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The Army Warned Troops in 1945 of the Danger of Fascism. That Warning Rings True Today

by Alan J. Singer

As the military prepared for the occupation of conquered Axis nations, it realized that without awareness of the content and goals of fascism, it could emerge at home as "Americanism." 

New York's Education Wars a Century Ago Show how Content Restrictions Can Backfire

by Bill Greer

Laws enforcing ideological positions in education can gain popularity when they focus on unpopular ideas. But when they take effect to punish popular teachers, the public gets second thoughts. 

Was a Utah District's Decision to Remove the Bible from Shelves a Win for the Anti-Anti-Woke? History Says Maybe Not

by Matthew Smith

When citizens invoked Utah's new "sensitive content" law to force the district to remove the Bible from school libraries, some hoped they had achieved a coup demonstrating the folly of the law. But the Bible has long been a part of cultural conflicts focused on schools, and that's unlikely to change anytime soon. 

What to the Incarcerated Is Juneteenth?

by Antoine Davis and Darrell Jackson

"We prisoners who are left to deteriorate inside one of America's most inhumane systems are able to find joy in celebrating Juneteenth, but not without indignities."

Comparing the Trump – DeSantis Race to the Republicans' 1912 Debacle is a Stretch... Right?

by Adam Burns

The whiplash of Ron DeSantis's rise and fall against Trump in the polls could be nothing in comparison to the political shockwave that would result if the Florida governor succeeds in taking the GOP nomination, but Trump doesn't go quietly—the falling-out between Roosevelt and Taft shows how it might go. 

Can the Left Take Back Identity Politics?

by Umut Özkırımlı

Recovering the liberatory potential of identity politics means going back to the term's source—the Combahee River Collective—and recognizing its radical roots and embrace of coalition-building and politics.

California's Collusion with a Texas Timber Company Let Ancient Redwoods be Clearcut

by Greg King

It wasn't shocking that a Houston-based energy company would seek to liquidate newly acquired holdings of ancient redwood trees and defy California law to do it. It was shocking that state agencies seemed determined to help them do it. 

Dangerous Records: Why LGBTQ Americans Today Fear the Weaponization of Bureaucracy

by Emily Hand

Requests made by Texas's Attorney General for information about gender change requests on drivers' licenses and other documents alarmed transgender advocates because the data could support an official list of trans Texans at a moment when the group faces public vilification. History shows that innocent bureaucratic records can be used oppressively.

The Modern Relics in Crow's Cabinet of Curiosities

by Matthew Dennis

Understanding Harlan Crow's collection, including Nazi memorabilia, as a set of relics (and not trophies or investments) helps to clarify the unease Americans feel about his understanding of power and cultivation of relationships with people of influence over the federal judiciary.

Texas Judge Revives Anthony Comstock's Crusade Against Reproductive Freedom

by Bill Greer

The career of Anthony Comstock shows what can happen when a highly committed moral crusader gains traction in the political system. His rehabilitation in the contemporary abortion war is cause for concern. 

AI the Latest Instance of our Capacity for Innovation Outstripping our Capacity for Ethics

by Walter G. Moss

The words of General Omar Bradley are as prescient as ever: "Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. If we continue to develop our technology without wisdom or prudence, our servant may prove to be our executioner."

Forget "Finding Forrester"—Our Best Teaching Can Be Ordinary

by Elizabeth Stice

Hollywood loves to tell the stories of singularly brilliant students pushed to greatness by similarly singular mentors with unconventional methods and unaccommodating personalities. This ideal won't help anyone teach the real students in their classrooms. 

Contemporary Pundits Need a Refresher on Populism's History

by Steve Babson

"Elites who tar their critics in the U.S. with the sly pejorative of 'populist' count on our collective amnesia. They’d rather the real Populists remained forgotten, along with the potential they represented."

How a Little-Known Anti-Vietnam Protest Reverberates Today

by Gary B. Ostrower

A 1968 disruption of an ROTC ceremony at Alfred University in 1968 involved just 15 students and 2 faculty. It won't be remembered with Berkeley or Columbia in the annals of student protest, but it made a significant impact on the legal requirements placed on universities' policies for dealing with student protest. 

Brandon Johnson Built a Coalition to Win in Chicago. Can He Keep it to Govern?

by Gordon K. Mantler

When Brandon Johnson takes office on Monday as Chicago's mayor, he will experience the same challenge that his political predecessor Harold Washington did in 1983: turning a winning electoral coalition into a durable governing coalition. It won't be easy, but progressive change in the city depends on it. 

Political Pundits, Apply the "Resentment" Label with Caution

by Robert A. Schneider

As the brief respite between two Trump-Biden races reaches its end, "resentment" is once again the go-to political explanation. But too often the term is used to describe voters as irrational and unhinged while obscuring some real causes of moral aggrievement in contemporary society. 

Buried Footage Helped Chicago Police Get Away with Killing 10 Labor Activists in 1937

by Greg Mitchell

Paramount's newsreel division shot footage of the murderous attack on a steelworkers' march in 1937. They sided with the bosses by burying the footage. Even after Senator Robert LaFollette pushed for the film's release, cities banned it from the screen as Chicago prosecutors ruled the killings justifiable. A new documentary tells the story of the film. 

"An Inconvenient Truth" Shows the Missed Opportunities to Act on Climate Change

by Robert Brent Toplin

Al Gore's documentary project was more influential on the public than on the political system when it came to advancing awareness of climate change. One wonders what might have been if Gore had been advancing his message from the Oval Office 20 years ago. 

Let Us Now Praise R. DeSantis

by Marc Stein

"I can’t believe it’s taken this long to have a political leader take a stand against gender and sexuality!"

The First Campgrounds Took the City to the Wilderness

by Martin Hogue

The growing popularity of the Model T put wilderness excursions within reach of ordinary city dwellers, bringing trash, fire, and pollution with them. The solution, mass campgrounds, made camping more accessible at the cost of rendering the experience more orderly, rule-bound, and urban.