RIP to Gene Hackman, the Everyman Actor
Legendary actor Gene Hackman, who was found dead this week at 95, brought a tough, working-class attitude to his mesmerizing performances.
20395 Article(s) by: Jonathan Sas
Jonathan Sas has worked in senior policy and political roles in government, think tanks, and the labor movement. He is an honorary witness to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. His writing has appeared in the Toronto Star, National Post, the Tyee, and Maisonneuve.
The German Election in Ten Graphs
On Sunday, Germany voted in a federal election that saw massive growth in support for the far-right AfD, resurgence of the socialist Die Linke party, and more losses of working-class votes for the Social Democrats. These ten graphs explain what happened.
The Economist Who Exposed the Hypocrisy of the Free Market
The economist Alice Amsden’s work unmasked the dirty secret underlying capitalist development: it relied on states breaking all the rules of the free market. But her work also showed that industrialization required corporate discipline, not welfare.
Donald Trump Is a Gift to Canada’s Liberal Party
Donald Trump’s threats of steep tariffs and talk of annexing Canada have sparked an upsurge in Canadian patriotism — and a boost in support for the Liberals. With an election sometime this year, party leaders are racing to define their stance on Trump.
With Diabolical Lies, Pop Culture Discourse Breaks Left
A new female-coded pop culture podcast called Diabolical Lies answers the age-old question: Is it possible to have opinions about both Chappell Roan and Friedrich Engels?
Eric Adams vs. the Rule of Law
Even as part of a mayoralty characterized by attacking public services, scapegoating of migrants, and raising housing costs, New York City mayor Eric Adams’s pandering to Donald Trump in an effort to escape federal corruption charges is particularly brazen.
Google Is Jacking Up Its Prices
Google is jacking up the monthly price for its cloud-based software. If all users paid that standard increase, it would mean an additional $7.2 billion in monthly revenue for the company.
Germany’s Next Government Could Be Even Worse on Palestine
Sunday’s German election brought victory for Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats. Despite the fragile cease-fire in Gaza, the incoming government threatens even sharper repression against the pro-Palestinian movement.
The Eclipse of USAID by Digital Imperialism
In an era when power is increasingly defined by digital infrastructure and platform dominance, USAID was already losing relevance to the high-tech actors shaping US foreign influence, even before the recent attacks by the Trump administration.
The Dark Indonesia Protests Are Challenging Prabowo’s Rule
Indonesia’s right-wing president Prabowo was elected with a commanding share of the youth vote in 2024. This year, a new youth protest movement is challenging Prabowo’s spending cuts and the role of the military in Indonesian politics.
Donald Trump Is Walking Back Pipeline Safety Regulations
The 2020 rupture of a carbon dioxide pipeline in a Mississippi village that poisoned dozens of people inspired a slate of new safety regulations, proposed in the last week of Joe Biden’s presidency. Donald Trump has withdrawn the proposed rules.
Believing in the Age of Trump
In his new book, Believe, Ross Douthat contends that religious faith provides necessary social cohesion and personal meaning. But can a broad appeal to belief survive in an era of increasingly sectarian and politicized faith?
US Pop Culture Has Long Raged Against Health Care Injustice
The memes celebrating Luigi Mangione are far from novel: they represent a long tradition of American popular culture voicing outrage at the injustices of our health care system, from Dog Day Afternoon to Star Trek: Voyager to John Q.
USPS Privatization Would Cost Rural America More Than Mail
Rural postal workers don’t just deliver mail. They put out fires, help elderly people who’ve fallen, and ensure veterans receive medication during storms. Trump’s proposed USPS privatization threatens these care networks in areas already lacking services.
A Revolution in Everyday Life
In the decades after 1945, European leftists disillusioned with workers’ parties created new protest movements and countercultures. Their efforts were boundlessly creative — but also reflected an erosion of the mass politics that had sustained the old left.
Meet Trump’s Favorite “Woke” Payday Lender
The Trump administration wages a ruthless war on “wokeness” when it means gutting social programs. But when it means suing a predatory firm that acts woke while ripping working-class Americans off, Trump suddenly loses interest.
Poland’s Milk Bars Live On After Communism
In Poland, postwar Communist rule has few defenders. But state-subsidized eateries known as milk bars, designed under state socialism to free people from “kitchen slavery,” continue to thrive today.
Marx on Trump’s Abuses of Power
Karl Marx saw how presidential systems with strong executives threatened to eclipse the democratic power of the legislature.
A New Saudi Basketball League Reflects Sports’ Soulless Turn
Saudi Arabia’s plan to start its own international basketball league is the latest sign of the game’s drift into a world in which money, held by increasingly anonymous elites, has distanced sport from fans and communities.
QAnon Hasn’t Disappeared. It’s in America’s Bloodstream.
The QAnon conspiracy theory that Donald Trump was fighting a satanic pedophile cabal may have faded from national discourse, but its ideology, networks, and practices have become integrated into American politics.