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This Week in People’s History, Mar 19–25

Supporters of striking hospital workers marching through Charleston, S.C.
Hospital Workers Win (in 1969), Virginia Racists Split Hairs (1924), Anti-Racist Education Rules (1969), Protesters Beat the Rap (1969), German Troops in Rome (1944), The Fork Not Taken (1989), An Unemployed Army (1894), Transatlantic Slave Trade

Billions In Public Housing Make Paris Rents Affordable

One quarter of residents in the French capital live in government-owned housing, part of an aggressive plan to keep lower-income Parisians — and their businesses — in the city.

The Exvangelicals: Faith, Trump and Leaving the Church

In her first book, the NPR political correspondent examines a growing movement away from the rightwing Christian church

Summer Lee Condemns GOP Billionaire Cavalry

Moderate PAC -- funding Lee's opponent -- has been described as "an organization of centrist Democrats," but its only donation in the 2022 cycle came from a firm co-founded by Republican benefactor Jeffrey Yass—the richest man in Pennsylvania.

The Most Committed Are the Uncommitted

A growing movement of “uncommitted” Democratic voters are making it impossible for the Biden White House to remain complacent about Israel’s war on Gaza.

"Next Pandemic" Treaty Hangs in the Balance

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed deep inequalities between rich and poor countries. The WHO Pandemic Agreement hopes to improve global equity and avoid mistakes made during COVID-19.

You Flood It, You Pay for It.

States are considering 'climate superfund' laws to hold Big Oil accountable

A New Alliance Could Change Puerto Rican Politics

The Citizens’ Victory Movement and the Puerto Rican Independence Party are forming a coalition called La Alianza. Their goal: a radical shift in Puerto Rican politics.

The Black Box of Race

In a circumscribed universe, Black Americans have ceaselessly reinvented themselves.

The Booksellers’ Revolt

The READER Act would have required vendors to rate books on "explicitness" before selling to schools—and blacklisted those that didn't comply.
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Culture

food

Moving Into the Agrihood

Kirsten Lie-Nielsen Modern Farmer
Planned, farm-centered neighborhoods are on the rise in the United States, offering farm-to-table food and a strong community for residents.The Urban Land Institute considers agrihoods a possible solution to several issues in the US housing market.

poetry

Two Years Later

Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach Rattle
Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach knows more than a thing or two about Ukraine wars, way more to mark the passage of its second anniversary.

books

Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth

David Rosen New York Journal of Books
This study, writes reviewer Rosen, "assesses the growing gap between that super-rich millionaires and billionaires and ever-increasing number ordinary people who populate the planet."

film

The Enduring Predictability of the Mostly Apolitical Oscars

Eileen Jones Jacobin
Yet another “return to normal” Oscars — briefly disrupted by a statement from Zone of Interest director Jonathan Glazer criticizing Israel’s assault on Gaza — only demonstrates just how boring even a “good one” can be.

food

Hardline U.S. Stance Ignores Non-GM Corn Opportunity for U.S. Farmers

Ken Roseboro and Timothy A. Wise Food Tank
U.S. farmers of non-GMO corn could earn premium prices, particularly attractive right now that corn prices fell more than 30 percent last year. U.S. trade officials prefer not to discuss non-GM opportunities but some farmers would welcome them.

Labor

labor

Hollywood Unions Are Back at the Bargaining Table

Alex N. Press Jacobin
Two major strikes by Hollywood writers and actors dominated headlines last year. Only months after the strikes’ end, contract negotiations are now underway for the entertainment industry’s crew members — and the possibility of a strike is not off the

labor

Blue-Collar Dan Osborn Against Nebraska’s Establishment

Steve Early Barn Raiser
In his campaign for the U.S. Senate, Osborn, who led a prominent labor strike against Kellogg’s in 2021, plans to bring together a coalition of farmers, union laborers and small business owners

labor

Denver Art Museum Workers Vote To Unionize

News Desk Art Forum
Workers at the Denver Art Museum (DAM) last week voted 120 to 59 in favor of unionizing under the auspices of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Cultural Workers United Council 18

labor

To Defeat the Far Right, We Must Build From the Bottom Up

Luis Feliz Leon Convergence
The movement to defeat the Far Right must include immigrant workers and members of other oppressed groups, working through their own independent and durable mass organizations rooted in workplaces and neighborhoods.

Friday nite video

video

The Zone of Interest | Movie

From Oscar-winning director Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest portrays Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig striving to build a dream life in a house beside the camp.

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video

God Made a Dictator

God said “I need a man who failed in everything but theft and broken promises to convince the poor he serves their needs.”