Books and Ideas

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love ‘Nation’ Readers

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love ‘Nation’ Readers How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love ‘Nation’ Readers

On a Nation cruise, the maritime adventure I usually refer to as “Lefties at Sea,” I used to take it for granted that some of the guests were troubled by my presence.

Mar 23, 2015 / Feature / Calvin Trillin

The Unconvincing Semi-Socialism of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’

The Unconvincing Semi-Socialism of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ The Unconvincing Semi-Socialism of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’

Many small towns are “backward” in a likable way, but I have never seen one so Norman-Rockwellish.

Mar 23, 2015 / Feature / James Agee

How I Got That Story

How I Got That Story How I Got That Story

“Stay to the end…and read everything”: 
Reporting the Iran/Contra scandal taught me everything 
I needed to know about covering Washington.

Mar 23, 2015 / Feature / David Corn

A Q&A With Marilynne Robinson

A Q&A With Marilynne Robinson A Q&A With Marilynne Robinson

The novelist discusses religion, history, language and the importance of moral scrutiny.

Mar 23, 2015 / Books & the Arts

The Indignant Generation

The Indignant Generation The Indignant Generation

The current crop of students has gone far to shake the label of apathy and conformity that had stuck through the 1950s.

Mar 23, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Jessica Mitford

How Saving the Environment Could Fix the Economy

How Saving the Environment Could Fix the Economy How Saving the Environment Could Fix the Economy

Why not revive New Deal policies but apply them in a green and global fashion?

Mar 23, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Mark Hertsgaard

Americans and Their Myths

Americans and Their Myths Americans and Their Myths

The country suffers from an ambivalent anguish, everyone asking, “Am I American enough?” and at the same time, “How can I escape from Americanism?”

Mar 23, 2015 / Feature / Jean-Paul Sartre

What We Can Learn From Andy Kopkind’s Energy, Edge and Radical Hope

What We Can Learn From Andy Kopkind’s Energy, Edge and Radical Hope What We Can Learn From Andy Kopkind’s Energy, Edge and Radical Hope

How to be committed without drinking the Kool-Aid—and other things Andy taught me.

Mar 23, 2015 / Feature / Maria Margaronis

The Gospel According to Wendell Berry

The Gospel According to Wendell Berry The Gospel According to Wendell Berry

To destroy a forest is an act of greater seriousness than we have yet grasped. But to destroy the earth itself is to destroy the possibility of recovery.

Mar 23, 2015 / Feature / Wendell Berry and Wen Stephenson

1995–2005: Our Enemies Cannot Defeat Us—Only We Can

1995–2005: Our Enemies Cannot Defeat Us—Only We Can 1995–2005: Our Enemies Cannot Defeat Us—Only We Can

Nation writers on sensationalist art, financial deregulation, September 11, The Sopranos, Texas, the Iraq war and reactionary conservatism.

Mar 23, 2015 / Books & the Arts / The Nation

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