The Wisconsin Idea

Culture

Christopher Hitchens’ Latest, Posthumous Essay Collection Stings Without a Point

Somewhere along the way, Hitchens lost a purpose for his contrarianism.

Mark Dunbar

Labor

Why Did Howard Dean Pretend Unions and Wall Street Are Similar in Power and Influence?

Eli Massey

Labor

On Bill and Hillary Clinton’s First Date in 1971, They Crossed a Picket Line

Zach Schwartz-Weinstein

Feature

‘Liberal’? No. ‘Progressive’? Nah. How About ‘Democratic Socialist’?

The democratic socialist tradition that Sanders is invoking may be just what we need.

Leon Fink

Feature

It Goes Way Beyond Flint: America Has a Lead Crisis that Stretches from Coast to Coast

Millions of U.S. children are threatened by lead and other toxins nationwide.

David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz

Labor

A Plan To Defragment the Labor Movement By Rebuilding ‘Federal Locals’ and Central Labor Councils

Douglas Williams and Cato Uticensis

Feature

Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Playbook Against Bernie Sanders Is a Lot Like Her 2008 Playbook Against Obama

Just about every attack that has been lobbed against Sanders thus far in the Democratic race was once hurled against Obama.

Branko Marcetic

Culture

2,054 Days of Solitary Confinement

A punishment that's cruel, but not unusual

Five Mualimm-Ak

Feature

Where Are the Black Panthers and Corporate Philanthropists When We Need Them?

Real change requires that we expand our understanding of what actions are needed on the part of the mayor, the police and any one who claims the mantle of the city’s leadership. Two films that premiered this past fall provide guidance of the kind of leadership that today is missing.

Marilyn Katz