Knowledge Beat Money in the 2026 Midterms

The myth that American politics cannot change because of money has, for the first time in a form voters can see and count, been tested against the evidence and found wanting. The task is to organize before money gets the chance.

No Other Animal Walks Like Us. Here’s Why.

Our uniquely human walking style comes with evolutionary benefits—but also a cost

Don’t Call Them Unknowns. Call Them Winners.

Very few people expected these candidates to win. Then, election night happened.

Look Who Has a Southern Strategy

The midterm elections in the South were to a large extent a demand from Black Americans to restore and expand on what was destroyed by Republicans on the court and in Congress. The Deep South could be the next battleground in a new Southern strategy

Trump and Technofascism Took a Hit — Now We Must Act

We have a unique window to take on Trump and the tech billionaires. A central task is to join forces to cut off their funding and financing. This has created a huge opening that we should celebrate — yet be clear-headed about the challenges ahead.

Our Lefts: Lessons from Socialist and Communist Parties

The Socialist Party and the Communist Party were far from perfect, but their commitments to being present in the everyday lives of their members, and the rigor with which they organized, bear lessons for this generation’s left.

Maurice Jackson Tells the Story of Black Washington

Washington, DC is the nation's capital, but it tells another story: one of the African Americans who built the city, fought for their freedom and continue to struggle for the right to call it home.

Reader Comments & Tidbits, Nov. 12, 2026

Reader Comments: Mississippi Goddam - The Struggle for the Right to Vote; Women Governors; Is It Angie Nixon’s Florida Democratic Party; El-Sayed Shows Opposition to Israel Is No Barrier; Whisky Moron Hegseth; Lots of Announcements, Cartoons;

The Cyberpunking of America

How the tech broligarchs tried to inflict their dystopian dreams on the rest of us

If Republicans Made to Vote on America’s Problems?

Make Republicans vote on healthcare, wages, and corporate greed, then make them explain their decisions to the Americans living with the consequences. And pave the way for a bigger 2028 blue wave.
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Culture

poetry

Making Lunch

Brenda Simmons
Caribbean poet Brenda Simmons encourages us to think long term, and to remember that tomorrow’s lettuce is fueled by today’s crises.

books

The Last African American Senator From Mississippi

Eric S. Yellin H-Net Reviews
As Mississippians and others everywhere celebrate the election of Scott Colom as U.S. Senator from Mississippi, it's useful to recall the last Black senator from that state, Blanche Kelso Bruce, born enslaved, who left office in 1881.

poetry

9 to 5

Dolly Parton
Singer / songwriter Dolly Parton, born in poverty, rose to the heights of American "show business," but never forget the plight of the ordinary working woman and man.

books

The Said Phenomenon

Conor McCarthy Los Angeles Review of Books
Two new books on Edward Said read his criticism alongside the work of Jonathan Swift and Lionel Trilling.

Labor

labor

Lessons From an 85-Day Hotel Strike

Diana Varenik and Natascha Elena Uhlmann Labor Notes
Photo of a woman with a bullhorn in the foreground of a crowd. Solidarity from other unions and union workers and the community played a big role.

labor

Union Fight Is Unfolding Aboard Oil Tankers

Daniel Ginsberg-Jaeckle The Stansbury Forum
Ship’s “mates,” must have a union voice on pay, benefits, scheduling, career opportunities and working conditions.

labor

The New Congress Must Pass Meaningful Legislation for the Working Class

United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) Officers UE
While the Democratic Party was the beneficiary of Tuesday’s elections, we must be clear that the Democrats’ failure to address the needs of the working class was also the cause of Trump’s rise in the first place.

Friday nite video

video

Only a Pawn in Their Game | Bob Dylan

About the assassination of NAACP leader Medgar Evers on June 12, 1963, this song was first performed by Dylan at a voter registration rally in Greenwood, Mississippi, on July 6, 1963.

video

Why Forcing Ukraine into a Peace Deal Won’t Work

The argument rests on the assumption that there is a deal on the table that Ukraine could take if it wanted to — and there isn't. What the two sides actually say their conditions for peace are.

video

Electoral College On Life Support

The end of the Electoral College is in sight. New Democratic majorities in multiple state legislatures could open the way to electing the President by popular vote.

video

What the Media Is Missing About Democrats’ Midterm Victories

Economic populism helped deliver impressive victories, but those gains could be fickle and short-lived or long-lasting and durable. To keep working class majorities, here’s 5 specific ideas for what Democrats need to do next.