History

Jürgen Habermas in Berlin, Germany, 2018.

Jürgen Habermas Still Believes in Modernity Jürgen Habermas Still Believes in Modernity

A conversation with the German theorist about the history of Western philosophy and more.

Jul 7, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins

Left: Ford to City: Drop Dead reads front page of the New York “Daily News” for October 30, 1975. Right: Felix Rohatyn seated in front of a microphone.

The Death and Rebirth of New York City The Death and Rebirth of New York City

A new documentary about the 1975 fiscal crisis, Drop Dead City, is entertaining to watch but dangerously misleading as history—or politics.

Jun 24, 2025 / Doug Henwood

The Confederate flag is seen waving behind the monument of the victims of the Confederation Army during the American Civil War in front of the State Congress building in Columbia, South Carolina, on June 19, 2015.

The Heritage of Dylann Roof The Heritage of Dylann Roof

Ten years after the Charleston massacre, reverence for the Confederacy that Roof idolized is going strong.

Jun 17, 2025 / Elizabeth Robeson

Greater America Has Been Exporting Disunion for Decades

Greater America Has Been Exporting Disunion for Decades Greater America Has Been Exporting Disunion for Decades

So why are we still surprised when the tide of blood reaches our own shores? Some personal reflections on Marco Rubio and me—and the roots of Trump’s imperial ambitions.

Jun 16, 2025 / Feature / Viet Thanh Nguyen

These Dis-United States

These Dis-United States These Dis-United States

The country and the nation: Fifty writers and artists report on the states of our dis-union.

Jun 10, 2025 / Feature / Various Contributors

If Trump Could Make John Wayne the Head of Homeland Security, He Would

If Trump Could Make John Wayne the Head of Homeland Security, He Would If Trump Could Make John Wayne the Head of Homeland Security, He Would

Trump’s appeal stems from the way he combines restoration and revolution. His reactionary modernism may have beguiled Silicon Valley, but the rest of us should expect repression.

Jun 10, 2025 / Column / John Ganz

Our inaugural issue.

Happy 160th Anniversary to “The Nation”! Happy 160th Anniversary to “The Nation”!

Since 1865, we’ve held fast in our belief in the liberating power of simply telling people the truth.

Jun 10, 2025 / D.D. Guttenplan

Afrikaners from South Africa arrived Monday, May 12, 2025, at Dulles International Airport.

MAGA’s Bogus Civilization Myth MAGA’s Bogus Civilization Myth

The Trump administration’s rhetoric echoes the same old fantasy of racial purity that animated the 20th-century right.

Jun 9, 2025 / Column / Chris Lehmann

Quentin Skinner and the Contested History of Freedom

Quentin Skinner and the Contested History of Freedom Quentin Skinner and the Contested History of Freedom

Over a long career, Skinner has sought to reclaim the idea of republican liberty for the modern age. But his work also raises the question: free for what?

Jun 9, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Samuel Moyn

When the Red Scare Came for Jessica Mitford

When the Red Scare Came for Jessica Mitford When the Red Scare Came for Jessica Mitford

A graphic episode from Do Admit: The Mitford Sisters and Me.

Jun 2, 2025 / Feature / Mimi Pond

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