Identity politics
How are America’s Democrats responding to being out of power? Daniel Schlozman on the deep problems beneath last year’s seemingly modest election loss.
Note: The visitor
The visitor. Politically-minded Americans might have heard of some famous U.S. Supreme Court cases: Marbury v. Madison, Dred Scott
Firsts among citizens
Is there really a “new oligarchy” in America? Quinn Slobodian on why so many Silicon Valley billionaires have gotten so involved in everyday American politics.
Broad daylight
How common is the corruption of public officials in the U.S.? Ben Freeman on what America’s “authoritarian friends” from the Persian Gulf are doing in Washington, D.C.
Note: Lukashenka strikes back
Lukashenka strikes back. This January, the president of Belarus, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, secured his seventh term with 87 percent of the
Contempt of court
What is international law, anyway? Yuan Yi Zhu on how democratic countries are responding to expansive rulings by international courts.
From her beacon-hand
Why has U.S. public opinion turned against immigration? Mara Ostfeld on how Americans’ perceptions are shifting along with changes in political leadership, in the media environment, and on the ground.
Note: Visions of Inequality
5 W Main: Visions of Inequality. For most of the Cold War, economists—not just in the West but in
Shocks from underground
What’s driving the terrible conflict in Congo? The 2025 Oscar-nominee Johan Grimonprez on a history of violence and the costs of global competition over critical minerals.
Men in gray
What’s the Trump administration doing to the U.S. federal bureaucracy? Francis Fukuyama on the real drivers of waste in the American civil service and the democratic peril in attacking it politically.
