Nation in the News

Dave Zirin: How Politics Has Turned the Sports World Upside Down

Nation in the News on January 28, 2013 - 6:21 PM ET

With the the global economic crisis, the ascendance of Barack Obama and the movement for LGBT equality in sports, the relationship between sports and politics has become increasingly complex, Nation writer Dave Zirin says. Major sports outlets, however, haven’t given due time to these developments—“It’s like, if they were reporting on the revolutionary war, and all they could talk about were the type of muskets people were using.” Zirin talks with MSNBC’s Craig Melvin about his new book, Game Over: How Politics Has Turned the Sports World Upside Down.

—James Cersonsky

Katrina vanden Heuvel: Rethinking Perpetual War and How We Wage It

Nation in the News on January 28, 2013 - 3:50 PM ET

When Barack Obama spoke out against “perpetual war” in his inaugural address last week, it gave some hope that our policy of war-mongering could change—even as others pointed out that we continue to expand drone warfare and covert ops.

Sharif Abdel Kouddous: Two Years On, Nothing Much Has Changed in Egypt

Nation in the News on January 25, 2013 - 12:00 PM ET

On the second anniversary of the Egyptian revolution, people have once again gathered in squares across the country to protest continued economic inequality under President Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. Protesters have many of the same chants today as they call for bread, freedom and social justice and for the downfall of the regime, Nation contributor Sharif Abdel Kouddous told Amy Goodman on Friday’s Democracy Now! Clashes have been breaking out near Tahrir Square and in Alexandria.

—Alec Luhn

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Katrina vanden Heuvel: A Center-Left America Is Already Here

Nation in the News on January 23, 2013 - 3:15 PM ET

Barack Obama’s inaugural speech on Monday drew criticism from conservatives over what they perceived as the president’s overly liberal agenda. In an appearance on The Ed Show on Tuesday, Nation editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel lauded the speech, arguing that Obama’s defense of progressive government articulated an agenda that the majority of Americans already support.

“I think that we’ve seen a left-center emerge over these last years but that too often the media doesn’t pay attention to it,” vanden Heuvel said.

Katha Pollitt and Sarah Posner: Why the Double Standard for Abortion Rights and 'Viagra Rights'?

Nation in the News on January 23, 2013 - 12:06 PM ET

"In America, people like to think the truth lives in the middle," Nation columnist Katha Pollitt says. For abortion rights, "It has to mean less rights for her—that's the only way moderation can go." On bloggingheads.tv, Pollitt talks with author Sarah Posner about the relationship between abortion rights and religion freedom, the double standard applied to men's bodily autonomy and Todd Akin's theory of "legitimate rape."

—James Cersonsky

Jeremy Scahill: Obama's Covert Wars Contradict His Rhetoric

Nation in the News on January 22, 2013 - 5:12 PM ET

Barack Obama condemned "perpetual war" in his inaugural speech Monday, even as he continues to wage covert wars around the world. Rather than reversing trends towards secrecy and militarization that started during the Bush administration, Obama instead has expanded drone attacks, continued to employ the states secrets privilege and allowed special forces to operate in countries where we are not at war, Nation Institute fellow Jeremy Scahill told Amy Goodman Tuesday on Democracy Now!

Scahill appeared on the show with director Rick Rowley to discuss their new film at the Sundance Film Festival, Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield, in which the two report from Afghanistan, Somalia and Yemen.

Dave Zirin: Notre Dame Shows Its Cards in Defending Manti Te'o

Nation in the News on January 19, 2013 - 2:26 PM ET

“I’ve never covered a story this bizarre,” The Nation's Dave Zirin said on yesterday“s Democracy Now! “Nothing even comes close.” What really happened in the case of star Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o’s fake girlfriend? Whatever turns out to be the truth here, the university’s response, Zirin says, is a scandal of its own.

—James Cersonsky

Lawrence Lessig: Aaron Swartz's Life and Legacy

Nation in the News on January 15, 2013 - 7:02 PM ET

Aaron Swartz was a pioneering cyberactivist and programmer who took his life on January 11. Nation contributor Lawrence Lessig, a Harvard professor and friend of Swartz, discusses the circumstances of Swartz's legal troubles and suicide on Democracy Now! "In a world where the architects of the financial crisis dine regularly at the White House," Lessig says, "it's ridiculous to think Aaron Schwartz was a felon."

—James Cersonsky

Katrina vanden Heuvel: Assault Weapons Ban Should Not Be a Partisan Issue

Nation in the News on January 15, 2013 - 2:12 PM ET

When Barack Obama publicly addresses Joe Biden’s gun control proposals this week, he should support a ban on assault weapons, Nation editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel said on Current TV’s War Room. Many mayors and law enforcement officials are pulling for a gun safety package, including such a ban.

“This is not a progressive issue, this is a sanity issue,” vanden Heuvel told host Jennifer Granholm.

Kudos to Ilyse Hogue

Nation in the News on January 14, 2013 - 5:44 PM ET

We’re delighted to congratulate Nation blogger Ilyse Hogue on her appointment as the new president of NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Hogue is the co-founder of Friends of Democracy Super PAC, a group focused on campaign finance reform, and formerly served as communications and political advocacy director for MoveOn.org. She is also a former senior adviser to Media Matters for America, the non-profit progressive media watchdog.

“I’m delighted at the news of Ilyse’s appointment,” says The Nation’s Editor and Publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel. “I can think of few organizations as critical to the rights of so many people as NARAL and I can think of very few individuals with the passion, strategic savvy, tenacity and vision of Ilyse. I think it’s a match made in secular heaven and I’m excited to watch as Ilyse takes this invaluable group into the next generation.”