemporary America.
Lost Child
It is possible I’ve written all I can
about her, my friend, who once saw
my coldness, young as we were, as
might.
Get our newsletter
Vital reading on politics, ideas, and culture to your inbox
A political and literary forum, independent and nonprofit since 1975
Registered 501(c)(3) organization
Help Us Stay Paywall-Free
Become a Member