Agatha Christie Deserves Better Than Kenneth Branagh’s A Haunting in Venice
An Agatha Christie murder mystery has once again been made a mess by director Kenneth Branagh, this time with A Haunting in Venice.
19645 Articles by: James Bloodworth
James Bloodworth is a writer and journalist from London.
Not Even Fortnite and Parenting Websites Are Safe From Surveillance
ShadowDragon, a company selling social media surveillance technology, is a contractor for the US government, including for ICE. These tools not only target social media but also gather data from video games and advice websites.
The United Auto Workers Strike Is Already Shaking Up the Presidential Race
The UAW strike has rocketed into the presidential race, with Trump announcing a speech to autoworkers and the union trying to use Biden’s electric vehicle subsidies to open the sector to unionization. The strike’s result will have major political implications.
Adam Curtis Talks to Jacobin About Russia, Oligarchs, and the Fall of the USSR
Acclaimed filmmaker Adam Curtis talks to us about his latest film, Russia 1985–1999: TraumaZone, the fall of the Soviet Union and the war in Ukraine, and the massive upward transfer of wealth to a tiny elite in both the East and West.
Striking or Not, United Auto Workers Members Are Getting Creative
With the UAW using a “targeted strike” against the Big Three, only a minority of workers are on strike so far. But many others are wreaking havoc on the companies by refusing overtime — forcing management to shut down some plants for this entire past weekend.
No, Sky-High Drug Prices Aren’t Funding Crucial New Medical Research
Last month, the Biden administration announced it would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices, prompting right-wing hysteria about price controls. Yet Biden’s plans don’t go far enough: the state should fund R&D to further cut costs.
The US Government Should Be Bold in Regulating AI and Data Collection
When it comes to AI and data regulation, Europe often leads the way. But the US Federal Trade Commission could spur a major shift on behalf of ordinary people against corporate interests — so long as there’s the political will.
Enough About Harvard. Let’s Talk About CUNY.
The elite media loves to obsess about the Ivy Leagues. But great public colleges like the City University of New York, once dubbed the Harvard of the proletariat, are far more relevant to most people — and infinitely better at serving the working class.
Rich Philanthropists Don’t Have the Solutions to Africa’s Hunger Crisis
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is pushing an agribusiness model on Africa that has failed. Rather than relieving the ongoing hunger crisis, it has undercut Africans’ ability to solve their own problems, free of do-gooder philanthropists.
The Left Should Draw the Right Lessons From Salvador Allende’s Rise and Fall
The great achievements of Salvador Allende’s socialist government in Chile have often been overshadowed by its brutal defeat. But the fall of his government wasn’t inevitable.
We Don’t Need George W. Bush Telling Us How to “Protect Democracy”
Earlier this month, presidential centers representing 13 former presidents put out a letter calling for Americans to “protect democracy,” in an implicit rebuke of Donald Trump. Given past presidents’ own assaults on democracy, it’s a hard pill to swallow.
Marx Engaged in Rigorous Analysis — but He Was Driven by Moral Outrage
Karl Marx was an analytically rigorous theoretician. But his 1853 article “The Duchess of Sutherland and Slavery” is a good reminder that he was also motivated by white-hot outrage about injustice.
A Montana Judge Just Ruled the State’s Constitution Bans New Fossil Fuel Plants
In Montana, young residents just won a lawsuit charging that construction of a new gas power plant was barred by the state constitution. But “pro-climate” President Joe Biden is arguing fiercely against letting the US Supreme Court hear a similar case.
Oman’s Revolutionary Movement Posed a Radical Threat to Arabia’s Royal Dictatorships
During the 1970s, Oman had the most powerful left-wing revolutionary movement in Arabia. A British-organized counter-insurgency eventually snuffed out the movement with massive violence, but its emancipatory legacy still endures in Omani society today.
Some Democrats Are Trying to Preemptively Outlaw a Billionaire Tax
Sensing its popularity, Obama’s former Supreme Court lawyer and a Louisiana Democrat are using an obscure corporate taxation case to try to make a federal wealth tax illegal before it even exists.
Jacobin Is 13 Years Old. Get or Gift a Subscription to Support Our Work.
To celebrate our 13 years of Jacobin, we’re offering $13 subscriptions with free worldwide shipping this week. There isn’t a better time to support our work.
Bernie Sanders to UAW Rally: “We Refuse to Live in an Oligarchy”
Bernie Sanders headlined a United Auto Workers rally in Detroit on the first day of the strike, declaring that “every worker, white collar, blue collar, in between, has got to stand with the UAW in your struggle for justice.” We reprint his remarks in full.
Clara Zetkin Was a Marxist Champion of the Struggle Against Women’s Oppression
Clara Zetkin was one of the leading figures in German Marxism during the early 20th century, yet her political legacy is largely forgotten today. Zetkin deserves to be remembered, especially for her advocacy of the revolutionary emancipation of women.
The Left’s Electoral Strategy Is Working. Let’s Keep Building It.
Democratic socialists have made their most significant electoral inroads in years by operating as a left-wing faction in the Democratic Party. Chris Maisano argues that we should own that strategy, and push it further.
Donald Trump Is Siding With Auto Bosses Against Workers
By attacking the United Auto Workers and mischaracterizing the stakes of the union’s contract campaign and strike, self-styled populist Donald Trump is standing with the corporate elite against workers.