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Trumpism Was Born in the ’90s

Clintonian centrism allowed the radical right to incubate.

Jeet Heer

How the Third Way Made Neoliberal Politics Seem Inevitable

An overhyped new paradigm proved to be a slogan without a movement.

Lily Geismer

Lessons on Resistance From a Child of the First Climate-Change Generation

No one sang me a lullaby about the future—and we shouldn’t do that for this generation of kids, either. They need the truth to start to prepare for the changes that are coming.

Mary Annaïse Heglar

How Sister Souljah Went From Radical Activist to Scapegoat to Blockbuster Novelist

After Bill Clinton used her to catapult himself to the presidency, the activist Souljah was sidelined. But the novelist Souljah continued to produce work that spoke to millions.

Dani McClain

Reading Judith Butler’s “Gender Trouble” in the Age of Ron DeSantis

More than 30 years after it was published, the seminal queer theory text still has some things to say.

Naomi Gordon-Loebl

America Online: A Cautionary Tale

On the rise and fall of the quintessential ’90s online service provider—and a warning about today’s social-media giants.

Joanne McNeil

What the West Gets Wrong About the Rwandan Genocide

The mass killings haunt US foreign policy and distort how we understand ethnic violence.

Jina Moore

Democrats Got Tough on Crime. Now There’s a Crisis of Aging Behind Bars.

California and New York legislators are trying to undo the damage caused since the 1994 Crime Bill. But elder parole isn’t working as hoped.

Victoria Law

How Food Became a Weapon in the Right’s Culture Wars

First came the politics of right-wing grievance. Then came the new foodie culture. Together, they combined to create one toxic food fight.

Brent Cunningham

The Birth of a New Brand of Exercise Fetish

From Bikram yoga to Tae Bo, the 1990s exploded with exoticized consumer fitness products.

Natalia Mehlman Petrzela

House Music is Still the Sound of the Future

As raves took over the world, American electronic music kept growing in the places it began.

Hubert Adjei-Kontoh

How the Left Was Lost in the 1990s—but Found Its Way Again

In the 1990s, the left was embattled and diminished. But it kept the flame burning just enough for a new generation to come along and give it oxygen.

Naomi Klein

Before Taylor Swift, Pearl Jam Knew Ticketmaster’s Monopoly Power All Too Well

In 1994, Pearl Jam tried to end Ticketmaster’s dominance. Can Taylor Swift fans do what the grunge band couldn’t?

Mike Konczal

The 1990s Were Meant to Be the End of History—Instead They Birthed the Future

Welcome to The Nation’s ’90s issue, a heady romp through the decade that set the stage for the present moment.

Lizzy Ratner, Regina Mahone, Ludwig Hurtado and Alana Pockros

Pandemic Year 3: Who’s Got the Power?

Has public health failed us? Or have we failed public health?

Gregg Gonsalves

Larry Krasner on What Will Actually Reduce Crime

A conversation with the Philadelphia district attorney about violence, elections, and the Republican Party.

Laura Flanders

Democrats Dodged a Bullet in the Midterms, but the Culture War Is Far From Won

A functioning democracy requires the consent, if not the votes, of a good deal more than half the country.

David Bromwich

Women Are Half the Population, Not a Special Interest Group

Democrats do themselves no favors when they pretend “women’s issues” are a niche category of human affairs.

Alexis Grenell

Winners

Calvin Trillin

Congo: Curriculum Vitae (excerpt)

Alain Mabanckou

Were We All Wrong About “Tár”?

What made the movie both striking and dubious was somewhat overlooked in the initial critical fervor.

Phoebe Chen

The Radical Internationalism of the Spanish Civil War

A new graphic history charts the exploits of those Americans serving in the war’s International Brigades.

Bill Fletcher Jr.

Nell Zink’s California

There is Hollywood, there are lights, but only the rich are allowed to enjoy them.

Alana Pockros

The Rise and Fall of the Mall

Alexandra Lange’s Meet Me by the Fountain recovers the forgotten past and the still hopeful future of the American shopping mall.

Melvin Backman