The Blues Brothers Is a Wild Ride Through 1970s Chicago
The Blues Brothers is still a rollicking good time more than 40 years later, offering an exuberant look at 1970s Chicago in all its rough, working-class charm.
21049 Article(s) by: Alex Press
Elly Schlein Will Tilt Italy’s Democrats to the Left, but Don’t Expect Revolutionary Change
Italy’s Democratic primary handed victory to Elly Schlein, the most left-wing leader in the party’s history. Her success relied on mobilizing nonmembers — but she faces an uphill struggle overhauling a party long in thrall to corporate liberalism.
New Zealand Is Escalating Tensions Between China and the West
In recent years, New Zealand has massively increased its defense budget and strengthened military ties to the US to ward off what hawks see as Chinese aggression. These moves have only worsened relations between the West and China.
To Renew Working-Class Resistance, the Labor Movement Must Be Democratized
Charting a course toward labor’s revival requires a socialist political project suited to the current historical and social moment. To build this renewed working-class politics, the labor movement must be democratized.
Amazon Increasingly Sets the Conditions of Global Commerce That Everyone Else Operates In
A new report on Amazon’s third-party buyers argues that, rather than merely helping or hurting small businesses, the company has reshaped them in its own image, enlisting them as agents in its global expansion.
The Latest Bout of Inflation Doom-Mongering Doesn’t Add Up
Last week’s inflation data prompted an outpouring of alarmism and calls for the Fed to squeeze the economy even harder. Here’s why the doomsaying is wrong.
Even Right-Wing Think Tanks Are Finding High Support for Socialism
Poll after poll after poll keeps showing high levels of support for socialism in the United States and Canada — even when it’s conservatives doing the polling.
Iowa Republicans Want to Push Children Into the Workforce
The US’s miserly welfare state is known for forcing people to work rather than shielding them from the most exploitative jobs. And in Iowa, GOP lawmakers are taking the Dickensian cruelty further: they’re considering loosening restrictions on child labor.
Karl Kautsky Wrote Some Classic Works of Marxist History
The German Marxist thinker Karl Kautsky uncovered the radical history of Christianity, from the early years of the Church to the Reformation and the German Peasant War. His pioneering work in Marxist historiography deserves to be remembered today.
Kathy Hochul Says She’s for Safer Railroads — Right After Vetoing a Rail-Safety Law
In the wake of the East Palestine derailment, New York governor Kathy Hochul is calling for stricter federal regulations on hazmat trains. But last December, Hochul vetoed a proposed state law to improve rail safety by requiring minimum two-person train crews.
Turkey’s Earthquake Disaster Is a Story of Corporate Greed
The earthquake that struck Turkey last month was a natural disaster, but the staggering death toll is the result of construction firms dodging building safety regulations in pursuit of profit.
Brandon Johnson Is Heading to Chicago’s Mayoral Runoff as a Champion of the Working Class
The results of last night’s Chicago mayor election were stunning: former Chicago Teachers Union organizer Brandon Johnson advanced to an April runoff against neoliberal architect Paul Vallas — pitting working-class power against austerity.
Saint Omer Has Secured Alice Diop’s Place as One of France’s Best Filmmakers
Alice Diop made her name making subversive documentaries about multicultural working-class France. Her latest film, Saint Omer, fictionalizes a trial that led to a national scandal: a Senegalese-born woman who claimed witchcraft led her to murder her child.
Railroad Industry Lobbyists Are Paying Politico to Tout Train Safety
The rail industry’s top lobbying group is paying Politico to convince the public that railroad companies are committed to public safety — at the same time the railroad industry is actually fighting new safety rules.
Americans Are Struggling With Inflation. Corporations Are Not.
Whether eggs, flour, or baby formula, the household goods that have seen some of the steepest price increases and majorly squeezed average Americans have also made their manufacturers incredible amounts of profit.
No One Should Have to Spend Most of Their Income on Rent
Renting a one-bedroom apartment in Lisbon costs a massive 63% of the average resident’s wage. Faced with one of Europe’s worst housing markets, Portugal’s government has proposed to subsidize rents — but critics say it’s another handout to landlords.
Canada’s Paper of Record Is Ignoring Ottawa’s Backing of Right-Wing Coups
The Globe and Mail’s new revelations about socialist poet Pablo Neruda’s death after the 1973 coup in Chile carefully omitted any reference to Ottawa’s complicity in the repression. But in Chile and around the world, Canada has long helped undermine democracy.
Rupert Murdoch’s Press Empire Is a Threat to Democracy
On both sides of the Atlantic, Rupert Murdoch’s news empire is built on a hate-for-profit business model — engaging in migrant bashing, election denial, and anti-LGBTQ hysteria to drive ratings and make him and his hosts rich.
Audiences Crave Gruesome Black Comedy. Cocaine Bear Delivers.
Cocaine Bear, a pretty mediocre black comedy about a bear that goes on a cocaine-fueled rampage in 1980s Georgia, is wildly successful with critics and audiences alike. It’s testament to a real craving for dark, gruesome, off-the-chain laughs right now.
Former Senator Pat Toomey Has Walked Through the Revolving Door of Politics and Finance
Following a career in the Senate championing private equity, Pennsylvania Republican Pat Toomey has left office to join the board of a private equity giant in yet another instance of the cozy relationship between Washington and the finance industry.