Jobless in America

Nation readers who have joined the ranks of the unemployed share their stories--and their suggestions of what government needs to do.

Our Readers

Alex Aronson, The Bus Project

Welcome to politics Bus Project style, where costumes are encouraged and successful activism is measured in both efficacy and, well, fun.

Onnesha Roychoudhuri

Scientists Come Out for Human Rights

After eight years of being sidelined by the Bush administration, many in notoriously apolitical professions are ready to stand up and be counted on the social and ethical implicati...

Sonia Shah

Purple Heart, Purple Haze

By honoring the psychological wounds of soldiers--not shaming them--the armed forces might give fighting men and women the respect they deserve.

Simon Maxwell Apter

‘Global Gag Rule’ Lifted

With little fanfare, Obama has reversed one of the most damaging GOP policies ever visited on developing nations, which deprived millions of women of family planning services.

Barbara Crossette

Rockefeller Drugs Laws: Ripe for Reform

New York activists who oppose the state's repressive drug laws are optimistic about the new political landscape but unsure of whether politicians will embrace the necessary radical...

Sarah Arnold

A Revolution in Spirit

The economic crisis requires a radical response--not revved-up consumerism.

Benjamin R. Barber

Obama and the Return of the Real

The path of ruling through illusion has been tried and failed. Obama must govern with a realism of the sort America has not seen for a long time.

Jonathan Schell

Hope for the Homeless?

With homeless rates at record highs, America needs a bold new housing policy.

Lizzy Ratner and Patrick Markee

A House-Poor Nation

Without significant federal action, affordable housing will become increasingly out of reach.

Adam Doster

Foreclosure Fightback

Activists demand a foreclosure freeze, renegotiated loans and a bailout for all.

Ben Ehrenreich

Hammerheads: David Mamet’s Money Plays

As David Mamet's views become more Manichaean, he's squared the jaws of his tough guys.

Alisa Solomon

Adventures in Editing: Ted Solotaroff’s ‘Commentary’ Days

An unfinished memoir by the late literary editor and critic. The first part of a two-part article.

Ted Solotaroff

Stimulating Reading

The economy of reading is rapidly collapsing. If we can bail out banks, why not the book industry?

Katha Pollitt

Clair de Lune

Timothy Donnelly