Did America secure something fundamentally new in Greenland, or expand an arrangement that has existed for generations? This essay examines the new U.S.–Denmark–Greenland security agreement, the 1951 defense pact, NATO, sovereignty, and the difference between political victory and diplomatic reality.
What happens when political leaders stop challenging unfavorable reporting and begin challenging journalists' legitimacy? This essay examines the White House press-access dispute through the history of authoritarian attacks on independent journalism.
Can calls to shield children from disturbing history coexist with proposals for public executions? This essay examines parental-rights rhetoric, capital punishment, due process, and competing ideas about what children should be permitted to witness.
Should a lone holdout juror automatically be considered a hero? This essay examines jury deliberations, voir dire, and why the integrity of the justice system depends on evidence rather than personalities. Pull Quote "Being outnumbered does not make you courageous. Being alone does not make you correct." Pull Quote Placement Recommendation Insert the pull quote immediately after this paragraph:...
Why does the insanity defense exist? This essay examines the history of criminal responsibility, the legal concept of mens rea, and why modern justice distinguishes between committing an act and being legally responsible for it.
Can a president promise every American $5,000 if one political party wins an election? This essay examines the constitutional, fiscal, and economic questions surrounding campaign promises funded through federal spending.
What happened to organized labor in America? This essay examines the rise and decline of labor unions, the changing balance of power between workers and employers, and how those shifts reshaped the American middle class.
What did Woody Guthrie discover about his landlord, Fred Trump? This essay examines the forgotten protest song "Old Man Trump," federally subsidized housing, and the history of racial discrimination in postwar America.
What happens when politics becomes entertainment? This essay explores the concept of kayfabe, borrowed from professional wrestling, to examine how spectacle, identity, and performance increasingly shape modern democratic politics.
Did McCarthy expose communist spies, or exploit genuine espionage to manufacture a political panic? This essay examines the Venona decrypts, Soviet archives, and the historical record behind one of America's most enduring political myths.