April 25-May 2, 2016 Issue

Feature

Is Normalization With Cuba Irreversible?

That was one of Obama’s goals in his recent trip—and he made huge progress, charming the Cuban public and establishing a rapport with Raúl Castro.
Peter Kornbluh
We’ve Had 1 Black Woman Senator in 227 Years. Donna Edwards Is Running to Change That.

The progressive congresswoman’s personal story and reputation as a fighter has her surging in Maryland.
Joan Walsh
Will This New Book Change the National Debate on Poverty?

Matthew Desmond’s Evicted, now a national bestseller, has exposed the calamitous effects of mass displacement caused by the lack of affordable housing.
Eyal Press

Editorial

Good News on Climate Change… and Bad News

Global emissions may have peaked—but temperatures are rising at record speed, threatening a massive sea-level rise that could destroy major cities by 2100.
Mark Hertsgaard
Seeking an Upset, Sanders Campaign Searches for Votes in Pennsylvania’s Lost Communities

Much of the state has been battered by the trade deals Sanders vigorously opposes.
D.D. Guttenplan
Asking for a Friend: I’m Putting My Kids Through College With an Evil Job—Should I Quit?

And another questioner just can’t quit Amazon.
Liza Featherstone
Donna Edwards for Senate and Jamie Raskin for Congress

Both of these Maryland primary contenders have long records of progressive activism.
The Editors
Comix Nation: Presidential Candidates We Can All Get Behind

There are some small downsides.
Jen Sorensen
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Column

President Obama Wants Reporters to ‘Dig Deeper’

Snippy reactions to his sharp critique of the mainstream media only amplified his point.
Eric Alterman
Why Republicans Cry Political Correctness

Dressing up bigotry and authoritarianism as truth-telling is the right’s favorite talking point.

Laila Lalami
If I Knew You Were Coming, I’d’ve Baked a Cake

Calvin Trillin

Books & the Arts

‘Everybody Wants Some!!’ Has Just Enough Gravity

If you’re determined to do it, you can wring a story, some themes, and even a moral out of Richard Linklater’s new movie.
Stuart Klawans
The Cathedral at Ground Zero

Understanding the prosody of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub’s construction also requires an accounting of its extravagance.
Michael Sorkin
Hopes of Coexistence in Syria

Does Samar Yazbek’s diary of the Syrian civil war merely represent the dreams of an exile?
Frederick Deknatel
My Erasures

Rae Armantrout
Reconstruction

Amanda Jernigan
Less Is Moore

Observations is one of the great verbal works of art of the 20th century, in part because of Marianne Moore’s infectious devotion to everything small.
James Longenbach
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