World War II

V-E Day Was 75 Years Ago. How Relevant Is It Today?

V-E Day Was 75 Years Ago. How Relevant Is It Today? V-E Day Was 75 Years Ago. How Relevant Is It Today?

The dark cloud of World War II has stopped recent US leaders from seeing the world as it actually is.

May 6, 2020 / Andrew J. Bacevich

The Pandemic in Our Minds

The Pandemic in Our Minds The Pandemic in Our Minds

A classic horror movie reveals how authoritarianism and scapegoating flourish during a plague.

May 1, 2020 / Jeet Heer

John Turturro stands at a podium with microphones, playing a rabbi in The Plot Against America

Philip Roth’s Dystopia Hits Awfully Close to Home Philip Roth’s Dystopia Hits Awfully Close to Home

HBO’s adaption of The Plot Against America is set in an alternative reality with the same anxieties as our own.

Apr 10, 2020 / Jeet Heer

How the Coronavirus Is Testing Putin’s Leadership—and the System He Created

How the Coronavirus Is Testing Putin’s Leadership—and the System He Created How the Coronavirus Is Testing Putin’s Leadership—and the System He Created

Many of Russia’s official reactions are similar to those in the United States.

Apr 9, 2020 / no-paywall / Stephen F. Cohen

The Mobilization That Must Start Now

The Mobilization That Must Start Now The Mobilization That Must Start Now

With the coronavirus bearing down on our economy, we must deploy all our resources now to survive—so that one day we may thrive.

Mar 18, 2020 / Feature / James K. Galbraith

Gorbachev 1989

Citizen Gorbachev Speaks Citizen Gorbachev Speaks

If war is the consequence of a policy, then get rid of the policy.

Mar 16, 2020 / no-paywall / Mikhail S. Gorbachev

The Making of France’s Presidential System

The Making of France’s Presidential System The Making of France’s Presidential System

Focusing on the tensions between top-down reforms and bottom-up democratic discontent, Herrick Chapman’s new history tells a very different story about postwar France.

Feb 18, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Hugo Drochon

Tiki Bar

The Tiki Bar Resurgence of the Trump Era The Tiki Bar Resurgence of the Trump Era

It’s tacky and willfully inauthentic. Of course it’s popular again.

Jan 6, 2020 / Jackson Arn

South Koreans at anti-Japan rally

In a Major Shift, South Korea Defies Its Alliance With Japan In a Major Shift, South Korea Defies Its Alliance With Japan

Trade restrictions, an end to intelligence sharing, heated rhetoric—it’s all rooted in Japanese war crimes, papered over by a 1965 treaty in which Washington played a hidden hand.

Aug 27, 2019 / Tim Shorrock

Quentin Tarantino

‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ Is a Science Fiction Film ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ Is a Science Fiction Film

Far from wallowing in nostalgia, Tarantino is using alternative history to critique conventional Hollywood endings.

Aug 23, 2019 / Jeet Heer

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