Fate of the West
Where Western civilization is headed. History, demography, culture and power, with serious attention to both decline and renewal.
About this list
This reading list brings together items from the sources selected for Fate of the West. Open each item at its original source for the complete article, episode or video. This is a selection of current coverage, not a complete archive.
Stories from The Nation. Show all stories · All sources
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Trump Is Making Deals With Big Oil
Democrats and the press should be paying attention to how this pay-to-play behavior relates to the midterms
Is Blockbuster Video the Answer to Our Digital Privacy Woes?
The Supreme Court is weighing whether a 1988 video-store law can be used to protect our digital privacy.
The Saudi Phase of the Iran War Signals More Chaos to Come
The conflict that Donald Trump has repeatedly proclaimed an unequivocal American victory keeps spiraling out of control.
Pinocchio
And blood.
These Working-Class Populists Are Struggling to Win Over the Working Class
And more insights from the second edition of our Economic Populist Tracker.
How Congress Is Cashing In on the AI Boom
Roughly one in five members of Congress has household investments in the industry.
Who Was Emily Brontë?
A new biography tries to reconstruct her everyday life.
When Government Fails, Working People Pick Up the Slack
This is happening in every working-class and poor community across the country.
Obviously The Knicks Should Not Visit the White House. Why Is This Even a Discussion?
The Knicks shouldn’t let their legacy include genuflecting to Donald Trump, one of the most hated figures in the very city printed on their jersey. New Yorkers deserve better.
We Were Warned in 2001
Science-fiction nightmares are now current events.
An Effective Movement for Palestine Needs Allies Like Zohran Mamdani
In order to build a broad-based coalition, we need to work together—not practice purity politics.
The Architectural Follies of Trump’s Washington, DC
The president plans to remake the capital in his own image, but is all he is doing destroying what’s already there?
The Real AI Threat Is Already Here
Never mind some future apocalypse—AI is being used right now to cause enormous suffering.
The Plundering Oligarch You Haven’t Heard Of
Private-equity magnate Jeffrey Leerink has been busy pillaging healthcare and the life sciences.
Wendell Berry’s Unrelenting Vision
The poet wrote for The Nation for decades, always demonstrating conscience and prescience.
Minnesota Has Ilhan Omar’s Back
Minnesotans say the raid on Omar’s home was all about politics. They also argue that it will backfire and generate boosted turnout for DFL candidates.
Why Navi Pillay’s Receiving the Nobel Peace Prize Is So Important
She believes that human rights and international law are universal principles that must be enforced regardless of violator’s ideology, ethnicity, or geostrategic alignment.
Andy Burnham’s Speech to the Labour Party Conference Could Be the Start of a Positive Social-Democratic Politics
But the autumn budget to be released at the end of October will offer needed details.
What Didn’t Happen at Cornell
Everything that Jane Doe went through could have been stopped, if someone had bothered to intervene. But no one did.
2028 Democratic Hopefuls Take on Data Centers
Data center opposition can foster a bigger Democratic tent by aligning red and blue, and rural and urban communities.
Making America Accountable Again
Corporate leaders say they should be shielded from congressional inquiries because they had no alternative but to collaborate with the Trump administration. History says otherwise.
A Horrific ICE Shooting Is Testing Mamdani’s Approach to Trump
After a federal agent shot an immigrant in New York, activists are questioning Mamdani’s handling of the NYPD and his relationship with the White House.
Jane Doe: Courage and Dignity
Allegations of gang rape and sex trafficking at Cornell University highlight persistent concerns about rape culture, even years after the #MeToo movement.
NIGHT WINDS (alternate)
The Nation Magazine
The First Amendment Applies to Concert Stages Too
Protests like that of Macklemore on Palestine should never be silenced by billionaire owners.
What Role Should the Supreme Court Play in American Politics?
A wide-ranging new book by Nikolas Bowie and Daphna Renan examines how America’s highest court often gets in the way of democratic politics.
The Rapture
The Nation Magazine
Rebecca Solnit’s (Mis)Adventures in the Manosphere
The writer, historian, and activist explores an America where the right has turned hatred of women into an ever-expanding, multi-platform Internet grift.
France’s Students Won’t Back Down
Without full-time teachers, temperature-regulated classrooms, or school nurses, French students are turning their grievances into a national movement.
The Many Lives of Janet Malcolm
A new biography tells the story of one of America’s great masters of reportage.
Democrats Are Learning a New Political Language
Candidates in 2026 are responding to an electorate that’s ready to abolish ICE, tax the billionaire class, and free Palestine.
Anthropic Wants You to Be Kind to Claude
…even as AI courts serial real-world disasters, defaces the environment with data centers, and is not about to return your empathy in kind.
The Architecture of Campus Assault
College sexual assault is predictable. Here’s how to change that.
The DNC Fight to Ban Dark Money in Presidential Primaries
The inside debate.
“We Can’t Punish Our Way Out of This”: A Conversation on Meaningful Accountability After Cornell
A discussion with Rebecca Solnit and Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg about what accountability should look like for survivors of sexual assault and rape.
Pete Hegseth’s High-Tech Barbarism
In livestreaming Nidal Hasan’s execution, the secretary of war is marking his territory in the snuff movie business—and radicalizing people along the way.
Elon Musk’s James Talarico Smear Blew Up In His Face
But that doesn’t mean the danger from Musk’s lies is over.
Latino Pride: Honoring Heritage, Challenging Columbus Day
Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates Latino culture and pride while prompting reflection on Columbus Day and Indigenous recognition.
Writing About War as Bombs Fall
While the Israeli government launched a well-orchestrated offensive of disinformation and hyperbole that would make the illegal permissible in the war on Gaza.
Turkey Is Brutally Oppressing Queer People. Here’s What You Need to Know
The government’s sweeping crackdown on the LGBTQ community is an escalation of a decades-long pattern.
The Anatomy of a Literary Scandal
The pillorying of Canadian-Haitian novelist Thélyson Orélien, accused of using AI to write his new novel, is the latest in a chaotic year for French publishing.
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