American Philosophy

TWO LOST HOURS ABOARD A UFO—THE ABDUCTION OF BETTY AND BARNEY HILL One of the most extraordinary UFO tales of our time—a thrilling, otherworldly, and wildly entertaining adventure that enraptured America and stands as the quintessential extraterrestrial encounter "True believers will see...

An urgent case that the survival of democracy depends on reinventing the press, with ten pioneering reforms to help journalism better serve the public—from the co-author of the classic The Elements of Journalism. The crisis in journalism reflects a crisis in American democracy. Faith in news...

In this very short introduction, Tim Bayne introduces the field of philosophy of religion and engages with some of the most burning questions philosophers discuss.

A stirring defense of liberalism against the dogmatisms of our time from an award-winning and New York Times bestselling author. Not since the early twentieth century has liberalism, and liberals, been under such relentless attack, from both right and left. The crisis of democracy in our era has...

Elisabeth R. Anker reckons with the complex legacy of freedom offered by liberal American democracy, outlining how the emphasis of individual liberty has always been entangled with white supremacy, settler colonialism, climate destruction, economic exploitation, and patriarchy. These "ugly freedoms" legitimate the right to exploit and subjugate others. At the same time, Anker locates an unexpected second type of ugly freedom in practices and situations, often dismissed as demeaning, offensive, gross, and ineffectual, but that provide sources of emancipatory potential.

In this visionary book, Dennis Prager, one of America's most original thinkers, contends that humanity confronts a monumental choice. The whole world must decide between American values and its two oppositional alternatives: Islamism and European-style democratic socialism. Prager—a...

From the New York Times bestselling author of A Million Little Pieces and Bright Shiny Morning comes Katerina, James Frey’s highly anticipated new novel set in 1992 Paris and contemporary Los Angeles. A kiss, a touch. A smile and a beating heart. Love and sex and dreams, art and drugs and the...

This audio course examines the major periods in the history of Western political thought and questions the political and social order. It considers the ways in which thinkers have responded to the particular political problems of their day, and the ways in which they contribute to a broader conversation about human goods and needs, justice, democracy, and the proper relationship of the individual to the state. One aim will be to understand the strengths and weaknesses of various regimes and philosophical approaches in order to gain a critical perspective on our own.

How can political campaigns fight back against disinformation? A decade after The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns, which Politico called "Moneyball for politics," journalist Sasha Issenberg returns to the cutting edge of political innovation to reveal how campaigns are...

From one of the leading critics of leftist orientations comes a study of the thinkers who have most influenced the attitudes of the New Left. Beginning with a ruthless analysis of New Leftism and concluding with a critique of the key strands in its thinking, Roger Scruton conducts a reappraisal of such major left-wing thinkers as E. P. Thompson, Ronald Dworkin, R. D. Laing, Jurgen Habermas, Gyorgy Lukacs, Jean-Paul Sartre, Jacques Derrida, Slavoj Žižek, Ralph Milliband, and Eric Hobsbawm. Scruton delivers a critique of modern left-wing thinking.

One of the greatest American achievements in the 20th century was the creation of public schools and universal education, an ideal now deeply at risk. Cornell University professor Noliwe Rooks provides a critical account of the making and unmaking of public education in Cutting School, the first book to foreground how vast racial and economic divides are part and parcel of the push to privatize our education system.

Physics professor, bestselling author, and dynamic storyteller James Kakalios reveals the mind-bending science behind the seemingly basic things that keep our daily lives running, from our smart phones and digital “clouds” to x-ray machines and hybrid vehicles. Most of us are clueless...

What happened to the American Dream? In A Love Letter to Suburbia, Diane Alisa takes readers on a compelling journey through the rise of suburbia and its consequences on American life. With heartfelt reflections and practical insights, Diane confronts the disillusionment many feel living in suburban sprawl. She explores how car dependency, corporate control, and disintegrating community values have eroded the sense of connection and purpose that once defined American neighborhoods. But this is not a story of defeat.

A compelling new set of interviews on our changing and turbulent times with Noam Chomsky, one of the world's foremost thinkers In this collection of conversations, conducted from 2010 to 2012, Noam Chomsky explores the most immediate and urgent concerns: the future of democracy in the Arab world...

Becky Chambers meets Firefly in this big-hearted Korean space opera debut about a disgraced space pilot struggling to find her place while fighting to protect the people she loves. “A thrilling, transportive ride from a powerful and evocative new voice.” —Lena Waithe, Rishi Rajani, and...

The National Book Award–winning author of Stamped from the Beginning charts how “great replacement theory” has become a dominant political idea of our time and ushered in an antidemocratic age. “[Kendi] has a gift for tracing how historical ideas metastasize into present, real-world...

In this first collection of interviews since the bestselling 9-11: Was There an Alternative?, our foremost intellectual activist examines crucial questions of U.S. foreign policy. Timely, urgent, and powerfully elucidating, this important volume of previously unpublished interviews conducted by...

One of the nation's preeminent scholars and a New York Times bestselling author, Eddie S. Glaude Jr., makes the case that the hard work of becoming a better person should be a critical feature of Black politics. Through virtuoso interpretations of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Ella Baker, Glaude shows how we have the power to be the heroes that our democracy so desperately requires.

Black education was a subversive act from its inception. African Americans pursued education through clandestine means, often in defiance of law and custom, even under threat of violence. They developed what Jarvis Givens calls a tradition of "fugitive pedagogy"—a theory and practice of Black education in America. The enslaved learned to read in spite of widespread prohibitions; newly emancipated people braved the dangers of integrating all-White schools and the hardships of building Black schools.

An Abundance of Caution is a devastating account of the decision-making process behind one of the worst American policy failures in a century—the extended closures of public schools during the pandemic. David Zweig shows how some of the most trusted members of society repeatedly made fundamental errors in their assessment and presentation of evidence.