Essays Archive - Page 108 of 131

Can Democracy Be Established Undemocratically?

The Ethical and Political Dilemmas of the Czechoslovak Velvet Revolution

November 29, 2019 • by Muriel Blaive

November 17th, 2019 was the thirtieth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia. This revolution, marvelous though it was, and its aftermath, I believe, demonstrates that creating a mature democracy out of thin air is exceedingly difficult, if not impossible. The apparent success of the revolution hid flaws that seemed ...

Can Democracy Be Established Undemocratically?

Activism

Food for Thought

Five Ways New York Is Ready to Increase Organic Recycling

November 27, 2019 • by Justin Wood

The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) held a public hearing on November 20th for a newly proposed organic waste recycling rule. It would increase the number of restaurants, stores, and other businesses required to source-separate organic waste for composting or other environmentally acceptable disposal. Compared to cities like San Francisco and Seattle, which ...

History

This Mess of Troubled Times

Has 1989 vanished beneath a mountain of interpretation and reflection?

November 26, 2019 • by Karl Schlögel

The processes set in motion by the disintegration of the socialist economy in eastern Europe eluded all analytical frameworks. It was a time of ‘wild thinking’, in which received ideas were reconsidered and values re-assessed. We are still living through this troubled era, writes the historian of the Soviet Union ...

Putting Yourself On the Line: Talking Social Justice With Douglas White and Cidra Sebastien

Excerpt from episode 2 of Exiles on 12th Street, “The Fire This Time”

November 26, 2019 • by Claire Potter

Arrested three times for his participation in Civil Rights protests in the nineteen-fifties, Douglas White was a founding member of Yale University’s Black Law Students Union, and was the New York State Commissioner for Human Rights and deputy commissioner of the New York Fire Department. Community organizer Cidra M. Sebastien is the associate executive director of The Brotherhood-Sister Sol, a community youth ...

Exiles on 12th Street

An Interview with Novelist Kaitlyn Greenidge

An excerpt from episode 6 of Exiles on 12th Street

November 26, 2019 • by Claire Potter

In the following excerpt from “The New Negro” episode of the Exiles on 12th Street podcast, historian and Public Seminar co-executive editor Claire Potter talks to Brooklyn-based novelist Kaitlyn Greenidge about the new generation of Black writers and artists. Kaitlyn Greenidge (KG): We are writing in a post Obama world, right? So we're writing when this thing ...

Politics

Evo Morales’ Presidency in Bolivia was Imperfect and Contested

His Removal from Power is Still a Coup

November 26, 2019 • by Ian Zuckerman

When the military intervenes to depose a democratically elected leader, it’s a coup. Let’s get that out of the way. Even if that leader’s mandate has never been accepted by segments of the population, even if the leader goes on to alienate some original supporters, even if there are large public protests against the ...

Evo Morales’ Presidency in Bolivia was Imperfect and Contested

Politics

The Prime Minister Versus History

How Boris Johnson misrepresented the United Kingdom’s past to present himself as its political heir

November 25, 2019 • by Alistair Somerville

This is an updated version of an article published at Public Seminar on July 30, 2019. Politicians like to tell stories about themselves. Leaders like to tell stories about their country. The British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, is the first since Winston Churchill with both a prominent personal story and his ...

Exiles on 12th Street

The New Negro

Exiles on 12th Street, Episode Six

November 21, 2019 • by Claire Potter

In April, we covered the Civil Rights movement and the fight against racism in “The Fire This Time.” This month, we explore the lasting impact of the Harlem Renaissance in “The New Negro,” as our guests take us on a journey through art, culture, and politics. Author A’Lelia Bundles shares ...

North America

Can Bernie Do It?

An economist takes a hard look at the Sanders platform

November 19, 2019 • by James K. Galbraith

But is he a plausible president? By that, I don't mean in comparison to Donald Trump, as implausible a president as there ever was. Sanders is a lifetime political figure with forty years of elected experience and intimate knowledge of Capitol Hill and of the federal government. But he is ...

Podcast

LIVE! With Emily Bazelon, Author of Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration

Episode 204

November 19, 2019 • by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Nicole Hemmer and Neil J. Young

In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History: Natalia recommended the work of New York Times editor Lindsay Crouse, particularly her latest feature, “I Was the Fastest Girl in America, Until I Joined Nike,” by Mary Cain.Neil shared Rebecca Makkai’s book, The Great Believers.Niki discussed Adele Peters’ Fast Company article, “How Memphis Transformed its Parks Named for Confederate Generals into ...

Activism

They Took Our Footprint Out of the Ground

An Interview with LaDonna Bravebull Allard

November 19, 2019 • by Nick Estes

This interview was conducted on January 10, 2018. --- Nick Estes: I’m here today with LaDonna Bravebull Allard, who helped found Sacred Stone Camp in April 2016. Can you introduce yourself? LaDonna Bravebull Allard: My name is LaDonna Bravebull Allard. My real name is Tamakawastewin, or “Her Good Earth Woman.” I’m an enrolled ...

History

The Whistleblowers of the My Lai Massacre

How three ordinary soldiers exposed a crime

November 19, 2019 • by Howard Jones

On March 16, 1968, about 200 American soldiers from Bravo and Charlie companies -- part of the Americal Division’s 11th Infantry Brigade -- entered the complex of South Vietnamese villages now known as My Lai, and killed 504 unarmed villagers, including elderly men, women, children, and babies. The “My Lai ...

Essays

Can Democracy Be Established Undemocratically?

The Ethical and Political Dilemmas of the Czechoslovak Velvet Revolution

Food for Thought

Five Ways New York Is Ready to Increase Organic Recycling

This Mess of Troubled Times

Has 1989 vanished beneath a mountain of interpretation and reflection?

Putting Yourself On the Line: Talking Social Justice With Douglas White and Cidra Sebastien

Excerpt from episode 2 of Exiles on 12th Street, “The Fire This Time”

An Interview with Novelist Kaitlyn Greenidge

An excerpt from episode 6 of Exiles on 12th Street

Evo Morales’ Presidency in Bolivia was Imperfect and Contested

His Removal from Power is Still a Coup

The Prime Minister Versus History

How Boris Johnson misrepresented the United Kingdom’s past to present himself as its political heir

The New Negro

Exiles on 12th Street, Episode Six

Can Bernie Do It?

An economist takes a hard look at the Sanders platform

LIVE! With Emily Bazelon, Author of Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration

Episode 204

They Took Our Footprint Out of the Ground

An Interview with LaDonna Bravebull Allard

The Whistleblowers of the My Lai Massacre

How three ordinary soldiers exposed a crime

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