Culture
Culture
Mr. Robot Is the Anti-Capitalist TV Show We’ve Been Waiting For
By placing class warfare front and center, Mr. Robot makes socialism a vibrant force again in popular culture, its aims urgent and compelling.
Brian Cook
Culture
Treacheries At Teatime
On postwar anti-communist surveillance in Britain
Jane Miller
Culture
In Flint, Michigan, the Wrecking Ball Has Not Meant Progress
Andrew Highsmith charts the rise and fall of Flint, a city deserted by industry and divided by segregation.
Daniel Hertz
Culture
A Quiet Return to the Killing Fields of Indonesia
Joshua Oppenheimer's The Act of Killing focused on the perpetrators of genocide; in the sequel, the stage is shared by traumatized survivors.
Michael Atkinson
Culture
The Stanford Prison Experiment Actually Shows We Are Not All Born Potential Tyrants
The film adaptation of the Stanford prison experiment explores little of its ambiguity.
Eileen Jones
Culture
If the GOP Wants To Attract Young People, Maybe It Should Stop Screwing Them Over
Kristen Soltis Anderson’s The Selfie Vote suggests Republicans use "microtargeting" to win over the youth.
Chris Lehmann
Culture
A Spy’s Guide to Protecting Whistleblowers
Journalists now compete with spooks and spies, and the spooks have the home-field advantage.
Brandon Smith
Culture
The Tribe Is a Silent Lord of the Flies
Though entirely in Ukrainian Sign, without subtitles, Slaboshpytskiy's remarkable film will speak to a hearing audience.
Michael Atkinson
Culture
A Century After Ota Benga’s Captivity, Elites Still Don’t Understand White Supremacy
Over a century after a Congolese man was displayed at the Bronx Zoo monkey exhibit, white elites still stubbornly believe they are benevolent, not supremacist.
Chris Lehmann
Culture
A Shaky Launch for HBO’s The Brink
The new black comedy about nuclear war misses its target.
Eileen Jones
Culture
The Climate Change-Induced Dystopia of ‘The Water Knife’ Is Not Just Sci-Fi—It’s Already Here
The climate change-induced tragedies The Water Knife chronicles are already happening today; they’re just not happening to us—yet.
Jessica Stites
Culture
Austerity: The Real Winner of the UK Elections
May’s elections delivered the familiar thud of disappointment.
Jane Miller
Culture
Why Some Vets Want to Relive Vietnam
A new documentary follows the weird subculture of Vietnam War reenactors—some of whom were actually there.
Eileen Jones
Culture
Pigeons Under Late Capitalism
An existentialist Swedish movie occupies a completely original universe.
Michael Atkinson
Culture
Detained at Her Majesty’s Pleasure
The UK keeps migrants in detention centres for unspecified periods of time.
Jane Miller
Culture
Why Silicon Valley Won’t Solve the World’s Problems
In Geek Heresy, former Microsoft do-gooder Kentaro Toyama reconsiders tech-based social-change initiatives.
Chris Lehmann
Culture
Inside the Happiness Racket
Can money buy happiness? A new book explores the history of those who have tried to sell it.
Joanna Scutts
Culture
Bitcoin: Digital Fool’s Gold?
Silicon Valley investors are betting heavily on the online currency. But is it a libertarian boondoggle?
Chris Lehmann
Culture
Our Anger, Ourselves
Mary Dore's documentary, 'She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry,' reminds us of '70s feminism's daring and creativity
Jude Ellison Sady Doyle
Culture
Jihadis Invade London
We are no wiser as to who indoctrinated 'Jihadi John.'
Jane Miller
Culture
Asghar Farhadi’s Early Masterpiece
Through a seaside mystery, About Elly explores the irrational rules placed on women in Iran.
Michael Atkinson
Culture
PHOTO-ESSAY: Caravan of the Mutilated
Having lost limbs on the dangerous trip across Mexico, 13 Hondurans sought an audience with President Obama—but are instead facing deportation.
Joseph Sorrentino
Culture
A Black Woman Traces Her Nazi Heritage
In My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me, adoptee Jennifer Teege recounts her journey of discovery after learning her biological grandfather was mass murderer Amon Goeth.
Erin Aubry Kaplan
Culture
The Appeal of the UK’s Radical Right
UKIP is reaching the 'left behind' white working class.
Jane Miller
GET YOUR COPY
Announcing In These Times’ New Agreement with the National Writers Union
Freelance contributors are essential to the quality and success of In These Times and independent media, and this agreement is one way to demonstrate their value to our publication and our commitment to transparency.
For more information about the National Writers Union, visit nwu.org.
Read the full agreement, which reaffirms a floor for the rates of our freelance editorial content, as well as our current rates (which are higher) and submissions guidelines below.