Joel Bleifuss - In These Times

Joel Bleifuss, a former director of the Peace Studies Program at the University of Missouri-Columbia, is the editor & publisher of In These Times, where he has worked since October 1986.

Bleifuss has worked at In These Times for 34 years, including as managing editor and senior editor. He tackles the state of national and international events with a blend of critical insight and humor, and over the years has developed a niche for investigative reporting. His reporting on environmental health issues, national security scandals and the Iran Contra affair has landed in newspapers and magazines around the country, including the New York Times, the Utne Reader, the Capital Eye and many others. He is the co-author of the book “Was The 2004 Presidential Election Stolen?,” with Steven F. Freeman. Before joining In These Times, Bleifuss was director of the Peace Studies Program for the University of Missouri, a features writer for the Fulton Sun in Fulton, Missouri, and a freelance journalist in Spain. Bleifuss currently serves on the advisory board of The Public Square, a program of the Illinois Humanities Council.

A farewell message from longtime Editor & Publisher Joel Bleifuss

A Progressive Response to Ukraine

We ought to be able to criticize U.S. empire without denying other bad state actors exist, each with their own objectives.

Lost Jobs, Lost Democrats

Neoliberal Democrats are struggling to connect with working-class voters whose communities have lost manufacturing jobs.

Empires Don't Last, But Their Scars Do

The Afghanistan withdrawal reteaches an old lesson about blowback to American intervention.

What's Really Behind the Opposition to a $15 Minimum Wage

Fifty-seven senators from both parties are determined to preserve an economic system that rewards the rich and punishes the poor.

Armies of the Right

We all know who the real thieves of the election are.

For the First Time, the Progressive Caucus Will Have Real Power

New rules will help Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) turn the caucus into a force to be reckoned with.

The Message from this Election? Bring the “Ruckus on the Democratic Party.”

Don't believe the establishment: The 2020 election results are a vindication of the Left’s inside-outside strategy.

The Electoral College is a Dangerous Relic That Threatens the Future of Our Democracy

This 18th-century artifact provided constitutional protections for slaveholders and allowed for the corruption of our electoral system. It's time to abolish it.

Sorry Joe, Countries Don't Have Souls

Joe Biden has framed the election as a battle for “America’s soul.” But what we need are politicians who will fight for the material needs of the people.

Trump’s False Claims of Rampant Voter Fraud Draw From a Well-worn Racist Playbook

Republicans have tried to suppress turnout among voters who are poor, disabled or people of color for many years.

Stop Blaming Individuals for the Spread of Covid and Start Blaming the Government Response

By presenting collective, structural crises as separate, individual problems with separate, individualized solutions, the government abdicates its responsibility to meaningfully intervene.

15 Years After Hurricane Katrina, Another Perfect Storm Is Upon Us

When Katrina hit, the mainstream media and Congress both reacted shamefully. Their response to the pandemic is no different.

Defund the Police? Why Not?

We should not confuse public safety with investments in systems of punishment.

Former Leaders of SDS, Meet the Current Members of DSA

The authors of "An Open Letter to the New New Left From the Old New Left" failed to grasp several things about the Democratic Socialists of America.

Perry Rosenstein: Building a Foundation for Art and Social Justice

As president and founder of the Puffin Foundation, Rosenstein nourished independent journalism.

This Is a Health Crisis—Stop Treating It Like a War

Even by his standards, Trump is a terrible wartime president

The Future Socialists Want, And Centrists Fear

Are reds and red-scarers even talking about the same thing?

Young People Don’t Support Biden. Why Does the Establishment Still Think He’s the Most “Electable”?

Don't believe arguments about "electability" coming from the corporate wing of the Democratic Party.

James Thindwa, a Man Who Did What Needed to Be Done—And Said What Needed to Be Said

In These Times lost a friend. But his words live on.

Fox News, Trump’s Ministry of Propaganda

For nearly a quarter of American adults, Fox News is their only cable news source. It tells them what Trump wants them to hear.

Trolls Are Sowing Discord Between Sanders and Warren Supporters

Is someone yanking your chain?

The “Democratic” in DSA

The Democratic Socialists of America recommitted itself to using “elections, public offices and legislation” to build support for democratic socialist ideas.

A Worker’s Place Is in the Museum

A new exhibit in New York honors the state's labor history.

We Can’t Settle for Less Than Single Payer

25 years ago, ITT's staff was divided about Clinton's healthcare plan. This time around there's no question.

Trump’s EPA Has a Monsanto Problem

The EPA is meant to protect us. Instead, it's been captured by industry.

Donald Trump’s Path to Victory

This is how the GOP plans to re-elect Trump in 2020.

This Isn’t The First Time William Barr Has Sought to Hide Information From the Public

We’ve been on to Barr since 1992.

Trump Wants To Make the 2020 Election All About Socialism. Yes, Let’s.

The Right is trying to redbait—but it will backfire.

How Third Way Democrats Could Get Trump Re-elected

The New Democracy PAC and other centrist groups want you to learn all the wrong lessons from 2016.

We Got a Blue Wave, But We Can Win So Much More—If We Mobilize Now

This fight is for civilization’s survival—one that will require the mobilization not seen since the civil rights movement.

Yes, Voter Suppression Is Real. But Young Voters May Bridge the Gap.

The midterms are rigged against people of color and the poor.

We Believed Anita Hill

In 1991, an alleged sexual harasser was appointed to the Supreme Court. Let’s not repeat history.

From Italy to Hungary, the Trumps of Europe Are Rising to Power

The leader of Italy’s far right, an admirer of Trump, has suggested a “mass cleansing” of Roma.

Oliver North Is Still Running Arms

North, the NRA’s new president, seems to always turn up when dictatorship looms.

The GOP Wants To Open the American Dream to the Poor, By Taking Away Their Food

By cutting food stamps and instituting work-for-food requirements, Republicans say they are creating a land of opportunity.

It’s Time to Put Israel on Trial

The court of public opinion isn't enough. Israel's leaders should face charges in The Hague.

Say It Ain’t Joe: Why Anointing Biden for 2020 Is a Terrible Idea

When will the Democrats learn that Americans don’t want centrism?

And the Oscar for Best Protest Goes To…

Awards show activism, then and now.

The Arc of History Doesn’t Bend Toward Justice On Its Own.

It’s been 50 years since the Kerner Commission report was released, and institutional racism still pervades our society.

The Specter of Reagan Haunts the GOP’s New Tax Plan

A brief history of how the GOP taxes the poor to reward the rich.

Establishment Democrats Lack the Will to Fight the GOP Tax Plan. It’s Time for an Alternative.

To fend off the Republicans' one-sided class war, we must break the corporate hold on the Democratic Party.

We can’t have an out-of-control president with a finger on the button.

Heed the Lesson of 1932: Only Left Unity Can Defeat the Racist Right

We have our differences, but we also have the numbers.

Not My First Democratic Socialist Convention

In DSA's resurgence, a flashback to 1979.

Introducing the New In These Times

A new magazine for new times.

We Have an Existential Imperative to Resist GOP Death Panels

The casualties of the war on health are real and imminent, not a hyperbolic exaggeration.

The Political Revolution Is Alive and Well in Nebraska

Climate campaigner and Democratic Party activist Jane Kleeb is lighting a fire on the prairie.

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