Roundup

Trump’s Venom Against the Media, Immigrants, “Traitors,” and More Is Nothing New

by Adam Hochschild

The parallels between 1919 and 2019. 

Historian Tim Naftali Discusses Recording Of Reagan's Racist Comments Made To Nixon

NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with historian Tim Naftali about his article in The Atlantic describing a tape President Nixon had of then-Gov. Ronald Reagan making racist remarks.

Don't just revile Amy Wax--rebut her

by Jonathan Zimmerman

Outrage does not and cannot refute what she said -- only facts can do that.

More Lore Than Law: The Dartmouth College Case And The Myth Of The Purely Private College

by John R. Thelin

The blurred line between public and private education.

When we hear populism, we think Donald Trump. But we should be thinking Elizabeth Warren.

by Gregg Cantrell

How the left can reclaim the mantle of populism that is rightly theirs.

What 'Infests' Baltimore? The Segregation History Buried in Trump's Tweets

by Paige Glotzer

In slamming Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings’s 7th District as “rodent infested,” Trump borrows from the rhetoric that first segregated the city.  

President Trump’s Baltimore tweets were racist — but he also fails to grasp what ails our cities

by Sara Patenaude

Decades of racist policies — not absentee congressmen — explain cities’ biggest struggles.

The Real Problem With Trump’s Rallies

by Kevin M. Kruse

There are a lot of similarities between the president and George Wallace of Alabama. But there’s also one big difference.

Winston Churchill Would Despise Boris Johnson

by Ian Buruma

Britain’s new leader has a sadly exaggerated sense of the importance his country will have after Brexit.

Donald Trump and Boris Johnson Rode the Same Wave Into Power. History Suggests the Parallels Won’t Stop There

by David Kaiser

The history of Anglo-American relations and how Trump and Johnson will utilize them. 

Roundup Top 10!

This week's broad sampling of opinion pieces found on the Internet, as selected by the editor of HNN.

2020 election is a test America can't afford to fail

by Nicole Hemmer

If the American system re-elects Trump, then something is deeply wrong with either our system or ourselves.

How the failure of popular politics triggered the rise of Boris Johnson

by Jesse Tumblin

Instead of solving intractable problems, public referendums simply exacerbate them.

Why disabled Americans remain second-class citizens

by David Pettinicchio

The big hole in our civil rights laws.

Lincoln Would Not Recognize His Own Party

by David W. Blight

He would see the Republicans as the antithesis of everything he fought for.

Ellis Island's history casts today's border cruelty in an even harsher light

by Megan J. Wolff

Conditions right now are dirtier, more dangerous, and significantly crueler than they ever were at Ellis Island -- most pointedly so where children are concerned.

When the American right loved Mexico

by Mario Del Pero and Vanni Pettinà

Back when conservatives exalted free markets, our neighbor to the south was a vital ally.

Trump revives the idea of a ‘white man’s country’, America’s original sin

by Nell Painter

It can’t be left to black Americans alone to resist the president’s racism. Citizens of all colours need to resist, and embrace activism.

The Vicious Fun of America’s Most Famous Literary Circle

by Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen

The Algonquin Round Table trained a generation of socially conscious writers.

Fifty Years After the Moon Landing, Recalling One Small Misstep

by Tad Daley & Jane Shevtsov

Why did the first humans to set foot off Planet Earth plant the flag of only part of Planet Earth?