Public opinion

Fighting Words

By Christopher Beha,

Ever since a New York Times newsroom revolt over a controversial op-ed, American media—if not American society at large—has been engaged in another round of debate about the limits of…

When Life Gives You Lemon

From FCC complaints filed between 2016 and 2017 that allege inappropriate behavior by CNN host Don Lemon. The documents were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request and published…

Triangulation

By Thomas Chatterton Williams,

As of this writing, the United States, which has 4.2 percent of the world’s population, accounts for nearly 30 percent of total COVID-19 mortalities. Among Americans, a common response to…

Troubleshootings

From a Los Angeles Police Commission meeting held on June 2 using Zoom, a videoconferencing platform, which lasted seven hours. Richard Tefank is the executive director of the commission, Mike…

The Skinning Tree

By Jennifer Percy,

America’s redface problem onstage

A Play with No End

By Christopher Ketcham,

What the Gilets Jaunes really want

Freedom from Inspiration

By Kevin Baker,

The fight over which of our public monuments should remain where they are is as complicated as the American past they commemorate. For all the fighting over who and what…

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

By Lionel Shriver,

I have a new fear. And this one’s a doozy. I write a fortnightly column for the British barely right-of-center magazine (that’s left-of-center, in the United States) The Spectator. Having…

Donald Trump Is a Good President

By Michel Houellebecq, Translated by John Cullen,

One foreigner’s perspective

A Flag for Trump’s America

By Jeff Sharlet,

The power of strength

Forget About It

By Corey Robin,

In the uneasy months following 9/11, the Bush Administration provoked a minor controversy when it announced the name of a new office dedicated to protecting the United States from terrorism…

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