The Roundup Top Ten for January 21, 2022
MLK was CRT Before there was a Name For It (Ask One of the Scholars Who Founded the Field)by Kimberlé Williams CrenshawA founder of the Critical Race Theory movement argues the movement, like Dr. King, insists that "the promise of liberation extends beyond the elimination of formal segregation and individual-level prejudice." |
Bronx Fire Shows the Perils and Politics of Home Heatingby Rebecca WrightLandlords and tenants have long fought over the benefits and costs of heat, with municipal codes serving as the referee. This month's deadly fire shows the consequences of regulatory neglect. |
Trump's NPR Interview Shows the Hazard of Giving Him Airtimeby Federico FinchelsteinThe history of fascism shows that it's a mistake for the news media to treat propagandists as honest actors. They'll exploit the free press to promote their ideas, but crush independent journalism at the first opportunity. |
Orban and Putin Don't do Debates Eitherby Ruth Ben-GhiatThe news that the Republican National Committee will boycott the Commission on Presidential Debates echoes the actions of authoritarians who reject the principle of political toleration and the very legitimacy of the opposition. |
Covidtests.gov is the Right Move, but More Needs to be Doneby David M. PerrySo far, the idea of directly distributing tests from the government to the public through the post office seems like a winner. But it remains to be seen if there is sufficient political will and resources to actually commit to cutting out middlemen and giving Americans tools to protect their health. |
The True History Behind HBO's "The Gilded Age"by Kimberly A. HamlinThe new series follows fictional characters but is well-grounded in the innovations and inequalities that characterized urban America in the late nineteenth century, thanks in large part to the work of the show's historical consultant Professor Eric Armstrong Dunbar. |
Native on TV in 2021by Liza Black"Where 20th- and early 21st-century shows used Native characters in superficial ways, perhaps to create an appearance of diversity, Reservation Dogs and Rutherford Falls center Indigenous characters, themes, and content, decolonizing conventional television narratives about Native people." |
The Salieri Rumor and Gossip in Historyby Kristin Franseen"The strange reception history of Antonio Salieri’s life and career shows how the same piece of gossip can reflect an immediate historical context but also adopt a variety of shifting (and often historically contradictory) meanings." |
The Filibuster Protects the Powerful, Not Vulnerable Minoritiesby Ben RailtonThe regular use of the filibuster in the 20th century paralleled its use as a tool to frustrate the political goals of labor and civil rights activists. |
Only Fools Replay Doomsdayby William AstoreThe author worked at NORAD's headquarters under Cheyenne Mountain at the height of the Cold War and wonders why, having emerged the nominal victors of one round of military escalation toward armageddon, American policymakers seem willing to enter another. |