The Communist Party Helped Shape US History
A new book tells the story of American communism as an integral part of 20th-century US history, with Communists “as social critics and agents of much-needed social change.”
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A Towering Screenwriter Brought Low by McCarthyism
A new biography rescues Mary C. McCall Jr, the Screen Writers Guild’s first female president, from an unjust obscurity. McCall’s writing talents were immense. But in an era of witch hunts, her status as a labor leader made her a target.
Demi Moore’s The Substance Is Bright Pop Body Horror
The Substance, starring Demi Moore, is a bright and showy body horror film about aging and the hypersexualization of the female body. But it doesn’t go much further than illustrating at great length that there are nasty cultural attitudes toward older women.
Striking East Coast Dockworkers Just Won Big
The International Longshoremen's Association secured a considerable pay raise after a three-day strike that brought port operations to a halt. But the fight against job-killing automation continues.
Fire Country Is Brought to You by Austerity, Mass Incarceration, and Climate Change
The new series Fire Country revolves around an incarcerated California firefighter. Based on a real program, the drama is made possible by California’s budget priorities: few resources for climate protection or fire services and abundant investment in prisons.
Two NLRB Rulings Are Empowering Amazon Drivers to Organize
Two joint-employer rulings by the NLRB challenge Amazon’s strategy for dodging unionization among DSP delivery drivers. If scaled up, the recent worker organizing spurred by the rulings could present serious disruptive threats to Amazon's entire operation.
Richmond Progressive Alliance’s Lessons for Local Organizers
It doesn’t often make national headlines, but the city of Richmond, California, has been home to a successful progressive political reform project in recent years. Here are ten lessons for other municipal reformers from the Richmond Progressive Alliance.
There’s No Such Thing as a Climate Haven
Hurricane Milton and other extreme weather events imperil not only people but also the US economic system, with insurance regulators trailing behind. You may be able to escape the flood, but the financial crises that follow will affect us all.
France Wants to Make Olympics-Style Surveillance Permanent
This summer’s Paris Olympics saw an experiment in AI-assisted algorithmic video surveillance. Now French officials say they want to make it permanent, in what experts call a worrying use of invasive and even racially discriminatory technology.
Socialist Singer Barbara Dane Was a True American Radical
Refusing to sacrifice her socialist principles for commercial success, folk-blues-jazz singer Barbara Dane dedicated her life to bringing music from around the world back to where it belonged: in the hands of the people struggling to change it.
Angela Davis’s Life’s Work Is Exposing State Repression
Angela Davis became world-famous in her twenties when the FBI put her on its most wanted list. Since securing her freedom, Davis has worked for half a century to expose the practice of repression in formally democratic states like the US.
Errol Morris’s Reminder of Trump’s Sadistic Border Policy
Donald Trump’s separation of children from their families at the border was a centerpiece of his migration policy. Errol Morris’s new documentary, Separated, chronicles the cruel policy during Trump’s first term that would likely return in a second.
The Predatory Gambling Industry Is Misleading Voters
Gambling companies are convincing states to legalize sports betting with promises of tax-revenue windfalls. The benefits are often less than promised — and they come at a severe human cost.
Dear NHL, We Can’t See the Ice Through the Ads
Under the NHL’s new ad regime, the puck never crosses a line without a viewer being bombarded with a garish billboard.
American Workers Are Riding the Income Roller Coaster
Uneven and unpredictable paychecks are on the rise for American workers. Income volatility doesn’t just make it harder to plan; it makes every unexpected expense a potential crisis.
Inflation Didn’t Have to Doom Biden
Economist Isabella Weber explains in a long-form interview where the inflation surge came from and how the Biden administration struggled to take necessary measures to combat it.
H. Chandler Davis Was a Lifelong Radical and a Moral Touchstone for the Left
Chan Davis, who died last month at the age of 96, faced down McCarthyite blacklists and imprisonment to pursue a brilliant academic career. Davis knew how to change and learn from political experience, but he always remained loyal to his socialist principles.
The “Battle of Seattle,” a Quarter Century Later
Twenty-five years ago today, a broad progressive coalition of protesters blocked and eventually shut down the Seattle World Trade Organization meetings. A longtime activist-journalist reflects on the long twists and shifts made by the American left since then.
Let’s Measure the Far-Right Threat Seriously
Donald Trump’s second term could empower the organized far right much more than the first. Its current mobilizing strength suggests it’s far from ready to take over the state apparatus — but it does have opportunities to build a dangerous threat.