In an Environment of Chronic Economic Uncertainty, Trump Is Only Making It Worse

John Cassidy writes about economic uncertainty in the face of coronavirus’s global spread and the Trump Administration’s counterproductive strategy in the face of that uncertainty.

* This article was originally published here

Another Israeli Election—and Yet Another Plan to Defeat Benjamin Netanyahu

Bernard Avishai writes about the upcoming Israeli elections, in which the powerbroker Avigdor Lieberman hopes to break the impasse of the past two elections and elevate Benny Gantz to the office of Prime Minister over the incumbent, Benjamin Netanyahu.

* This article was originally published here

Why Shouldn’t Prisoners Be Voters?

Daniel A. Gross writes about a prisoner weighing his primary options in Maine, which is one of just two states that allow all incarcerated people to vote.

* This article was originally published here

Bernie Sanders Runs Out the Clock at a Chaotic Democratic Debate

Eric Lach on Bernie Sanders’s lead in the Democratic Presidential primary, and the other candidates’ attempts to compete with him during the debate.

* This article was originally published here

Ahead of the South Carolina Primary, Donald Trump’s Debate Tips for Democrats

Amy Davidson Sorkin writes about Donald Trump’s rally in Las Vegas, his debating advice for Michael Bloomberg, and his comments about Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, and Amy Klobuchar.

* This article was originally published here

Bernie Sanders Scores an Impressive Victory in Nevada

John Cassidy writes about Bernie Sanders’s resounding victory in the Nevada Democratic primary caucuses, which has left the Nevada senator a firm favorite to win the Democratic Presidential nomination.

* This article was originally published here

The Unhealed Wounds of a Mass Arrest of Black Students at Ole Miss, Fifty Years Later

W. Ralph Eubanks writes about the fiftieth anniversary of the University of Mississippi protests of the school’s use of Confederate imagery and the consequences the black students faced.

* This article was originally published here

A View of the Revolution in Lebanon from Martyrs’ Square

Nai Zakharia illustrates scenes from the revolution in Lebanon from Martyrs’ Square, the epicenter of the uprising in Beirut.

* This article was originally published here

Andy Byford’s Last Day with New York’s Transit System

William Finnegan writes about the imminent departure of Andy Byford, the president of the New York City Transit Authority, who was hired by Governor Andrew Cuomo to revitalize the city’s mass-transit system but whose long-term plans appeared to conflict with the governor’s political timetable.

* This article was originally published here

Elizabeth Warren’s National Groundwork

Peter Slevin writes about Elizabeth Warren’s Presidential campaign, which must now overcome disappointing finishes in the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries.

* This article was originally published here

The Political Scientist Hélène Landemore on Open Democracy

Nathan Heller interviews the political scientist and Yale professor Hélène Landemore on her conception of open democracy, which she established in her book “Democratic Reason: Politics, Collective Intelligence, and the Rule of the Many.”

* This article was originally published here

A Lost Chance to Bring the Green New Deal Home

Bernard Avishai writes about the tax credit for installing residential solar energy and the important impact that it’s had on the economy and the environment.

* This article was originally published here

The Weinstein Trial and the Myth of the Perfect Victim

Naomi Fry discusses the blurry line between professional life and sexual life that women must negotiate, especially in Hollywood, and the impossible position Harvey Weinstein’s accusers find themselves in on the witness stand in the media mogul’s rape trial.

* This article was originally published here

Why D.C.’s Mayor Endorsed Michael Bloomberg

Isaac Chotiner interviews Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington, D.C., about Michael Bloomberg’s record as mayor of New York City, including his stop-and-frisk policy, his comments about redlining, and allegations against him of sexism.

* This article was originally published here

The New Coronavirus and Preparing for the Next Viral Pandemic

Michael Specter on the coronavirus and how the scientific community can prepare in advance for the next viral epidemic.

* This article was originally published here

Donald Trump, a President So Unhinged That Even Bill Barr Says He’s Out of Control

Susan B. Glasser on how President Donald Trump’s impeachment-trial acquittal has reinforced his belief that he can do anything he wants, and how Attorney General Bill Barr has even spoken out against his tweets.

* This article was originally published here

How the Trump Administration Uses the “Hidden Weapons” of Immigration Law

Isaac Chotiner interviews Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, the policy counsel at the American Immigration Council, to talk about President Donald Trump’s increasing success in reshaping American immigration policy, from the travel bans to the crackdown on migrants trying to claim asylum at the Mexican border.

* This article was originally published here

Bernie Sanders Leads a Jumbled New Hampshire Primary

Benjamin Wallace-Wells on the New Hampshire primary, in which the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders narrowly came out ahead of Pete Buttigieg.

* This article was originally published here

Joe Biden Struggles in New Hampshire

Rob Fischer writes that Biden, with his strong name recognition and long résumé, had been considered the most likely candidate to emerge from the New Hampshire primary as the presumptive nominee; instead, a third of the state’s likely voters remain undecided.

* This article was originally published here

A Former Google Executive Calls for a New Emphasis on Human Rights

Isaac Chotiner speaks with Ross LaJeunesse, the former head of international relations at Google, who is running for the U.S. Senate, about changes in Big Tech companies and how the tech sector should approach authoritarian governments.

* This article was originally published here

The Woman Shaking Up the Diamond Industry Finds Yet Another Huge Gem

Ed Caesar on a five-hundred-and-forty-nine-carat ice-white rough diamond found in Botswana by Eira Thomas’s mining company, Lucara.

* This article was originally published here

Money Talks in the Democratic Race

Ben Wallace-Wells on the Democratic Presidential contest ahead of the New Hampshire primary and how the power to shape the race increasingly lies with those campaigns with money.

* This article was originally published here

The Challenge Facing Democrats in the 2020 Election

John Cassidy on how defeating President Trump is going to take a mighty effort from the Democratic Presidential candidates and their supporters.

* This article was originally published here

Michael Lind on Populism, Racism, and Restoring Democracy

Isaac Chotiner interviews Michael Lind about his new book, “The New Class War,” which pins the destruction of the American middle class on “technocratic neoliberalism” and asks whether bigotry or economic populism better explains Donald Trump’s popularity.

* This article was originally published here

Buttigieg and Sanders Both Have Reasons To Celebrate the Partial Iowa-Caucus Results

John Cassidy on the partial results of the Democratic Presidential caucuses in Iowa, in which Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders led the field.

* This article was originally published here

Will Big Business Finally Reckon with the Climate Crisis?

Carolyn Kormann writes about a new report, co-authored by McKinsey consultants and scientists from the Woods Hole Research Center, detailing how physical climate risks will affect socioeconomic systems in the coming decades.

* This article was originally published here

The End of the Endless Iowa Campaign

Eric Lach considers the state of the race for the 2020 Democratic Presidential nomination on the eve of the Iowa caucuses, with Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, and Pete Buttigieg leading the field.

* This article was originally published here

“The Two Popes” Gives Way to Pope vs. Pope on the Issue of Celibacy in the Priesthood

Paul Elie writes about the conflict between Pope Benedict and Pope Francis on the issue of celibacy in the priesthood, addressed in a new book, “From the Depths of Our Hearts,” published under the name of both Benedict and Cardinal Robert Sarah.

* This article was originally published here

“It’s a Worldwide Problem”: How North American and Australian Firefighters Work Together

Ceridwen Dovey writes about the hundreds of North America firefighters who have travelled to Australia to help contain this season’s especially destructive wildfires.

* This article was originally published here