Roundup

Pop Culture Roundup: This Week

by Rick Shenkman

This week ... "Bridge of Spies," Alice in Wonderland, Steinbeck, "Hamilton." 

Party Like It Is 1932

by Andrew Meyer

Donald Trump's recent assent to the idea that Muslim Americans be given special identifications is so grotesquely reminiscent of the yellow "Star of David" badges issued by the Nazi regime as to boggle the mind. The situation might be tragically laughable if Trump himself were not still gaining in the polls.

Video of the Week: The New Jim Crow Museum

Tour the Jim Crow museum with founder and curator, Dr. David Pilgrim who discusses some of the major themes of the museum. Jim Crow was not just a character or a set of "laws," it was a system that built upon itself to create and sustain a society with a racial hierarchy.

Story of the Week: The Forgotten Midwest Craze for Building Palaces Out of Grain

by Sarah Laskow

These grand buildings were meant to show off their cities’ bounty and to lure settlers to the otherwise foreboding plains.

Nuremberg lessons still fresh 70 years later

by Jack Curtis

The lessons of Nuremberg had profound ripple effects in how the world confronts the savagery of both war and genocide.

The Hidden Hard-line Side of George H.W. Bush

by Jon Meacham

We know that W. was ready to go it alone in a fight of good vs. evil. Less remembered: His father was, too.

This Isn't America's First Freakout Over Refugees

by Jesse Walker

Before anyone was afraid of ISIS terrorists disguised as Syrian refugees, Americans were afraid of Nazi agents disguised as Jewish refugees.

A proclamation against Isis, the party of death

by Simon Schama

Our citizens need an inspiring statement of just what it is we must defend, writes Simon Schama

These are the 10 political dynasties in US history that lasted longest

by Stephen Hess

The Roosevelts make the list, of course, but who the heck were the Claibornes?

The Front-Runner Fallacy

by David Greenberg

Early U.S. presidential polls have tended to be wildly off-target. There’s no reason to think this time is different.

Whether Jewish Refugees in ’30s or Syrians today, USA Falls Short of own Ideals

by Juan Cole

More than half of US governors have abruptly announced that they will not welcome Syrian refugees. Governors cannot actually tell people in America where they can live.

How the Bushes Misunderstood Cheney

by Nicholas Lemann

They didn't understand that Cheney had his own agenda.

Obama Doesn't Understand American Indian History

by Peter d’Errico

A careful reading of his recent conversation with author Marilynne Robinson on September 14, 2015, in Des Moines, Iowa, shows he has serious misconceptions.

America, the Not So Promised Land

by Tara Zahra

We conveniently forget that a third of the immigrants who came here a century ago didn’t like what they found — and went back.

The Endless Cycle of Terrorism

by Ivan Eland

In the wake of the heinous attacks on civilians in Paris, the French are now prone to repeating the same mistakes the United States made after the even more barbaric 9/11 attacks.

Paris Attack: Fall of Rome should be a warning to the West

by Niall Ferguson

Niall Ferguson warns that the West could fall -- and it could happen quickly. 

The Story Trap

by Philip Ball

We use neat stories to explain everything from sports matches to symphonies. Is it time to leave the nursery of the mind?

The real secret to Bernie Sanders’ success

by Alexander Heffner

In choosing to run as a Democrat, Sanders has clearly learned a lesson from Henry Wallace’s unsuccessful 1948 third-party presidential campaign.

What’s Behind Trump’s Wall? Or, What We Can Learn from the Know-Nothings

by Johann Neem

Know-Nothings no doubt focused on immigrants as a way to find someone to blame for America’s problems, but they appealed to many voters because they also spoke to people’s problems.

How Filipino WWII Soldiers Were Written Out of History

by Rosie Cima

From 1941-1944, hundreds of thousands of Filipino soldiers fought and died under the command of American generals against the Japanese in the Philippines, but their role has largely been erased from the history books.