America at a Crossroads

Plus: what is to be done with the Police, capitalism, and more, in this week's issue of Public Seminar

We are making some changes at Public Seminar: this newsletter has been so successful that soon we will be reinstating the Public Seminar-only newsletter for the weekly issue. Your subscription to Political Junkie will transfer over to that account — and you will keep getting this unless you unsubscribe below. This newsletter will continue to exist as a link between you and Public Seminar, and as a platform for editorial commentary.

And read to the bottom: there’s more than enough at Public Seminar to keep you occupied.

Signs at Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House on June 20, 2020. Photo credit: Johnny Silvercloud / Shutterstock.com.

In this week’s issue:

America at a Crossroads

• Rogers Smith on Donald Trump’s return to the rally stage, July 9, 2020.

• Elwood Watson argues that ending white supremacy requires more than editing out racist cultural tropes; July 9, 2020.

• Todd Gitlin asks: “What Will It Take for Black Lives to Matter? Nonviolent, cross-racial coalitions are the way back to a decent America,” July 9, 2020.

• John Stoehr digs into the GOP’s racism — and argues that attempts to oppose cancel culture eliminate a crucial weapon against it; July 9, 2020.

What Is To Be Done with the Police?

• Amid calls for abolishing the police, Richard Johnson and Desmond King say that federal intervention has worked — and it can work again; July 8, 2020.

• Micol Siegal warns that the police we abolish could easily be replaced by electronic surveillance; July 9, 2020.

Reflections

• Kiara Barrow and Rebecca Panovka interview political theorist Wendy Brown about why we need theory in a crisis: July 7, 2020.

Capitalism

• Marshall Auerback and Jan-Rich Frel see a disturbing shift towards autarchy and the possible collapse of global supply chains, accelerated by COVID-19, July 8, 2020.

• Thom Hartmann explains, “How Billionaires Get Away With Their Big Con,” July 9, 2020.

• Alissa Karl points out that when essential work is also the most ill-paid, a crisis like COVID-19 can upend the system, July 9, 2020.

Back to School

• School’s out for summer — but, as Julia Ott argues, getting back to school may require a significant federal bailout; July 1, 2020.

And you also might be interested in:

• Senior Editor Natalia Mehlman Petrzela’s new podcast about the Chippendales and the history of male stripping, “Welcome to Your Fantasy,” drops August 1: subscribe now.

• Senior Managing Editor Helaine Olen on the demise of mommy blogging: “Urban Baby changed modern motherhood — but not enough,” Washington Post, July 9, 2020.

• “A History of Alt Media and Political Junkyism:” Brian Lehrer of WNYC interviews co-executive editor Claire Potter about her new book, Political Junkies (Basic Books) July 9, 2020.

• Founding editor Jeff Goldfarb invites you to attend a Democracy Seminar webinar, “Democracy in a Time of Plague: Challenges & Opportunities in the Struggles Against Authoritarianism, Covid-19 and Racism,” on July 14, 2020. Register here.

Claire Potter is co-executive editor of Public Seminar, Professor of History at The New School for Social Research, and author of Political Junkies: From Talk Radio to Twitter, How Alternative Media Hooked us on Politics and Broke Our Democracy (Basic Books, 2020). You can tweet with her @TenuredRadical.