Inflation Jargon Explained
Defining the terms you keep pretending to understand.
519 Articles by: Editors
Food Fights
From the earliest days of American history through the first decades of the 20th century, Americans rose up repeatedly to beat back rising food costs. They did so out of the belief that all members of the community had the right to a just price for bread.
Europe’s Breadbasket
As war rages in Ukraine, farmers have abandoned their work mid-season to take up arms against Russia. Those who stayed behind are in a race to harvest their crops before stray rockets torch their fields.
The American Right’s Joan Baez
Not every 1960s folk singer was a comrade.
Too Many Commas
Children of the Weimar Republic play with devalued banknotes, 1919. Others found use for the worthless marks as wallpaper, craft and kite material, and kindling.
Issue 46: Misery Index
Crunching the numbers on the class war.
Spring Turned to Winter
The widespread popular upheaval known as the “Arab Spring” ended one decade ago this year. Tunisia, whose Jasmine Revolution inspired many other demonstrations in 2011, is the only country to participate that still has an intact democracy. But even Tunisia now slouches back toward authoritarianism.
Tracking the Wave of Starbucks Worker Organizing
Venti cappuccino in one hand and a ballot in the other, the Starbucks organizing drive is on a roll.
The Fabric of Civilization
Taiwan leads the world in the production of semiconductor material, the basis of the microchips found in everything from cell phones to medical equipment. Washington and Beijing aren’t happy about it.
Taking Shelter Under the Price Ceiling
For decades, American governments that were far from socialist embraced extensive use of price controls during times of inflation.
New York Times Watch
The paper of record has had some amazing headline edits in recent years. Here’s a selection.
Expensive Taste
Foodways dependent on factory farming and global monocultural agriculture might be cheap in the short term, but we could pay heavily in the future.
The End of History Was a Hell of a Drug
The collapse of the Soviet bloc led to a flowering of utopian thinking among our best and brightest.
Songs About Getting By in America
Misery has inspired some great art.
The Wizard of Oz’s Greenback Conspiracy
Many of the fantastical elements of The Wizard of Oz were drawn directly from the monetary debates of the 1890s.
Making Ends Meet in the Cinematic Apocalypse
The radioactive mutants have taken the highways, and the microchips have been implanted in us, but there are still bills to pay.