The Pragmatic Roots of Biden’s Incoherence
The former vice president is a dealmaker, not a deep thinker.
Race
How Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Novel Reckons With the Past
“The Water Dancer” comes out of a powerful examination of the legacies of slavery today.
The Democrats’ Shameful Legacy on Crime
Bill Clinton isn't the only one who deserves blame for turning America into a carceral state.
Remember Trump’s Charlottesville Comments? Conservatives Don’t.
Why "Dilbert" creator Scott Adams, a Breitbart editor, and others claim the president's "very fine people" remark is a "false memory"
The Case of the “Disappearing” Poet
Why did a white poet see the success of writers of color as a signal of his own demise?
The Sound and the Silence of Toni Morrison
The Nobel laureate, who died this week, made the world bigger for all of us.
The Obscene Difficulty of Depriving a Troubled White Man of a Gun
Five years before Darryl Varnum threatened to kill Representative Frederica Wilson, police were called to his Maryland home.
America, We Need to Talk
In a rebuttal to Mitch McConnell—and possibly Joe Biden—Ta-Nehisi Coates helped House Democrats start a conversation on slavery, racism, and reparations.
Who Owns the Crusades?
A new book about the medieval holy wars exposes a crisis in the field of history.
The Audacity of Grief
On the mournful threads connecting Joe Biden’s half-century in politics
The Republicans’ Cynical Strategy to Win the Jewish Vote
They accuse Democrats of anti-Semitism while refusing to acknowledge a rise in white supremacist violence under Trump.
Jordan Peele’s “Us” Goes Down the Rabbit Hole of Identity
His sophomore effort, featuring a rampaging gang of doppelgängers, radically expands the themes of his film debut "Get Out."
The Weight of Experience
In his writing on disordered eating and body image, Kiese Laymon grapples with a legacy of disenfranchisement.
Do America’s Socialists Have a Race Problem?
Inside a raging debate that has split the country's most exciting new political movement
Is It Racist to Ban Menthol Cigarettes—or Not To?
The FDA's new proposal stirs up an old, complicated debate.
America’s Relentless Suppression of Black Voters
Republican attempts to exclude African Americans from the polls echoes efforts by Southern whites that enabled the Jim Crow era.
How Colleges Fail Young Trump Supporters
Students who back the president are afraid to speak up. Professors should encourage them to break their silence.
Whose Side Are Asian-Americans On?
A proposal to integrate New York City’s top public high schools would be a boon to black and Latinx students—and a disaster for Asians.
The French Plan to Fix Inequality—by Ignoring It
Whether in France or in the United States, school reform alone can't fix racism and poverty. But Emanuel Macron seems to think otherwise.
Crime + Punishment Examines the Scourge of Police Quotas
A new documentary tells the story of cops who have blown the whistle on the NYPD's predatory tactics.
