McCarthy (Joseph) Archives

Activism

Art for the Front Lines

An interview with activist-artist Susan Simensky Bietila

September 25, 2026 • by Julie Allan and Susan Simensky Bietila

A large heron flew over the shore of Lake Michigan at dusk, with cardboard wings spanning sixteen feet—the width of the four activists who held up the puppet’s structural rods. Its wings flapped up and down in the wind. In 2016, demonstrators carried the heron as they marched to celebrate ...

Labor

May Day, 2020

The United States doesn’t celebrate this workers’ holiday — but maybe we should

May 1, 2020 • by Peter Dreier

This year, the global Covid-19 pandemic will keep most workers around the world in their homes on May Day. But Americans are more aware of the plight of workers than at any time in decades. Despite the Trump administration’s incompetence and indifference in handling the virus crisis and the economic ...

Uncategorized

A Reply to Eli Zaretsky’s Reply: Between Anger and Amusement

November 16, 2015 • by Jeffrey C. Goldfarb

Dear Eli, I was surprised by the tone and substance of your response to my letter to you. I, of course expected you to take issue with my text, but didn’t expect your aggressive frontal attack. I was torn between anger and amusement. Before I explain, though, I offer you a qualified ...

Uncategorized

Climate Change and the New Synthesis

Is green the new red?

October 15, 2014 • by Zachary Sunderman

I completed my undergraduate studies at a small liberal arts college literally in the middle of a field somewhere between the bustling urban center of Cleveland and the depressed industrial ruins of my hometown, Youngstown. My alma mater was surrounded by acres of farmland, bodies of water, Amish communities, and ...