JACOBIN

APRIL 9. 2025

Today Is a Day to Celebrate Union Victory and Emancipation

April 9, the day that the American Civil War ended in 1865, should be a national holiday celebrating the defeat of the Confederacy, the end of slavery, and the triumph of liberty.

APRIL 8. 2025

A Minecraft Movie Is as Bad as It Is Popular

Based on the best-selling video game of all time, A Minecraft Movie is officially a megahit. If this is Hollywood’s savior, we’re all doomed.

South Korea’s Presidential Impeachment Was Long Overdue

South Korea’s Constitutional Court has finally impeached disgraced right-wing president Yoon Suk-yeol after his failed coup last December. Yoon and his conservative allies have given a major boost to a far-right movement that is hostile to democracy.

Oligarchy, Empire, and Revolution in Central America

There is a direct line in Central America stretching back more than a century from US-backed military intervention, to support of reactionary oligarchies, to devastating neoliberal restructuring, to the migration crisis now exploited in US politics.

A More Graceful American Decline

The US trade war is a result of domestic elites’ refusal to accept America’s relative decline. The recent experience of Japan shows how economic decline can be managed.

Turkey’s Students Demand the Future

Students have taken the lead in the struggle to defend Turkish democracy. Their activism reflects anger at the jailing of Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu but also a long erosion of social rights which has torn away their future.

The United States of Money Laundering

By refusing to enforce the Corporate Transparency Act, the Trump administration has gutted key protections against money laundering and financial crime. The message to kleptocrats worldwide is clear: the US is open for anonymous shell company business.

APRIL 7. 2025

Frantz Fanon’s Algerian Years on Film

In French-ruled Algeria, Frantz Fanon was a psychiatrist and an active member of the National Liberation Front. A new movie portrays his commitment to the anti-colonial struggle.

A New Translation Breaths Fresh Life Into Charles Baudelaire

A new dual-language translation of Charles Baudelaire’s The Flowers of Evil offers English readers the best way of appreciating the poet who helped invent modernity.

Private Equity Is Getting Into the Airplane Repair Business

Private equity firms are increasingly gobbling up the companies that fix planes for commercial airlines, preying on an industry with already weakened oversight and further stoking the fears of aviation safety advocates.

Clocking Out of the Second Shift

The official statistics show that gender gaps in the division of household labor have closed significantly over time. Why are so many women still so frustrated?

Tariffs Are Splintering Donald Trump’s Coalition

One of the Right’s biggest funders and most important strategists, longtime Federalist Society head Leonard Leo, seems to be breaking with Donald Trump over tariffs.

The Other French Far-Right Leader Facing Corruption Charges

Marine Le Pen’s conviction shone a spotlight on her party’s misuse of public funds. Where the party already runs the government, in the southeastern town of Fréjus, its mayor, David Rachline, stands accused of a massive web of corruption.

APRIL 6. 2025

Andrew Cuomo Is Bad for Jews

In his run for New York City mayor, Andrew Cuomo is cloaking his reactionary agenda in the guise of protecting Jews — an approach that harms Jews rather than helping them.