Robert De Niro as Gen. Dillenbeck, in "Amsterdam."

Did American Business Leaders Really Try to Overthrow the President, Like in "Amsterdam"?

How David O. Russell’s movie messes around with the story of the Business Plot.
Woman standing next to cannons at Ghana's Cape Coast Castle.

Why The Right Hates History Right Now

The real problem the most powerful people on the right and center have with the “new” history — and the humanities in general — is not that it practices identity politics, but that it rejects theirs.
Black and white photo of U.S. soldiers outside Manila during the Philippine-American War.

The Resounding Darkness of America’s Black Sites

It is in the hidden spaces of American empire that the realities of power can truly be seen.
Major General Smedley Butler addresses nearly 16,000 veteran bonus marchers camped in Washington, D.C., July 20, 1932. Smedley urged them to stay until the bonus has been paid. (AP Photo)

The Plot Against American Democracy That Isn't Taught in Schools

How the authors of the Depression-era “Business Plot” aimed to take power away from FDR and stop his “socialist” New Deal.
A bicyclist rides past the rubble of a church.

The Disasters in Afghanistan and Haiti Share the Same Twisted Root

Half a world away, the citizens of two nations suffer at the hands of a familiar malefactor.

U.S. Intervention in Haiti Would Be a Disaster—Again

The nation’s poverty and chaos has been shaped by Washington for decades.
Newspaper article featuring a photo of Smedley Butler.

In Trump's Plot to Seize the White House, Who Will Be Our Smedley Butler?

In 1934, a fascist coup was planned to remove President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and stop the New Deal. Donald Trump has made it relevant again.

Bernie, the Sandinistas, and America's Long Crisis of Impunity

Or, the pros and Contras of relying on political reporters.

Why It’s Fair to Compare the Detention of Migrants to Concentration Camps

Not every concentration camp is Auschwitz. The term is much older.
Hillary Clinton in Haiti

The King and Queen of Haiti

There’s no country that more clearly illustrates the confusing nexus of Hillary Clinton’s State Department and Bill Clinton’s foundation than Haiti.