Volunteers Were the Key to NYC-DSA’s Socialist Sweep

Lost in conversations about New York socialists’ charisma or social media prowess in recent electoral victories is something simple: boots on the ground. New York City DSA mobilized thousands of volunteers and is poised to do so again in the future.

This Week in People’s History, Sep 2–8, 2026

Recent demonstration outside the U.S. Capitol for an increased minimum wage
The Minimum Wage Is Very Aptly Named (1961), What Does a Non-violent Movement Do About Threats of Violence? (1966), If You Haven’t Seen It, Now’s the Time (1966)

The ‘Last Universal Common Ancestor’ May Predate Life

A groundbreaking study hints at a hazy boundary between “life” and “non-life,” as well as two distinct origins of biology on Earth

Learning From COINTELPRO’s Survivors

"The goal of COINTELPRO wasn’t simply surveillance. Its goal was to divide us and make us distrust one another.” The technologies have changed. But perhaps the underlying energy has not.

Trump May Bring Down a 110-Year-Old Church

A century ago, Mexican American families came together to build an adobe church near the border in West Texas. Can its bell toll again as the wall expansion nears?

NASA’s Roman Telescope Leaves Earth To Chart the Stars

Astronomers will use data collected by Roman’s wide, deep gaze to study the dark universe and hunt for new worlds.

The Growing Rumble

Politics--alas--is what we need

Meet the Radical Legal Collective

Longtime attorney Flint Taylor’s new book tells the story of the People’s Law Collective which grew out of the radical movements of the late 1960s.

What Real Democracy Might Look Like

Any post-MAGA renewal of democracy starts with a federal right to vote. But it hardly ends there.

Losing the Iran War: The Economic Front

What you need to know is that this economic campaign will fail as thoroughly as the military campaign.
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Culture

food

Tech Alone Won’t Future-Proof the Food System, Experts Warn

Rich Bellis Agfundernews.com
There’s broad consensus that the food system needs updating but little agreement about how to do it. Calls for ambitious policy responses to climate and geopolitical risks in the current food system are growing louder.

poetry

Masters of War

Bob Dylan
Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan aims his words at those who profit from war and its weapons.

books

How To Fix the System

Steven Poole The Guardian
The Nobel-winning economist takes aim at elites for no longer meeting the needs of the masses.

Labor

labor

Dolly Parton Was a Proud Union Sister

John Nichols The Nation
Organized labor is celebrating the life and legacy of an artist who championed working women and carried a union card for almost 60 years.

labor

6 Ways To Rebuild Unions at the State and Local Levels Now

Francisco Diez Jacobin
The new crop of pro-worker legislators who have recently been elected at the state and local levels can pass laws that can rebuild the labor movement, even with Donald Trump as president. Here are six ways they can do it.

labor

Mississippi Transit Workers Strike for Better Protections and Service

Paul Prescod Labor Notes
Mississippi has the highest poverty rate in the U.S., and is a “right-to-work” state with only 4 percent of its workers in unions. But since July 13, Highway 80 near Jackson has been lined by chanting picketers. They’re on strike at JTRAN

Friday nite video

video

I Tracked Down the Company Ruining Fruit

America’s biggest berry empire doesn’t actually grow berries. A middleman controls the genetics, reaps the profits, and then shifts blame.

video

Earth Is Warming Everywhere Except Here

Scientists call it the "cold blob." It could be a warning that one of Earth's most important climate systems may soon hit a tipping point where climate change no longer happens gradually.