Books and Ideas

The late Rev. Jesse Jackson.

In Memoriam: the Rev. Jesse Jackson (1941–2026) In Memoriam: the Rev. Jesse Jackson (1941–2026)

The civil-rights activist and founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition changed what’s possible in politics.

Mar 6, 2026 / Obituary / John Nichols

A page taken from the Merriam-Webster's Desktop Dictionary, 2016.

Can the Dictionary Keep Up? Can the Dictionary Keep Up?

In Stefan Fatsis’s capacious, and at times score-settling, personal history of the reference book, he reveals what the dictionary can still tell us about language in modern life

Mar 4, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Lora Kelley

An internet cafe in Beijing, 2007.

Why We Misunderstand the Chinese Internet Why We Misunderstand the Chinese Internet

Journalist Yi-Ling Liu’s The Wall Dancers traces how the Internet affected daily life in China, showing how similar this corner of the Web is to the one experienced in the West.

Mar 3, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Rebecca Liu

Jesse Jackson, 1983.

Jesse Jackson Reshaped the Democratic Party Jesse Jackson Reshaped the Democratic Party

The candidate may have started as a long-shot contender, but The Nation always took him—and his impact on political history—seriously.

Feb 27, 2026 / Richard Kreitner

A fast-food restaurant in France, 1982.

Has Contemporary Fiction Ignored the Working Class? Has Contemporary Fiction Ignored the Working Class?

Claire Baglin’s bracing On the Clock gives its readers a close look at work behind the fry station, and in the process asks what experiences are missing from mainstream letters.

Feb 26, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Rachel Vorona Cote

Werner Herzog, 1984.

Werner Herzog Between Fact and Fiction Werner Herzog Between Fact and Fiction

The German auteur’s recent book presents a strange, idiosyncratic vision of the concept of “truth,” one that defines how he sees the world and his art.

Feb 25, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Lowry Pressly

Joshua Shaw’s “The Deluge towards Its Close,” 1813.

Do Humans Really Understand the World’s Disorderly Rivers?  Do Humans Really Understand the World’s Disorderly Rivers? 

In James C. Scott’s last book, In Praise of Floods, he questions the limits of human hegemony and our misplaced sense that we have any control over the Earth’s depleted watershed....

Feb 24, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Sherrell

Nation Poetry

Tímarit Tímarit

Feb 23, 2026 / Poems / Fríða Ísberg

The Long Shadow of the “Jewish Question”

The Long Shadow of the “Jewish Question” The Long Shadow of the “Jewish Question”

After the Holocaust, Israel was hailed as the solution to an essentially antisemitic debate. Now, as another genocide unfolds—in Gaza—Jews are once again questioning the question....

Feb 16, 2026 / Feature / Joseph Dana

The Repeating History of US Intervention in Venezuela

The Repeating History of US Intervention in Venezuela The Repeating History of US Intervention in Venezuela

A look back at The Nation’s 130 years of articles about Venezuela reveals that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Feb 13, 2026 / Column / Richard Kreitner

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