History

George Packer’s Liberal Imagination

George Packer’s Liberal Imagination George Packer’s Liberal Imagination

What happens when liberalism’s crisis is made into a fable? 

Mar 9, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Bessner

The late Rev. Jesse Jackson.

In Memoriam: the Rev. Jesse Jackson (1941–2026) In Memoriam: the Rev. Jesse Jackson (1941–2026)

The civil-rights activist and founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition changed what’s possible in politics.

Mar 6, 2026 / Obituary / John Nichols

A page taken from the Merriam-Webster's Desktop Dictionary, 2016.

Can the Dictionary Keep Up? Can the Dictionary Keep Up?

In Stefan Fatsis’s capacious, and at times score-settling, personal history of the reference book, he reveals what the dictionary can still tell us about language in modern life

Mar 4, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Lora Kelley

Jesse Jackson, 1983.

Jesse Jackson Reshaped the Democratic Party Jesse Jackson Reshaped the Democratic Party

The candidate may have started as a long-shot contender, but The Nation always took him—and his impact on political history—seriously.

Feb 27, 2026 / Richard Kreitner

Joshua Shaw’s “The Deluge towards Its Close,” 1813.

Do Humans Really Understand the World’s Disorderly Rivers?  Do Humans Really Understand the World’s Disorderly Rivers? 

In James C. Scott’s last book, In Praise of Floods, he questions the limits of human hegemony and our misplaced sense that we have any control over the Earth’s depleted watershed....

Feb 24, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Sherrell

The Long Shadow of the “Jewish Question”

The Long Shadow of the “Jewish Question” The Long Shadow of the “Jewish Question”

After the Holocaust, Israel was hailed as the solution to an essentially antisemitic debate. Now, as another genocide unfolds—in Gaza—Jews are once again questioning the question....

Feb 16, 2026 / Feature / Joseph Dana

The Repeating History of US Intervention in Venezuela

The Repeating History of US Intervention in Venezuela The Repeating History of US Intervention in Venezuela

A look back at The Nation’s 130 years of articles about Venezuela reveals that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Feb 13, 2026 / Column / Richard Kreitner

How Capitalism Transformed the Natural World

How Capitalism Transformed the Natural World How Capitalism Transformed the Natural World

In her new book, Alyssa Battistoni explores how nature came to be treated as a supposedly cost-free supplement of capital accumulation.

Feb 11, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Kohei Saito

Sir William Gell’s “The Removal of the Sculptures from the Pediments of the Parthenon by Lord Elgin,” 1801.

Why We’re Still Fighting Over Elgin’s Marbles Why We’re Still Fighting Over Elgin’s Marbles

In A.E. Stallings’s Frieze Frame, the poet retells the many conflicts, political and cultural, the ransacked portion of the Parthenon has inspired.

Feb 5, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Nicolas Liney

The skyline of Madrid seen during twilight from the roof top of the Riu Plaza Madrid, 2019.

How Immigration Transformed Europe’s Most Conservative Capital How Immigration Transformed Europe’s Most Conservative Capital

Madrid has changed greatly since 1975, at once opening itself to immigrants from Latin America while also doubling down on conservative politics.

Jan 28, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Sebastiaan Faber and Bécquer Seguín

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