Remembering IPS Associate Fellow Steve Cobble

One of the country’s leading progressive political strategists and visionaries, Cobble never stopped believing that ‘a better world is possible.’

How Black Women Brought Liberty to DC in the 1800s

A new book shows us the capital region’s earliest years through the eyes and the experiences of leaders like Harriet Tubman and Elizabeth Keckley

Women Used to Dominate the Beer Industry

Up until the 1500s, brewing was primarily women’s work – that is, until a smear campaign accused women brewers of being witches.

A New Form of Jim Crow: GOP Assault on Voting Rights

They are using the filibuster, so that 41 GOP senators, representing just 21% of the country, can block everything from a $15 minimum wage to legislation to restore the Voting Rights Act.

Black Votes Have Always Mattered

The fear of black power drives today’s right wing politics. 

The Privatization of Vaccination

Massachusetts spent 20 years refining its own mass vaccination plan. Then it looked elsewhere.

A Vision of Solidarity Rooted in Black Feminism

Black feminists developed an analysis of power, which shows oppression is rooted in and exacerbated by many systems. Intersectionality acknowledges that power is dispersive and comes from many sources.

Judas and the Black Messiah:How Should Leftists Respond

Rather than asking whether or not Judas & the Black Messiah fulfilled our desire for what a film about Fred Hampton should look like, we should begin with another sort of question: What can we do to make the most of this opportunity?

Global Transformation: The Precariat Overcomes Populism

UberEats drivers protest outside Uber's downtown Toronto office.
Noted British labor economist Guy Standing says the mainstream left, left populists and social democrats, should not be distracted by populism. Instead it should focus on new answers in an era defined by chronic insecurity and growing inequality.

Electric Cooperatives Fight to Democratize and Go Green

On May 20, 1936 Franklin Delano Roosevelt (center) signs the Rural Electrification Act.
One of FDR’s most successful New Deal programs electrified rural America thru federally funded community cooperatives. Now many are like fiefdoms, tied to costly, polluting coal plants, while their members demand transparency and renewable energy.
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Culture

poetry

How to Unbuild a House

Patrick Daly
California poet Patrick Daly writes in the wake of January 6, 2021 about “that other House” endangered by a mob or by “An angry man/red and orange like a flame?”

books

No Rest for the Wiki

Rebecca Panovka Bookforum
"If Wikipedia is a test case for techno-utopianism," writes reviewer Panovka, "it is also a test case for an older ideology similarly unfashionable these days—your garden-variety Enlightenment-era liberalism."

film

Nomads in Search of a Villain

Paris Marx Jacobin
The new film Nomadland is a heartfelt look at the lives of itinerant Americans cast aside by the Great Recession. But it ignores how employers like Amazon are raking in profits off this new class of worker.

food

Woke Me When It’s Over

Bret Stephens New York Times
In the humorless world of Woke, the satire is never funny and the statute of limitations never expires, even when it comes to hamantaschen.

tv

The CW’s Superman & Lois Premiere Is Surprisingly Somber

Caroline Siede AV Club
Superman & Lois pointedly comments on real-world issues. The Daily Planet suffers a round of brutal media layoffs and Smallville, once thriving, is crumbling under an economic collapse that sees big businesses buying up all the small family farms.

Labor

labor

Senate Approves Sweeping Coronavirus Measure

Jordain Carney The Hill
Because no Republicans were expected to vote for the bill, Schumer needed every senator in his 50-member caucus to support the legislation in order to push it through the Senate.

labor

Looking for John Sweeney - A Correction

Kim Scipes Portside
John Sweeney with others at a march. The death of AFL-CIO President John Sweeney has evoked examinations of his legacy. One can praise the good things but its important to address the bad things so we can have a more accurate understanding of his time.

labor

Women Lead, Resist and Thrive – Even in the Midst of Crises

Heather Elaydi and Ayushi Kalyan Equal Times
Ahead of International Women’s Day, we remind governments, and all actors in humanitarian contexts, that aligning domestic law and policy to international standards is not enough. Rights women have on paper must be reflected in their everyday lives.

labor

Here's Why 2021 Could Be a Big Year for Labor Unions

Alicia Wallace CNN Business
The pandemic has put a spotlight on workers' rights issues and accelerated an organizing movement that's been slowly building in recent years — with actions such as the teachers' strikes in 2018 and the Fight for $15 movement.

Friday nite video

video

Police Raids | John Oliver

John Oliver explains how raids became a favorite tool of police, how few guardrails there are on their use, and what we should do about that.

video

You With Us?

Black and Brown voters changed the game in 2020, so lawmakers are trying to change the rules in 2021. This NBA All-Star weekend in Atlanta, we're raising our voices against voter suppression in Georgia, and across the country. Join us at http://more.vote/protectourpower

video

F.T.A. Re-Release | Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland

At the height of the Vietnam War, Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland toured an anti-war comedy show across Southeast Asia. It was a huge success among stationed soldiers. Now re-released in theaters and virtual cinemas March 5. 

video

Invest in Our New York 2021

New York has created new billionaires ... during the pandemic. Those who have profited from the pandemic should pay back.

video

Barre | Songhoy Blues

Malian blues rock band Songhoy Blues performing "Barre," an original song from their latest album Optimisme, live outside in Bamako, Mali. Barre—meaning "change" in Songhai—calls on the youth to rise up and take action.