Donate or Join | Boston Review

A Political and Literary Forum

Menu Search
Donate Shop Join

Media

Philosophy & Religion, Politics

Polarization or Propaganda?

Two rival theories paint very different pictures of the sources of our democratic dysfunction. The debate won’t be settled by accusations of political convenience.

C. Thi Nguyen

Politics

Why We Need Public Journalism

Quality news is essential for democracy. We must stage an intervention to save it.

Magda Konieczna

Politics, Science & Nature

Hydroxychloroquine and the Political Polarization of Science

How a drug became an object lesson in political tribalism.

Cailin O'Connor, James Owen Weatherall

Politics

An End to Totalitarianism

Fixating on whether Trump’s response to COVID-19 is totalitarian makes it difficult to have a nuanced discussion about the role government should play in times of crisis.

Samuel Clowes Huneke

Class & Inequality, Politics

Whose Liberalism?

With its elite decision-makers and opinion-formers—and over 1.5 million copies sold per week—the Economist has exerted tremendous influence on popular liberal discourse for more than a century.

Ben Jackson

Politics

How Not to Do Activism

The calculus of power isn’t defined by hits or clicks or tweets. It is measured in relationships and meaningful reactions over time.

Michael Gecan

Politics

It's No Secret Why Republicans Win

The right’s success in media is not a shadowy conspiracy; it has been achieved out in the open, largely through ordinary politics. Much of it can be countered the same way.

Nicole Hemmer

War & Security

Watching the End of the World

The Doomsday Clock is set to two minutes to midnight—the same position it held in 1953, when the United States and USSR detonated their first hydrogen bombs. So why don't we make movies about nuclear war anymore? 

Stephen Phelan

Race

The Racist Politics of the English Language

How we went from “racist” to “racially tinged.”

Lawrence B. Glickman

Politics

Selling Outrage

Yochai Benkler argues that the mainstream media is our best hope for tempering the radical right. 

Yochai Benkler, Deborah Chasman

Law & Justice

Kavanaugh’s Charity Case

We already know how Brett Kavanaugh responds to human suffering.

Sarah Hill

Race

The Forgotten Baldwin

James Baldwin’s book about the Atlanta child murders speaks best to the era of Black Lives Matter.

Joseph Vogel

Pages

       

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Vital reading on politics, literature, and more in your inbox

Love Boston Review?

Then you’ll love our new membership program! Join us to support engaged discussion on critical issues. You’ll also enjoy exclusive membership benefits.
Get Started

Copyright © 1993-2021 Boston Review and its authors.

Support Boston Review

Become a Member

Make a tax-deductible donation today

Boston Review Printing Note: For best printing results try turning on any options your web browser's print dialog makes available for printing backgrounds and background graphics.

Join the conversation

Subscribe to Our Emails

Boston Review is a public space for the discussion of ideas and culture. Sign up for our newsletters and don’t miss a thing.

Join Today