Police and Law Enforcement

Police in Baltimore, Maryland, 2015.

What Is Policing For? What Is Policing For?

Sociologist Michael Sierra-Arévalo’s recent book explains how an obsession with violence has defined the police’s purpose and worldview.

Aug 12, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Michael Friedrich

Governor Newsom visits a homeless encampment on 19th Street in 2021.

Gavin Newsom Is Creating a Disaster for Unhoused People Gavin Newsom Is Creating a Disaster for Unhoused People

The governor’s order to sweep California’s encampments will please his constituents—and perpetuate the homelessness crisis.

Aug 1, 2024 / Piper French

A CCTV surveillance camera watches the Olympic crowds with a statue of the Grand Palais Olympic site in the background in Paris on July 22, 2024.

The Olympics Have Turned Paris Into a Panopticon The Olympics Have Turned Paris Into a Panopticon

The omnipresent high-tech surveillance introduced for the Games normalizes incursions on civil liberties.

Jul 31, 2024 / Jules Boykoff and Dave Zirin

Activists participate in a protest outside the White House on September 12, 2023, to urge President Joe Biden to grant clemency to Native American activist Leonard Peltier.

Will Leonard Peltier Die In Prison? Will Leonard Peltier Die In Prison?

After being denied parole yet again, one of America’s longest-serving political prisoners is running out of options.

Jul 29, 2024 / Sarah Baum

Donald Trump is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania.

In the Wake of the Trump Shooting, We Need Clarity—and Caution In the Wake of the Trump Shooting, We Need Clarity—and Caution

The best way to fend off conspiracy theories and instability is by emphasizing the need for solid facts.

Jul 13, 2024 / Jeet Heer

United States Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh poses for an official portrait at the Supreme Court building on October 7, 2022.

“Homestyle Fare”: The Supreme Court’s Weird, Ahistorical, Platonic Bribery Jurisprudence “Homestyle Fare”: The Supreme Court’s Weird, Ahistorical, Platonic Bribery Jurisprudence

The Supreme Court’s ruling in Snyder is baffling—so long as we ignore a desire by the justices to minimize the extent of their own corrupt conduct.

Jun 28, 2024 / Zephyr Teachout

NYPD officers arrest a Pro-Palestine protester during a rally at Baruch College on June 05, 2024 in New York City.

Muslim Women Are Having Their Hijabs Torn Off by Police All Over America Muslim Women Are Having Their Hijabs Torn Off by Police All Over America

Women across the country are having their civil rights blatantly violated while in police custody.

Jun 24, 2024 / Saliha Bayrak

Elliott Abrams

Elliott Abrams: Convicted Liar, Defender of Dictators, Accomplice to Genocide—and Foreign Policy Wise Man Elliott Abrams: Convicted Liar, Defender of Dictators, Accomplice to Genocide—and Foreign Policy Wise Man

A career nearly as steeped in blood as Henry Kissinger’s hasn’t prevented the establishment from embracing—and whitewashing—this serial slanderer.

Jun 19, 2024 / Eric Alterman

Purdue Pharma Headquarters

American Bankruptcy Law Already Undercuts Accountability for Police Misconduct American Bankruptcy Law Already Undercuts Accountability for Police Misconduct

And the Supreme Court may be about to make the situation worse.

Jun 19, 2024 / Melissa B. Jacoby

(L) Rupert Murdoch at his annual party at Spencer House in London on June 22, 2023, and (R) Jeff Bezos at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on March 10, 2024.

Has Jeff Bezos Embraced the Rupert Murdoch Model of Leveraging Sleaze for Power? Has Jeff Bezos Embraced the Rupert Murdoch Model of Leveraging Sleaze for Power?

The Washington Post is now run by a master of squalid tabloid journalism. 

Jun 17, 2024 / Jeet Heer

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