US sanctions are shaping every facet of life in Cuba today. We talked to Cuban journalist Liz Oliva Fernández about two new documentaries exploring the roots of these destructive policies and what can be done to challenge them.
San Francisco’s Right to Counsel Helps Thousands Stay Housed
Tenant “right to counsel” policies guarantee legal representation to tenants facing eviction. San Francisco’s policy, established by voters in 2018 and the first of its kind, is proving to be a humane and cost-effective way to address homelessness.
The Radical History of the United Electrical Workers
The United Electrical Workers emerged in the 1930s as a democratic union with an independent fighting spirit. It represented the promise of the Congress of Industrial Organizations — until it split from the CIO in an atmosphere of anti-communist red-baiting.
Paraguay’s “Boss,” Horacio Cartes, Stirs Up a Dictator’s Ghost
More than three decades since dictator Alfredo Stroessner was forced from office, his Partido Colorado still runs Paraguay. Its leader Horacio Cartes fuses mafia and political power — and is stepping up his authoritarian control.
NYU’s Vapid Reeducation for Palestine Protesters
New York University is punishing students who protested the genocide in Gaza by forcing them to take a philosophically confused course on “integrity.” University administrators are the ones who need to brush up on that subject.
SCOTUS Is Helping Corporations Dodge Consumer Liability
In 2017, Georgia-Pacific invented a legal scheme to skirt liability for serious consumer harms. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court allowed the move to stay in place, giving the company more time to avoid paying up for its asbestos poisoning.
India’s Opposition Could Thwart Narendra Modi’s Ambitions
Narendra Modi is seeking a parliamentary supermajority to enact authoritarian constitutional change. India’s political opposition could derail his plan by channeling the spirit of social resistance to Modi’s Hindutva chauvinism.
The BBC Is Afraid to Report the Facts About Israel’s War
A BBC journalist writes that editors at the broadcaster are afraid of reprimand from their bosses for reporting that displeases the Israeli government, leading to the BBC’s consistently holding back from reporting the full horrors of Israel’s war on Gaza.
How Writers Survived Fascism
The last years of the Weimar Republic are often thought to have witnessed an outpouring of politically engaged literature. But the history is more complicated. Writers more often avoided antagonizing a resurgent right to protect their lives and careers.
The New Atheists had reactionary politics and a distorted view of science, but they owe their demise to a more fundamental flaw in their ideology: religion can’t explain all the world’s problems.
Raphaël Glucksmann Won’t Unite the French Left
France’s Parti Socialiste is on the rise ahead of the EU elections, under lead candidate Raphaël Glucksmann. He’s appealing to disappointed Macron voters — but his campaign is also squarely aimed at killing off the alliance of France’s left-wing parties.
We Live in a World of Growing Imperialist Rivalries
Both US and Chinese leaders play down the prospects of a new Cold War — but they never sound convincing. Vast shifts in the world economy are driving a new imperialist rivalry, for which a series of regional wars are creating dangerous flash points.
Furiosa Fails the Mad Max Series — and the Summer Box Office
Anya Taylor-Joy revs up her engines for Furiosa, but this Mad Max prequel is running on fumes.
What Does Left Internationalism Mean in the 21st Century?
Israel’s genocide in Gaza has put international concerns front and center for the US left today. Jacobin spoke with three leading internationalist organizers about how leftists should think about international solidarity in the 21st century.