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The Roundup Top Ten for September 30, 2022

Just Wear Your Smile: The Gender Politics of Positive Psychology

by Micki McElya

Positive Psychology, a supposed science of producing happiness, is part of a multibillion-dollar publishing market. Unfortunately, it's helped enshrine patriarchal values into the popular practice of psychology. 

"As if I Wasn't There": Writing from a Child's Memory

by Martha Hodes

Writing her own memory of being held hostage by terrorists forced the author to put herself at the center of the story. 

Teaching Black Perspectives

by Julia W. Bernier

Since emancipation, the effort to control curriculum has been a key part of broad reactionary politics opposing greater freedom for Black people. Educators and activists have seen today's battles over teaching the history of racism before. 

Tucker Carlson and Ted Cruz are Wrong about the Weakness of "Woke" Militaries

by Phillips Payson O’Brien

It turns out that hypermasculinity, ruthlesness and reflexive brutality are liabilities in modern warfare. Ukraine is exhibit A. 

The Forgotten Violence of the US-Philippines Relationship

by Adrian De Leon

By declaring a relationship of "friends, partners, and allies" between the United States and the Philippines, and embracing the regime of Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., the United States concealed its violent conquest of the islands and its ongoing support for authoritarian rule there. 

Black Women's Activism Ties Reproductive Rights to Broader Goals of Freedom

by Kim Gallon

Black women's reproductive lives have always been complicated by institutional racism, sexism, and the balance of personal autonomy and racial solidarity. Black feminists have struggled to use the African American press as a space to force discussion of the issues. 

The Ostensibly Apolitical Nature of the Royals Explains Americans' Obsession

by Suzanne Schneider

The Royals appeal to an American fantasy of power without politics, in which civility and decorum conceal the process of determining a society's winners and losers. 

The Risks of Declaring the Pandemic Over

by Molly Nebiolo

As long as America has had pandemics, it has had leaders who sought political benefit by declaring them over, so Joe Biden is in good company. But moving on needs to include planning ahead. 

Rigged Elections: A Real New York Story

by Jim Sleeper

New York City's political history shows that brazen attempts to rig elections didn't emerge with Team Trump. 

"Misogynoir" Exemplified in the Degradation of Black Women Athletes

by Donald Earl Collins

The treatment of basketball star Brittney Griner by Russian authorities (and the indifference to her case by many Americans) shows that Black women athletes still have to navigate a world of racism and sexism that diminishes their achievements and their security.