Portside
Material of Interest to People on the Left
Portside
Material of Interest to People on the Left
Linda McMahon Unsure if Teaching Black History is DEI
The Normalization of Evil: We Thought We Were Free
22-Year-Old Trump Pick To Lead Terrorism Prevention
Israel Warning As Freedom Flotilla Approaches Gaza
Global Left Midweek – June 4, 2025
Nobel Laureate Economists Denounce GOP Budget Bill
The Freedom Flotilla: Breaking the Siege Against Gaza
Climate Change and the Border-Industrial Complex
Indivisible: Leading the Fight Against Trump
Dispatches From the Culture Wars – June 3, 2025
Culture
books
Say the Word
Los Angeles Review of Books
Author Montell analyzes the social science of cult influence and how leaders of cults use language to exercise power. Reviewer Gerber uses her own childhood cult experience as a window into this complex topic.
food
Seeking New Foods, Scientists Look to Bacteria, Algae, and More
Undark
At universities and startups around the globe, researchers are searching for microbes that could be used as food.
tv
The Handmaid’s Tale’s Otherwise Satisfying Final Season Was Marred by Serena’s Ending
AV Club
One of the long-running show's biggest villains didn't earn her redemption.
poetry
Small Comment
From Collected Poems by Sonia Sanchez Copyright © 2021 by Sonia Sanchez Reprinted with permission from Beacon Press, Boston, Massachusetts
Poet Sonia Sanchez asks the obvious question: man or beast?
books
“The Wolves Came”
The Society for U.S. Intellectual History USIH Blog
Reviewer Steigmann-Gall considers what took so long for so many, including some left wing public intellectuals, to publicly acknowledge that Trumpism is fascism.
film
The Creator of Succession Populates Mountainhead With More Hilarious, Monstrous Rich Guys
AV Club
Jesse Armstrong continues being one of the best at making ice-cold comedy from an "eat the rich" mindset.
food
A Sign That Consumers Are Anxious: They’re Cutting Back on Snacks
The New York Times
Economic concerns are starting to affect consumer spending, from snack consumption to travel plans.
Labor
labor
Trump Administration To Prioritize ‘Patriotic Americans’ for Federal Jobs
Politico
Applicants for government jobs will be required to write essays explaining how they will advance President Donald Trump’s policy priorities. The new procedure aims to limit hiring from elite universities.
labor
Trump Takes ‘Wrecking Ball’ to Workers’ Rights Amid Global ‘Freefall’, New Report Says
The Guardian
The International Trade Union Confederation issued a 2025 report showing conditions for workers’ rights across the globe have worsened.
labor
A Half-Century of Harry Braverman’s Labor and Monopoly Capital
Jacobin
Harry Braverman’s arguments in his classic book Labor and Monopoly Capital presciently forecasted much of our present labor regime — and can help us move beyond it.
labor
Getting to Medicare for All
Center for Economic and Policy Research
If people understand the issues and have given a president a clear mandate for universal Medicare, they have some ability to push recalcitrant senators and Congresspeople.
labor
Coordinated Attacks on State Labor Standards Are Laying the Groundwork for Dangerous Project 2025 Proposals To Undermine All Workers’ Rights
Economic Policy Institute
Some states are already modeling Project 2025 proposals to allow states to “opt out” of federal labor laws
labor
DOGE Already Happened in Chicago: How To Resist Through Coalition Building
The Progressive
The practice of solidarity, the practice of coalition, those two practices are going to be critically important for how we withstand these moments. But not just for survival – to make a better path forward. Survival is one thing; living is another.
labor
Could Sisyphus Have Tried Harder? Reflections on the Sweeney Administration’s Efforts at Mass Organizing, Thirty Years Later
New Labor Forum
Is the purpose of organizing to increase union membership, or is it to rebuild a working-class movement that can effectively make life better for the vast majority of working people?
Friday nite video
video
Driverless Trucks In Texas Should Scare You
Driverless trucks just hit the highway in Texas. Truckers warn, “your job could be next.”
video
Colossal Did NOT De-extinct the Dire Wolf
Colossal Biosciences recently claimed to have brought dire wolves back from extinction. They didn't. Here's why.
video
Hit Single - Taco Taco Taco (Trump Always Chickens Out)
Featuring street parades, hip-hop dancers, a giant inflatable chicken, Mexican celebrities, and a funky Latin-pop beat that slaps harder than a NAFTA renegotiation
video
Trump Blows Up Over TACO Nickname | Jimmy Kimmel
“TACO,” which stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out,” has been making the rounds on Wall Street
video
Bluesky CEO Jay Graber On Building A Better Social Ecosystem | WIRED
Wired Editor Katie Knibbs interviews Bluesky CEO Jay Graber.
video
Why Mark Zuckerberg Is Sucking Up to Donald Trump
There's a cynical strategy: the government could be about to break up Facebook’s empire. Zuck needs Trump to stop it.
video
The Sexy Paradox That Stumped Darwin
We all know Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, right? But what about his lesser-know theory of evolution: sexual selection?
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