Once Upon a Time, Presidents Read Books. Here Are Obama’s Favorites From 2019.
Former President Barack Obama took a moment out of his busy schedule of building media empires and having the 2020 Democratic nominees for president kiss his ring,to carry on a time-honored tradition he started during his presidency: Releasing his annual list of favorite books from the previous year. “This has become a fun little tradition…
Here’s What to Say to Racist Family Members During the Holidays
Mother Jones illustration It’s holiday season! Which means it’s time to have some potentially awkward conversations with family, on top of the usual awkward conversations that dredge up old resentments and new disappointments. Lots has already been written about today’s polarized political climate, and if they want, people can more or less successfully avoid being…
Watch Fran Lebowitz Hilariously Recount Toni Morrison Reading Her Bad Reviews
Morrison with Lebowitz at a 2011 film screening in New York City. Dennis Van Tine/MediaPunch /IPX Everyone needs a friend like Toni Morrison. That much was made clear as hundreds of people packed into New York City’s Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine on Thursday to pay tribute to the late author, who died…
Sherrod Brown Decided Not to Run for President. But He Has Big Ideas for How Democrats Could Take Back the Country.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) speaks at a culinary union hall in Las Vegas on February 23, 2019.John Locher/AP Sherrod Brown was going to run for president. But he wrote a book instead. Well, not exactly, the Ohio senator protests when I say as much. “I didn’t think, ‘Well, it’s a presidential primary and we gotta…
Where Do Our Ideas About Queerness Come From?
Mother Jones Illustration On a cold night in January 2011, 300 people piled into Hugh Ryan’s loft in Bushwick, Brooklyn. It was a special evening for Ryan. His Pop-Up Museum of Queer History was making its debut, right here in his living space. Together with more than 30 exhibit makers, he had curated a makeshift…
A New Memoir Details How the Criminal Justice System Puts Sexual Assault Survivors Through Hell
Mariah Tiffany After Chanel Miller was sexually assaulted by Brock Turner on the Stanford University campus in January 2015, she tried to keep the attack secret from most of her family and friends. As details of the crime were reported—two grad students on bikes had spotted Turner on top of the unconscious Miller behind a…