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Sep 26, 2024 | 
nybooks.com | Peter Gordon
In 1958 the Ukrainian-born Russian poet Anna Akhmatova wrote a poem with the simple title “Music.” It bears the dedication “To Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, in whose epoch I live on earth.” The poem begins: “Something miraculous burns in music;/as you watch, its edges crystallize./Only music speaks to me/when others turn away their eyes.” Music, we are told, remains faithful even though all others have gone: “When fearful friends abandoned me/music stayed, even at my grave,/and sang like...
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Feb 17, 2024 | 
newstatesman.com | Peter Gordon |Surhkamp Verlag
This year marks the 250th anniversary of Caspar David Friedrich, the celebrated German Romantic painter who is best known for Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer, or The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog. Painted in 1818, it is an image that evokes the full repertoire of themes we associate with European Romanticism: loneliness, sublimity, and the transformative encounter with spiritualised nature.
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Aug 14, 2023 | 
thenation.com | Jeet Heer |Edward Ongweso Jr |Peter Gordon |Bryce Covert
In 1960, when he was only 16 years old, Robbie Robertson had to lie to the border guard when he made the most important journey of his life, which took him from his native Toronto, Canada to Fayetteville, Ark. Robertson was heading south on the invitation of the swashbuckling rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins, who was looking for a new guitarist or bassist to join his backup band, the Hawks.
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Aug 14, 2023 | 
thenation.com | Bryce Covert |Peter Gordon |Edward Ongweso Jr |Mychal Denzel Smith
When Rebeca Macri became pregnant this past June, she was terrified that her job would put her pregnancy at risk. As a certified nursing assistant, lifting patients and heavy loads in nursing homes was part of her regular duties, and she’d had two prior miscarriages while working in the same role. So, right away, she asked her employer if she could avoid heavy lifting while she was pregnant.
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Aug 9, 2023 | 
thenation.com | Michael T. Klare |Peter Gordon |Derek Johnson |Sasha Abramsky
What happens when you marry generative artificial intelligence (AI) software like ChatGPT or Bard with advanced robotic hardware? According to engineers at Google, you wind up with a “smart” robot capable of performing a wide range of useful tasks without human supervision, such as cleaning a home or distributing mail and packages.
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Aug 8, 2023 | 
thenation.com | Molly Morrow |Peter Gordon |Tarpley Hitt |John Nichols
Activism / StudentNation / August 8, 2023The church forbids women to become priests, but RCWP-USA believes that they are aptly situated to minister on abortion and offer a new, progressive stance. Ad PolicyThis story was produced for StudentNation, a program of the Nation Fund for Independent Journalism, which is dedicated to highlighting the best of student journalism. For more Student Nation, check out our archive or learn more about the program here.
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Aug 8, 2023 | 
thenation.com | Alma Beauvais |Peter Gordon |Tarpley Hitt |Karen Greenberg
Society / August 8, 2023Legalization may occur in June 2024, but advocates say the new penal code would undermine any actual progress if enacted unconstitutionally. EditAd PolicyKatiana Pierre was about four months pregnant when she discovered that she was expecting. The 24-year-old mother of three said that when her belly started to show, the lady providing her and her children with shelter in exchange for labor kicked them out. The pregnancy meant too many mouths to feed.
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Aug 5, 2023 | 
thenation.com | Amy Littlefield |Calvin Trillin |Peter Gordon |Sasha Abramsky
Feature / August 5, 2023As Republicans pay the political price for overturning legal abortion, they’re banking on “parents’ rights” as a way to paint their opponents as extreme. This article appears in the August 21/28, 2023 issue, with the headline “The New Red Meat.”Over the Fourth of July weekend, Moms for Liberty held a packed summit in downtown Philadelphia, its second-ever national convening.
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Aug 5, 2023 | 
thenation.com | Peter Gordon |Dave Zirin |Mara Cavallaro |Adolph Reed Jr.
Books & the Arts / Walter Benjamin’s radio years. After the faculty of philosophy in Frankfurt rejected his dissertation and dashed his hopes for an academic career, the Marxist critic found work as a radio broadcaster. Ad PolicyThis article appears in the August 21/28, 2023 issueNo audio recordings of Walter Benjamin have survived.
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Aug 5, 2023 | 
thenation.com | Peter Gordon |Tarpley Hitt |Calvin Trillin |Adolph Reed Jr.
Feature / August 5, 2023How courtwatchers are shifting the power dynamics in criminal courtrooms. This article appears in the August 21/28, 2023 issueAll over the United States, criminal courtrooms are full of poor people, disproportionately people of color, sitting on rows of benches—or, if there isn’t enough room, standing in hallways—waiting for their criminal cases or the cases of their loved ones to be called.
