Skip to main content
Portside aims to provide material of interest to people on the left that will help them to interpret the world and to change it.

The Collapse of the Vertical

Oleg Sheyn Russian Dissent
A top-down society is extremely brittle. Vertical control is easier; it eliminates the need to convince anyone. But it is far less effective. The number of errors and the cost of correcting them increase sharply.

Tyre Nichols and America’s Systemic Failure

Peniel E. Joseph The Boston Globe
Proposed reforms at the federal level would not have saved the life of Tyre Nichols. Only the fundamental transformation of systems of punishment that have been normalized in American society and culture can do that.

The Votes That Weren’t Cast

Clarence Lusane TomDispatch
A democracy agenda that recognizes the racial elements of voter suppression and election denial is sorely needed.

When My Song “Rich People” Went Viral, It Didn’t Make Me Rich

Carsie Blanton The Nation
If making a fortune is your goal, a career in music will take you a long way—in the wrong direction. Working in the music industry today is attempting to thrive in a hostile environment. Only the very lucky, well-connected, or well-funded survive.

How Rising Temperatures Are Becoming a Labor Story

Steven Greenhouse Nieman Report
Labor reporters are increasingly focusing on how extreme heat kills workers — and what should be done about it. They could focus on industry opposition to creating federal heat regulations, whether from agricultural employers or warehouse companies.

Nuclear Weapons and Nationalism: An Incendiary Mix

Andrew Lichterman Andrew Lichterman
The first UN General Assembly's first resolution set up a commission to bring back proposals to eliminate atomic weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction and to control atomic energy. That was seventy-seven years ago.
Subscribe to Portside