January 27, 2014 Issue
Cover art by: Hale Woodruff’s mural Mutiny on the Amistad (1939), courtesy of Talladega College, Alabama
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Feature
Reading Melville in Post-9/11 America
The author's half-forgotten masterpiece, Benito Cereno, provides fascinating insight into issues of slavery, freedom, individualism—and Islamophobia.
Greg Grandin
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Melville and the Language of Denial
The events behind his story Benito Cereno are more than two centuries old, but the deceptions of racial inferiority that Melville exposes resonate today.
Toni Morrison
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How US Evangelicals Fueled the Rise of Russia’s ‘Pro-Family’ Right
An alliance is born between anti-gay, anti-abortion American groups and the Russian Orthodox Church.
Adam Federman
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What Bill de Blasio Can Learn From New York City’s Last Radical Mayor
Fiorello La Guardia also took office in a time of crisis—and he was open to new ideas and bold reforms.
D.D. Guttenplan
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Editorial
We Need Privacy Laws for the Digital Era
Updating the Fourth Amendment has been done before, to address the invention of cars, phones and GPS. It’s time to do it again.
David Cole
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How Boilerplate Contracts Strip Our Rights
Almost every day, corporations seize them without our informed consent. The consumer protection bureau should put a stop to it.
Theresa Amato
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Removing the Judge Who Ruled ‘Stop and Frisk’ Unconstitutional Is a Blow to Justice
An appeals court’s unprecedented removal of Shira Scheindlin has sent a chilling message to other federal judges.
Dan Wise
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Column
Remember ‘Benghazi’?
Wild Republican accusations have been debunked—but still they continue.
Eric Alterman
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It’s Time to End ‘Broken Windows’ Policing
The returning William Bratton should recognize that the notorious policy has exacerbated discrimination, not improved safety.
Patricia J. Williams
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Books & the Arts
Reading Melville in Post-9/11 America
The author's half-forgotten masterpiece, Benito Cereno, provides fascinating insight into issues of slavery, freedom, individualism—and Islamophobia.
Greg Grandin
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Melville and the Language of Denial
The events behind his story Benito Cereno are more than two centuries old, but the deceptions of racial inferiority that Melville exposes resonate today.
Toni Morrison
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What Bill de Blasio Can Learn From New York City’s Last Radical Mayor
Fiorello La Guardia also took office in a time of crisis—and he was open to new ideas and bold reforms.
D.D. Guttenplan
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An Artful Imbalance
Treme is an understated and deeply melancholic patchwork of American stubbornness.
Akiva Gottlieb
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Pop & Circumstance
The teenpop of the teens has proved discomfiting, like the dead brought back to life.
Joshua Clover
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Wolves’ Hall
Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, Alain Guiraudie’s Stranger by the Lake, Asghar Farhadi’s The Past
Stuart Klawans
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The stakes are higher now than ever. Get The Nation in your inbox.
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Letters
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Crossword
Puzzle No. 3309
And don’t miss Kosman and Picciotto’s crossword blog, Word Salad.
Joshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto