From the Editors Archives - Page 15 of 172

Democracy

Donald Trump’s Lies

Why presidential falsehoods are part of United States political history

December 8, 2020 • by Eric Alterman and Claire Potter

Do Americans think presidential lying no longer matters? Perhaps a better question, journalist and historian Eric Alterman asks in his new book, Lying in State: Why Presidents Lie—and Why Trump is Worse (Basic Books, 2020), is whether it ever mattered to voters. Following in the tradition of Isadore F. “Izzy” ...

Columnists

Joe Biden’s Masculinity Is Anything But Toxic

How republican virtue is part of manliness

December 3, 2020 • by John Stoehr

“Virtue-signaling” is the idea that people say they believe something but don’t really believe it. They’re saying it to seem impressive to people they desire to impress. Everyone does this to some degree, and everyone deserves some degree of takedown. But if anyone has a corner on the market of ...

Joe Biden’s Masculinity Is Anything But Toxic

Columnists

Can the Republican Party Move Forward After the Inauguration?

As Biden creates a cabinet that looks like America, Trump is determined to keep hold of a party that has courted White Supremacists for decades

November 25, 2020 • by Heather Cox Richardson

At about 6:00 on Monday, Emily Murphy, the Trump appointee at the head of General Services Administration who has been holding up the transition to a Biden administration, notified President-Elect Joe Biden that she recognizes his status and will release the money set aside for the transition. This should launch ...

Can the Republican Party Move Forward After the Inauguration?

Columnists

How the Constitution Stopped Trump’s Attempted Coup d’État

Federalism saved us

November 24, 2020 • by John Stoehr

The US government “ascertained” Joe Biden’s victory on Monday night. That means the President-Elect can get on with the business of building a new administration. The move came after Emily Murphy, the head of the General Services Administration, found the political cover she needed to authorize his transition team. Donald Trump has ...

How the Constitution Stopped Trump’s Attempted Coup d’État

Announcements

Decolonizing Psychology: Applications in Research & Clinical Practice

A three-session online conference presented by the department of psychology at The New School for Social Research

October 23, 2020 • by Andre Broussard

Mainstream psychology continues to privilege and promote the interests of the majority, in particular those in Western, Educated, Industrial, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) countries. The call for a decolonial turn in psychology has gathered momentum over recent years, along with greater reflection on how the field reproduces and reinforces systems ...

Decolonizing Psychology: Applications in Research & Clinical Practice

Interviews

On Fascism, Non-fascism, and Antifa

Natasha Lennard in conversation with James Miller

October 15, 2020 • by Natasha Lennard and James Miller

JM: Since you've written an entire book with the title Essays on a Non-Fascist Life, can you tell me a bit about how you chose that title, and what the term "non-fascist" means to you, in the context of those essays? We both know the appearance of the phrase in the context ...

Event

Me, the People: How Populism Transforms Democracy

An online book talk sponsored by the Democracy Seminar on Friday, October 16, 11:00-1:00 EST

October 12, 2020 • by Jeffrey C. Goldfarb and Elzbieta Matynia

Populism erodes democracy in Europe, North America, and South America. It is a complex phenomenon that has mobilized many philosophers and political thinkers for some time now. For the most part, and not without reason, thinkers see populism as more than a threat to democracy: they see it as the ...

Democracy

The Foiled Confederate Coup of 1861

An interview with historian Ted Widmer about his new book, “Lincoln on the Verge”

October 8, 2020 • by Claire Potter and Ted Widmer

_____ As Americans anxiously count down the days to November 3, 2020, President Donald Trump has been evasive about whether, should he lose, he would accept the results of the election. Commentators have rightly deplored this, arguing that the peaceful transfer of power has always been a cornerstone of American democracy. But ...

Democracy

Detroit’s Project Green Light and the “New Jim Code”

Why video surveillance and digital technology intensify racism

October 1, 2020 • by Vince Carducci

————— Over the last three and a half years, the City of Detroit has greatly expanded Project Green Light, an initiative of the Detroit Police Department (DPD), along with local businesses and other organizations, to use video surveillance and digital technology to fight crime. Since the first cameras went live in ...

Detroit’s Project Green Light and the “New Jim Code”

Columnists

Joe Biden’s Campaign Moving to Solid Ground as the Trump Team Distracts

Let’s take a closer look at what the Republicans are distracting us from, shall we?

September 22, 2020 • by Heather Cox Richardson

The idea of defunding cities is vague and it is also odd, considering how many Americans actually live in cities. The U.S. Conference of Mayors wrote to Trump on September 7 to ask him to rescind his memorandum, noting that “attacks on America’s cities are attacks on America itself. America’s ...

Joe Biden’s Campaign Moving to Solid Ground as the Trump Team Distracts

Media

Jessica Krug and Racial Identity Theft

Past Present Podcast, Episode 246

September 15, 2020 • by Nicole Hemmer, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela and Neil J. Young

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: George Washington University historian Jessica Krug has been posing as a Black woman for years, and recently outed herself online. Neil referred to Martha Sandweiss’ book, Passing Strange: A Gilded Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line. Natalia ...

Media

Lovecraft Country

Past Present, Episode 224

September 2, 2020 • by Nicole Hemmer, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela and Neil J. Young

Lovecraft Country is attracting attention for its blend of historical drama and horror. Niki discussed this hybrid genre, as explained at Vox. She also mentioned the documentary, Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror. Neil compared Lovecraft Country to Colson Whitehead’s recent novel, The Underground Railroad. Natalia referred to this ...