Tuning Out the Algorithm at WFMU
New Jersey’s storied WFMU is not just another independent radio station. It’s a rejection of algorithm-driven playlists and a lasting commitment to music as a collective experience.
19214 Articles by: Frances Abele
Frances Abele CM is Distinguished Research Professor and Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy Emerita at Carleton University. She is a research fellow at the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation and the Broadbent Institute. Much of her work focuses on indigenous-Canada relations.
In Defense of Rowdy Fans
The experience of thousands of people watching soccer together is at the heart of the game. After decades of being demonized as thugs, the crowd’s absence during the pandemic revealed nothing but a void.
The Method in the Far Right’s Madness
Today’s far right manages to combine the call for economic freedom with pseudoscience about natural hierarchies of race and IQ. Historian Quinn Slobodian explains how these ideas can be fitted together.
Putting Tariffs on Your Nose to Spite Your Face
Donald Trump’s erratic tariff rollout seems likely to deepen the world’s dependence on China and scare off investment in US reindustrialization, undermining his own administration’s stated goals. There’s no art to this incoherent, self-destructive deal.
Mahmoud Khalil’s Battle Is Not Over
Yesterday an immigration judge ruled that Mahmoud Khalil can be lawfully deported for his pro-Palestinian political speech. It sets a dangerous precedent for the future of free speech in America.
Deported From Europe, Murdered by Israel
Gazan brothers Haytham and Bashar spent most of their adult lives in Europe — but after being deported, they returned to Gaza, where they were killed by an Israeli rocket. Their story shows the deadly nature of Europe’s growing anti-refugee policies.
Thailand Is Clamping Down on Critics of the Monarchy
Paul Chambers, an eminent US scholar of Thailand, has been arrested on charges of criticizing the Thai monarchy. Chambers is one of the most high-profile targets of a clampdown on dissent against the world’s richest king.
Trump’s War on Abortion Rights Faces a Resilient Movement
As the antiabortion movement pursues harsh restrictions and fetal personhood laws, abortion providers and activists are fighting back. Despite deadly state bans and attacks on medication access, reproductive health care victories offer light in the darkness.
A New Plan to Fix Mexico’s Housing Crisis
Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum wants to bring social housing back to Mexico City’s core. It may be the capital’s best shot at making affordability more than just a slogan.
Young Men Are Not Lazily Opting Out of Work
Republicans are citing a supposed epidemic of young men opting out of work as a rationale for cutting Medicaid. But the data shows that only a small percentage of young men are absent from the labor force in a long-term way.
The IP Laws That Stop Disenshittification
Laws included in trade deals protect US companies’ rent extraction schemes and stop us from fixing or improving our own devices — from phones and tractors to insulin pumps. Repealing them will save billions and hit Trump’s donor class.
Understanding the Basics of 21st-Century Finance Capitalism
Wall Street is always transforming itself, and recent years have proven no exception. Understanding those transformations is essential to challenging finance capital’s reign.
Yesterday Trump Learned That Capital Is in Charge
After stock markets plummeted in response to Donald Trump’s announcement of widespread tariffs, he suddenly announced a 90-day pause on the new policy. Capital will resist any measure that threatens profits — and that’s just what happened yesterday.
UAW President Shawn Fain on Why He Supports Tariffs
In an interview, United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain argues that the era of “free-trade” deals like NAFTA has been a disaster for the US working class and that smart tariffs can help bring back good auto jobs.
Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Are Striking at Wellesley College
For the past two weeks, non-tenure-track faculty at Wellesley College in Massachusetts have been on strike to fight for a first contract. Jacobin spoke to two members of the organizing committee who say the college is refusing to bargain in good faith.
Gustavo Petro’s Final Year
Gustavo Petro became Colombia’s first left-wing president three years ago. With a hostile Congress threatening his landmark labor reform, he’s scrambling to make sure he’s not its last.
Simon Clarke, Theorist of Capitalist Crisis
British sociologist Simon Clarke was one of the most sophisticated analysts of how and why capitalist systems descend into crisis. Clarke’s work on the contradictions of capitalism is a valuable guide as we face a new era of global economic turmoil.
Trump Gives Pentagon $1 Trillion as Medicaid Cuts Loom
The Trump administration wants to slash health care under the guise of “government efficiency.” In case you wondered how sincere that rationale is, they also want to funnel unprecedented sums to a military that can’t even pass an audit.
John le Carré Made Great Art Out of Cold War Ideology
John le Carré was one of the great postwar novelists, converting the experience of Cold War espionage into brilliant works of literature. Yet he did so without really questioning the ruling doctrines of the Western camp or Britain’s role in it.
Senegal’s Ousmane Sembène Was a True Cinematic Revolutionary
The Senegalese director Ousmane Sembène earned his reputation as the father of African cinema with a series of brilliant movies. Socialist and anti-colonial politics had a profound influence on Sembène, who was also one of Africa’s great novelists.