“At times of crisis, the most patriotic act of all is the unyielding defense of civil liberties and the right to dissent,” wrote celebrated historian Eric Foner days after the 9/11 attacks. As national security became an obsession in Washington and the mainstream media enlisted in the Bush administration’s war, the need for an independent, critical press seemed more urgent than ever. The enduring concerns of The Nation took on a new relevance. Ten years later, the events of 9/11 continue to reverberate, with the killing of Osama bin Laden and the Obama administration’s ongoing pursuit of the Bush-era national security agenda. In this context, leading Nation writers and thinkers engaged in a conversation on September 9, 2011 at the New School in Manhattan about what has changed in the United States since 9/11.

Featuring Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher of The Nation; Melissa Harris-Perry, Professor of Political Science at Tulane University; Eric Foner, DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University; and Christopher Hayes, associate editor for The Nation. Moderated by John Nichols, Washington correspondent for The Nation. Co-sponsored by the Leonard and Louise Riggio Writing and Democracy Initiative at The New School.