Books and Ideas

Walter Lippmann on the ocean liner Conte di Savoia.

Walter Lippmann’s Phantom Publics Walter Lippmann’s Phantom Publics

Arguably no American journalist wielded as much influence as Walter Lippmann did in the 20th century. But what did he do with that power?

Oct 15, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Gerald Howard

The Congressional Black Caucus’s Silent Partnership With AIPAC

The Congressional Black Caucus’s Silent Partnership With AIPAC The Congressional Black Caucus’s Silent Partnership With AIPAC

The influential group of lawmakers has damaged its reputation as “conscience of the Congress” by staying silent on the Gaza genocide.

Oct 15, 2025 / Feature / Anthony Conwright

The Man Behind the Radical Walking Tours of New York City

The Man Behind the Radical Walking Tours of New York City The Man Behind the Radical Walking Tours of New York City

Asad Dandia sued the NYPD after it spied on his family and community. Now he uses people’s history to reclaim the streets from the systems that surveilled him.

Oct 15, 2025 / Lara-Nour Walton

Secretary of defense nominee Pete Hegseth at a Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing on January 14.

Pete Hegseth’s Call to Arms Pete Hegseth’s Call to Arms

Oct 14, 2025 / Column / Calvin Trillin

Donald Trump with construction workers at the Trump Palace.

How the Capitalism of the 1980s Created Donald Trump’s Theory of the State How the Capitalism of the 1980s Created Donald Trump’s Theory of the State

The proliferation of privately held companies during the Reagan years laid the foundations for Trump’s approach to government.

Oct 14, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Kim Phillips-Fein

Nation Poetry

What We Talk About When We Talk About Cancer What We Talk About When We Talk About Cancer

Oct 14, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Jane Zwart

President-elect Donald Trump speaks to Brendan Carr, his intended pick for Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, as he attends a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on November 19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas.

We Defeated McCarthyism Before. We Can Do It Again. We Defeated McCarthyism Before. We Can Do It Again.

It’s easy to feel despair about what looks like a new age of government censorship. But being around for 160 years gives you perspective.

Oct 13, 2025 / Katrina vanden Heuvel, John Nichols for The Nation

The Triumphs and Travails of American Marxism

The Triumphs and Travails of American Marxism The Triumphs and Travails of American Marxism

Karl Marx never visited the United States, but he and his ideas left an imprint nonetheless.

Oct 13, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Robin Blackburn

Bot-Eat-Bot-World

Bot-Eat-Bot-World Bot-Eat-Bot-World

Artificial indigestion.

Oct 8, 2025 / OppArt / Brian Stauffer

Thomas Mallon’s Theory of the Diary

Thomas Mallon’s Theory of the Diary Thomas Mallon’s Theory of the Diary

The New York writer and editor’s diaries of the AIDS era presents a curious case of what we are supposed to expect from private documents that become historical sources.

Oct 7, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Sheila McClear

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