The Shame of Rikers
The odious 19th-century history of Rikers Island provides just one more good reason to shut it down.
Tools of DisplacementHow Charlottesville, Virginia’s Confederate statues helped decimate the city’s historically successful black communities.
Watching the DetectivesAs the Waldorf Astoria transforms into posh condos, there’s one luxury amenity it’s unlikely to get back: its intrepid in-house sleuths.
JFK’s Russian ConspiracyKennedy had his own secret back channel with Moscow. It may have kept the superpowers from going to war.
America’s Love Affair With the HindenburgBefore the German zeppelin met its fiery demise, it was an object of fascination for U.S. radio listeners.
Fascism’s Warning SignsEdwardian Britain harbored many of the preconditions for fascism—including rampant anti-Semitism—before war broke out and united a divided nation.
The Week the World Almost EndedIn 1983, the U.S. simulated a nuclear war with Russia—and narrowly avoided starting a real one. We might not be so lucky next time.
The Origins of Anti-IntellectualismThe anti-democratic political tradition that opposed Enlightenment thinking advanced the catastrophic campaigns of Nazi Germany and haunts us still.
Trump’s Victory Made a GOP Breakup More Likely, Not LessPhilip Wallach talks to The Gist about partisan realignment and the demise of the Whig Party.
Fascism Today: Where Are We Now?In the final episode, our Slate Academy tries to determine how historical examples of fascism help us understand the present.
When Fascist Heroes Took Over the MoviesFrustrated with a weak government and the Great Depression, Americans in the 1930s began rooting for authoritarian jerks.
Nativism, Violence, and the Origins of the Paranoid StyleHow a lurid 19th-century memoir of sexual abuse produced one of the ugliest features of American politics.
Britain and the U.S.: It Could Have Happened HereIn the fifth episode, our Slate Academy looks at the small, but significant, fascist movements that took root in the U.S. and Britain.
Did the Muslim World Really Fall for Hitler?A famous photo suggests that fascism was popular in the Middle East during World War II. The history says otherwise.
What Is the Far Right’s Endgame? A Society That Suppresses the Majority.Nancy MacLean, author of an intellectual biography of James McGill Buchanan, explains how this little-known libertarian’s work is influencing modern-day politics.
Paranoia Rises When We Feel Politically PowerlessWhen we stop trusting the government, we start believing in conspiracies.
“We Only Ask an Even Chance to Live as Other Men Live”Speaking in a foreign tongue, thousands of miles from the seat of power, Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce found a way to fight for his people.
Why Former Suffragettes Flocked to British FascismSir Oswald Mosley’s fascist movement appealed to even the most revolutionary of suffragettes.
Fascism, RebrandedHow the contemporary far right won legitimacy under the guise of liberal-democratic ideals.
The Necessity of MemoryIf Europeans—and the rest of the world—continue to let the lessons of fascism fade, “a nightmare future could unfold.”
The Future of FascismFascism was an emergency response to an unimagined crisis—and it could all happen again.
How Modern Tyrants Use Terror Management to Consolidate PowerBe ready for an American Reichstag fire when it comes.
A Dangerous DefinitionHow clearly can we distinguish fascism from “populist nationalism”? And does it matter?
Hitler’s Man on British RadioWilliam Joyce’s aristocratic voice carried Nazi propaganda into millions of British homes.
America’s Brush With FascismThe second KKK shared a disquieting kinship with European fascist movements. Why did it fail to take over American politics?
How Hitler Conquered GermanyThe Nazi propaganda machine exploited ordinary Germans by encouraging them to be co-producers of a false reality.