More stories

  • in

    James Monroe review: a timely reminder of the Era of Good Feelings

    A life of the fifth president makes interesting reading, not least for his warnings about foreign influence in the White House James Monroe, circa 1816. The last of the founding generation to be president, he bridged the Revolution with the first sectional conflicts of the Antebellum era. Photograph: Buyenlarge/Getty Images Why read a biography of […] More

  • in

    Max Weber’s Three Qualities for the Modern Politician

    In January 1919, an invite to present a lecture was extended to a leading German intellectual and political theorist Max Weber. The young members of Munich University’s Free Students Union had requested that he elucidate himself on the “vocation” of politics, with the added subtext of threatening to invite Weber’s nemesis, the socialist Bavarian President […] More

  • in

    Arguing with Zombies review: Paul Krugman trumps the Republicans

    The New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has four essential rules for successful punditry: Those maxims have consistently made Krugman the most intelligent and the most useful New York Times pundit, at least since Frank Rich wrote his final must-read column 11 years ago. A new collection of Krugman’s pieces, therefore, is a timely reminder […] More

  • in

    Michael Lewis: ‘Trump is like a psycho dad to America’

    Interview Andrew Anthony Interview Michael Lewis: ‘Trump is like a psycho dad to America’ Andrew Anthony The uncannily prescient author of Moneyball explains how Trump’s ‘appallingly bad’ handling of the coronavirus outbreak could finally undo him Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball, The Fifth Risk and the Big Short. Photograph: Cheese Scientist/Alamy Back in December, the […] More

  • in

    Active Measures review: how Trump gave Russia its richest target yet

    Active Measures review: how Trump gave Russia its richest target yet In divided, chaotic and fearful times, Thomas Rid’s ‘secret history of disinformation and political warfare’ is a must-read Donald Trump stands with Gen Michael Flynn at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida in December 2016. Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images The president-elect arrived in […] More

  • in

    The Truth Behind “The Plot Against America”

    Phillip Roth’s 2004 novel, “The Plot Against America,” has been made into a six-part TV series and shown recently on HBO in the United States and Great Britain. David Simon wrote the script for the television version and directed the production. Simon’s earlier credits include “The Wire,” “Treme” and “Murder: Life on the Streets,” all […] More