Fred Magdoff goes against much of the “conventional wisdom” of environmentalism, arguing that the economic imperatives of our current social system are incompatible with the goals of environmental sustainability.
Journalist Michael Hudson explores the origins and conduct of the sub-prime mortgage industry, showing how firms often preyed on the weak, avoided public scrutiny of corrupt and illegal practices, and contributed to the economic crisis of 2008.
Communications scholar Zack Furness considers the history of bicycling in the 20th century and shows how bicycle technology has been used and politicized.
Historian Lawrence Culver explores the role of leisure and tourism in shaping California’s economy, architecture, and environment since the late 19th century. He shows how California created, and then exported, its image and “lifestyle” to the rest of the nation — and the world.
Ernest Drucker describes the current “plague” of mass incarceration in the U.S., locating its origins in policies at the heart of the “War on Drugs” in the 1970s and then arguing that this social crusade became a damaging and self-perpetuating system.
Historian Judith Stein traces how previously reigning economic ideas and practices — ones that favored manufacturing, low unemployment, and high wages — were gradually dismantled in the face of challenging political and economic circumstances.
Historian Ernest Freeberg discusses how Eugene Debs, Socialist Party presidential candidate, was sent to federal prison after speaking out against World War I. The imprisonment of Debs and others sparked a national debate about the limits of free speech.
James W. Loewen discusses the overreliance on history textbooks, many of which present a warped or distorted view of the Civil War and other critical episodes in American history.
Lara Putnam explores the experiences of workers as they migrated between the United States, Caribbean islands, and Central and South America, as well as the efforts of nations to control these movements during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
