Politics Archives - Page 57 of 143

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It’s The Real Economy, Stupid

Wealthy political pundits are living in an alternate reality

March 21, 2019 • by Neil Kraus

Bill Gates caused quite a stir when he recently tweeted a graphic produced by Our World in Data (a Gates Foundation-funded organization) indicating how much progress the world has made in combating poverty over the last two centuries. Critics rightly seized on Gates’s observation as well as the data and analysis, quickly dismantling the ...

Feature

“Cancel Culture,” Hobbies, and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302

Past Present Episode 171

March 19, 2019 • by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Nicole Hemmer and Neil J. Young

In this episode, Neil, Niki, and Natalia discuss “cancel culture,” the lost art of hobbies, and the tragic Ethiopian Air crash. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Young Adult literature is the latest arena for controversies over “cancel culture.” Neil recommended Jennifer Senior’s New York Times article on the perils ...

“Cancel Culture,” Hobbies, and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302

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Pulwama and the Battle of Optics

Political opportunism in the escalating standoff between India and Pakistan

March 19, 2019 • by Udeepta Chakravarty

“No universal history leads from savagery to humanitarianism, but there is one leading from the slingshot to the megaton bomb. It ends in the total menace which organized mankind poses to organized men...” Adorno’s caution against the possible realization of the barbaric principle of “mutually assured destruction” is not a triviality when ...

Democracy

Neither Debs Nor Brandeis, Or Why it is a Mistake Now to Exaggerate Differences on the Left

Defeating Trump Politically Part 8

March 18, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

In his recent Jacobin piece, “You Can Have Brandeis or You Can Have Debs,” Shawn Gude insists that it is important to be clear about who is a socialist and who is not. He maintains that Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders “draw their lineage from distinct political traditions,” and that “Warren’s ...

Neither Debs Nor Brandeis, Or Why it is a Mistake Now to Exaggerate Differences on the Left

Feature

The East in You Never Leaves

We self-censored. We followed the rules. We complied.

March 16, 2019 • by Julia Sonnevend

There is a certain type of post-Soviet anxiety that manifests itself in fear of state authorities, border controls or even doormen. The memory of 1989 may have largely faded, but the feeling of being ‘eastern’ has stayed with many – not least those who have built up lives and careers ...

Democracy

On Socialism / Against Ideology

Goodbye Gray Friday, joining Democracy Seminar 2.0

March 15, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Goldfarb

It’s frustrating. I see this clearly. I want you to see it. But you just can’t, or is it you won’t? I know my judgment goes against the grain of the prevailing social science and popular opinion. It requires a specific understanding of ideology that comes out of bitter experience, ...

Feature

The Joy of the Body: An Interview with Narcissister

The artist and performer on her new film, Narcissister Organ Player

March 15, 2019 • by Narcissister and Evangeline Riddiford Graham

Try a taste of this: a giant hot dog, as big as your body. The sausage inside wiggles enticingly, then climbs right out of its bun. Standing upright, the wiener shimmies on red high heels, tossing down feather boas of mustard and ketchup. Then the meat peels back, and a ...

The Joy of the Body: An Interview with Narcissister

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“Finding Neverland,” Luke Perry, and the United Methodist Church and LGBTQ Christians

Past Present Episode 170

March 12, 2019 • by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Nicole Hemmer and Neil J. Young

In this episode, Niki, Natalia, and Neil discuss “Leaving Neverland,” a new documentary about Michael Jackson’s alleged child abuse, the legacy of late “Beverly Hills, 90210” star Luke Perry, and the United Methodist Church’s decision to tighten its restrictions on same-sex marriage and gay clergy. Here are some links and references ...

“Finding Neverland,” Luke Perry, and the United Methodist Church and LGBTQ Christians

Blue Monday

We Must Stop Using Hyperbole that Foments Needless Anger and Division Among Progressives

Defeating Trump Politically Part 7

March 11, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

The tag line on Facebook poses the question: “Is Diane Feinstein a Bigger Climate Threat Than Trump?” The headline of the actual article in The New Republic is less curious: “Diane Feinstein is a Bigger Climate Threat Than Trump.” The actual article, and the author who wrote it, is done a great injustice ...

We Must Stop Using Hyperbole that Foments Needless Anger and Division Among Progressives

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More Denunciation of Omar, More Bullshit: Enough!

March 9, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

It’s all over the news. Ilhan Omar has done it again. This time it’s not “the Jews” she’s attacking. It is “Obama.” This headline, viral on Facebook, says it all: “Ilhan Omar Goes After Obama, Suggests He Was a Pretty Face’ Who Got Away with Murder.’” The source: a long piece at ...

Feature

Comforting Lies or Unpleasant Truths?

The job of a historian

March 9, 2019 • by Muriel Blaive

After 25 years, I am still hearing the same objections to my historical work and the same dismissive attitude because of who I am, i.e. a woman and a foreigner. And yet, very few people seem to know what history is really about. Here are ten of the misconceptions that ...

Feature

French Feminism at the Barricade

An Excerpt from “Daughters of 1968”

March 8, 2019 • by Lisa Greenwald

Daughters of 1968: Redefining French Feminism and the Women’s Liberation Movement is the story of French feminism between 1944 and 1981, when feminism played a central political role in the history of France. The key women during this epoch were often leftists committed to a materialist critique of society and were ...