Summertime Blues
The United States withdraws from Afghanistan, we look at protests in Cuba, critical race theory and animal rights activism--and we welcome Charlie Brown to Public Seminar
Public Seminar is going on a summer hiatus for four weeks, but you will still be hearing from us! Each week we will produce a thematic issue, reprints of our best work this year. But we are still gathering material for our first fall issue at the end of August, so please:
1880 Stanford's Map of Afghanistan during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Image credit: Edward Stanford/Wikimedia Commons
July 22, 2021
Foreign Affairs
Sonali Kolhatkar, “Twenty Years of U.S. Occupation Was Brutal in Afghanistan—And So Will Be the Exit: Alongside the relief of ending the longest war in modern American history, we need to acknowledge the horrors of what we are leaving behind in Afghanistan.” (July 21, 2021)
Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Nicolę Hemmer, and Neil J. Young, “The Protests in Cuba: Past Present Podcast, Episode 288.” (July 20, 2021)
Critical Race Theory
Karen Gaffney, “One Karen’s Perspective on Our Whitewashed History: The attacks on critical race theory are only the latest chapter in the American fight against equality and justice.” (July 21, 2021)
Animal Rights
Katie Stennes, “Undercover Investigations Expose Brutal Wildlife Killing Contests: Welcome to the cruel world of wildlife killing contests, family events where children play amidst piles of slaughtered animals—and legal in 42 states.” (July 21, 2021)
Books
Blake Scott Ball, “How Charlie Brown Remained A “Good Man:” Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz went to great lengths to avoid political controversy. But as culture became more political, he navigated that challenge with skill and grace.” (July 21, 2021)
Our Columnists:
Pat Garafolo, “Lowe’s Loses, Taxpayers Win: It’s good that the judges told Lowe’s to take a hike, but these cases are just going to keep coming.” (July 19, 2021)
Claire Potter, “In a Federal Infrastructure Bill, Waste Isn’t Pork: Politics may or may not be a sewer, but the fact is a lot of rural American backyards are. A Democratic Congresswoman from Alabama wants to fix that with tax dollars.”(July 20, 2021)
Heather Cox Richardson, “Why Voting Rights Are Still Necessary Trouble: Just a year after Representative Lewis’s death, the rights for which he fought are under greater threat than they have been since 1965.” (July 21, 2021)
John Stoehr, “How Do We Solve a Problem Like ‘Vaccine Skeptics’? Stop Respecting Their Excuses for Bad Behavior: We’ve tried respect. It didn’t work.”(July 21, 2021)