Karl Hess: From Republican Speechwriter to New Left Radical to Libertarian Homesteader
Friday A/V Club: Daniel Tucker discusses his documentary Local Control: Karl Hess in the World of Ideas—and we also screen the movie itself.
History
How We Lost the War on Poverty
Amity Shlaes concludes in her new book that grand governmental schemes to broadly reorder society are doomed to fail.
Spanish Flu Experience Might Indicate That Public Policy Interventions Don't Have Long-Term Economic Effects
Though focused on manufacturing and banking, this study sees economic optimism in quick and thorough interventions to keep people isolated.
When an Epidemic Spreads, So Do Rumors
The biggest thing our institutions could do to stop the spread of COVID-19 misinformation would be to spread less misinformation themselves.
What Economic Analyses of Past Pandemics Can Tell Us About the COVID-19 Aftermath
A big contraction was followed by a bustling aftermath—but with notable negative long-term effects as well.
H.L. Mencken on 'Numskull' Presidents, the Spanish Flu, and the Depression
Thought during an epidemic from a defender of freedom
The Plot Against America Is Not About Trump, Even If Comparisons Are Inevitable
HBO's adaptation of Philip Roth's novel is much more interesting when viewed on its own merits.
1619 Project Fact-Checker Says The New York Times Ignored Her Objections
A history professor disputed some of Nikole Hannah-Jones's claims about slavery and the American Revolution.
Good Riddance to the Roman Empire
Maybe Rome needed to disintegrate before the West could grow wealthy.
Hunters Wastes Its Cast, Plot on Stupid Frat Jokes
The Holocaust and its fallout can be tackled with humor. But this Amazon show fails at its aims.
How Rob Long Went from Cheers to National Review to LSD
The long, strange, and unfinished trip of a sitcom-writing legend who turned right after the Cold War, co-founded a podcast empire, turned on to psychedelics, and got turned off to politics.
Alexander Hamilton's Influence on Free Press Law: Free Speech Rules (Episode 10)
Episode 10 of Free Speech Rules, a video series by UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh
The 1619 Project Depicts an America Tainted by Original Sin
In this worldview, redemption for the founding seems impossible.
The Long Shadow of the Palmer Raids
A century ago, the Wilson administration cracked down on immigrant anarchists. The raids lasted three months, and their impact was felt for decades.
Yale Will Eliminate a Beloved Introductory Art Class for Being Too White, Male, and Western
"It's a disservice to undergrads," said one student.
She Came To Slay
The deeply human Harriet Tubman who emerges in Dunbar's book was exhausted, frustrated—and heroic.
Why LBJ's Great Society Flopped—and What It Means for the 2020 Election
Amity Shlaes's new history of the late 1960s explains the failure of the last time the federal government tried to fix all that was wrong with America.
Here's the One Book All the Democratic Candidates (and President Trump) Should Read
Amity Shlaes' Great Society: A New History details the failure of massive governmental attempts to remake society.
The Autobiography of an Ex-Black Man: Thomas Chatterton Williams
The new memoir Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race is a powerful personal statement and national call to arms.
Forgotten Workers
The National Museum of American History display recognizes the throngs who helped enable America's westward expansion.
Jonah Goldberg on Why He Left National Review, Dislikes Sean Hannity and Seb Gorka, and Is Inching Toward Libertarianism
The conservative critic of Donald Trump and author of Liberal Fascism and Suicide of the West is launching The Dispatch, a site for principled conservatism.
The Myth of the 'Opium War'
The vast majority of opium users in China were not the desperate addicts portrayed by proponents of prohibition.
Escape from Earth
Was rocketry pioneer Frank Malina written out of some histories of space exploration for his political sins?
On Thanksgiving, Be Grateful for Property Rights
When people respect private property, they interact more peacefully.
The First Presidential Debates Featured Wax Dummies and Phonograph Records
Friday A/V Club: Long before Kennedy and Nixon, there were Bryan and Taft.
Hardcore History's Dan Carlin on Why The End Is Always Near
The podcast superstar talks about how media gatekeepers have been mostly vanquished and his deep interest in liberty and freedom.
"I Don't Think We've Had Any [Constitutional] Crises in My Lifetime": Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg
The legendary jurist and champion of "originalism" who withdrew his name from Supreme Court consideration weighs in on Donald Trump's impeachment, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and his upcoming PBS series on the Constitution.
Oscar-Winner Errol Morris on American Dharma, Steve Bannon, and Cancel Culture
"They wanted to deplatform me," says the legendary filmmaker, for the mortal sin of engaging former Trump adviser and Breitbart.com head.
A German Museum Tried To Hide This Stunning 3D Scan of an Iconic Egyptian Artifact. Today You Can See It for the First Time
After a three-year freedom of information campaign, everyone can finally see the Egyptian Museum of Berlin’s official scan of the Bust of Nefertiti.
Is Socialism Preferable To Capitalism? A Soho Forum Debate
Richard D. Wolff squares off against Gene Epstein on which system better promotes freedom, equality, and prosperity.
The Apollo Documents the Making (and Breaking) of Many an Entertainer
Harlem’s famous incubator of black performers gets a closer look on HBO.
The Medal of Honor Recipient vs. The Historian, and the Right of Publicity
"The more research Mr. Rigg did for the book, the more discrepancies appeared."
Justice Story on Originalism and Judicial Independence
An old argument against "flexible and changeable interpretation."
The Creek Nation and the Culture of Consent
Under threat from the United States, Creek people replaced consent with coercion. Then they lost everything.
HBO's Catherine The Great Is All Glamour, Little Substance
Screenwriter Nigel Williams seems to have thought he was working on Fast Times At Moscow High.
The Possibly Pending Death of a Legendary Radio Station
Friday A/V Club: When Timothy Leary, Ayn Rand, and Big Mama Thornton shared a microphone
Trump Does Not Need Alligators in Moats for a Draconian Anti-Immigration Crackdown—He's Already Outdoing Ike's Harsh 'Operation Wetback'
Trump admires one of the darkest chapters in America's deportation history.
Occult Features of Anarchism
An anthropologist examines secret societies, revolutionary movements, and esoteric ideas.
Abortion Bans Failed in the 19th Century. They'll Also Fail in the 21st.
History provides a window into how abortion bans will play out if re-instituted.
Ken Burns Delves into the Hardscrabble History of Country Music
You don’t have to enjoy the genre to find this 16-hour PBS docuseries fascinating.
