A Really Bad Week for the Global Right And what is it about Christian nationalism that looks to produce kleptocratic regimes?

the course of Christian nationalist nations compels us to wonder if there’s a causal link between Christian nationalism, illiberal democracy, and kleptocracy. buff.ly/xc0IZ4j

Khan vs. Cutter: A Tale of Two Careers - The American Prospect It was the age of corruption, and maybe, it was also the age of integrity.

Lina Khan’s new role leading Columbia University’s Center for Law and the Economy offers an alternative vision of what post-government employment can offer for public servants actually dedicated to serving the public interest.

A Running Count of How Many People ICE Has Killed and Injured - The American Prospect ICE is not required to report any use-of-force incidents against the public. So The American Prospect created our own running tally.

Two more people have died in custody. The federal government doesn't keep track of how many people die in ICE custody and detention, but we do. prospect.org/2026/01/29/i...

The Faltering War Economy - The American Prospect Trump’s war craters the economy in multiple ways, even if it somehow ends soon.

As the real economy weakens and interest rates rise, so do the risks of a financial crash. All of these risks are exacerbated by the serial shocks of the Iran war. It is Trump’s war and Trump’s economy.

Aftermath: Plastics Clogged in the Persian Gulf - The American Prospect In today’s inaugural newsletter: plastic supply chains, sulfuric acid export bans, and the war drags on.

The Prospect launches its new newsletter on the war in Iran — Aftermath — with a piece on the latest on the blockade (and double-blockade) of the Strait of Hormuz, the impact on the plastics industry, and China’s early bid for self-preservation.

Aftermath: Plastics Clogged in the Persian Gulf In today’s inaugural newsletter: plastic supply chains, sulfuric acid export bans, and the war drags on.

If oil and gas supplies are disrupted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, that affects something you use hundreds of times a day without even thinking about it: plastics. buff.ly/WinYh9T

The Faltering War Economy Trump’s war craters the economy in multiple ways, even if it somehow ends soon.

There is a name for this overall picture: stagflation, which refers to the improbable simultaneous combination of rising inflation and rising unemployment. buff.ly/6NLAg3B

Khan vs. Cutter: A Tale of Two Careers It was the age of corruption, and maybe, it was also the age of integrity.

Lina Khan's new position demonstrates an honest commitment to seeing through the success of the political project to which she has devoted her career. prospect.org?p=137146

How the Iran War Threatens the AI Economy - The American Prospect Supply chain disruptions threaten the flow of computer chips, which power AI models.

The current disruptions to the steady flow of semiconductors could hasten the bursting of the AI economy bubble.

Re-enacting the Crusades - The American Prospect Pete Hegseth’s Christianity—tribal, with plenty of enemies who deserve the sword—is central to the MAGA world view.

The Christianity of Vance, Hegseth, and Rollins is a blood-and-soil Christianity.

Mom, Kids, and Nowhere to Go - The American Prospect Family homelessness is spiking just as the Trump administration rolls back social services.

Unhoused families, like everyone else who is unhoused, are facing renewed financial pressures as social programs and housing support that were already woefully insufficient are stripped down under the Trump administration.

Trump’s Kiss of Life Canada’s Mark Carney, Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen, and maybe even Britain’s Keir Starmer can thank Trump for reviving their sagging fortunes. Viktor Orbán, not so much.

For his opponents in other Western democracies, the chance to resist Trump has been the kiss of life. buff.ly/718iPLV

Congressional Black Caucus to Support Spying Powers Used on BLM Activists The Congressional Black Caucus will support the clean reauthorization of FISA Section 702, a warrantless surveillance authority that has been used to spy on African Americans.

The decision by the CBC is just one example of the tremendous power the intelligence community has exerted year after year to renew surveillance powers it says are essential to national security. buff.ly/EOeA9hm

How the Iran War Threatens the AI Economy Supply chain disruptions threaten the flow of computer chips, which power AI models.

The current disruptions to the steady flow of semiconductors could hasten the AI economy bubble bursting. buff.ly/gq8Anw5

Re-enacting the Crusades Pete Hegseth’s Christianity—tribal, with plenty of enemies who deserve the sword—is central to the MAGA worldview.

The Christianity of Vance, Hegseth, and Rollins is a blood-and-soil Christianity. buff.ly/BLb0Di6

Mom, Kids, and Nowhere to Go Family homelessness is spiking just as the Trump administration rolls back social services.

Families are one of the fastest-growing segments of the homeless population, but they are rarely acknowledged in the larger policy conversation about homelessness in the U.S. buff.ly/gVr0AZP

The War Is Bad. The Cease-Fire Doesn’t Exist. The Future Is Awful. - The American Prospect Iran taking operational control of the Strait of Hormuz has enormous ripple effects.

In such a fraught moment, casting our eyes toward the aftermath may seem premature. But no matter whether hostilities resume, the future for the Middle East and the global economy is precisely the same as last week: Iran has operational control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Mass Protest: Where Are the Kids? - The American Prospect The latest No Kings marches attracted a record eight million people. Most of them were of an advanced age that suggested they personally remembered the 1960s.

One thing was missing at the No Kings 3 rallies last month—students and other young people. Instead of students organizing against complicit adults, college presidents such as Wesleyan’s exemplary Michael Roth are hoping to rouse dormant students.

Getting New York City to Believe in Government - The American Prospect Maintaining the momentum of Zohran Mamdani’s historically successful election campaign has meant doing the little things right.

Maintaining the momentum of Zohran Mamdani’s historically successful election campaign has meant doing the little things right.

Eric Swalwell and the Death of Accountability

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Trump’s Wreckage of Social Security and Medicare - The American Prospect The assault on cherished social insurance programs is a gift to Democrats, but only if they are clear about how to defend them.

Donald Trump believes that the direct costs of his war with Iran, combined with his request for increased military spending mean that the federal government can no longer afford Medicare.

The Friends of Viktor Orbán - The American Prospect Trump and Putin, Bibi and Tucker Carlson, thug-ocrats of all nations flock to Orbán’s banner.

If you wanted to find some way to cluster in a single room the individuals who pose a genuine threat to liberal freedoms, egalitarian values, and scientific epistemology, you might want to call a meeting of the Viktor Orbán fan club.

A Retrospective on Bidenomics - The American Prospect Joe Biden listened to the left on full employment. But the lasting effects were wanting, and the politics were brutal.

With the economy in a severe recession from the pandemic, Joe Biden met the challenge with a $1.9 trillion stimulus. It was probably the most significant set of economic reforms from a Democratic president since the 1960s. Alas, it did not seem to work out politically as hoped.

Lebanon Is Also Burning - The American Prospect The war on Iran has spilled into Lebanon, and Israel’s plan for the country appears bleak.

Trump’s two-week cease-fire between the U.S. and Iran was conditional on Lebanon’s inclusion under the umbrella of peace. Twelve hours later, Israel launched at least 160 bombs at targets all across Lebanon within a span of just ten minutes.

The War Is Bad. The Cease-Fire Doesn’t Exist. The Future Is Awful. - The American Prospect Iran taking operational control of the Strait of Hormuz has enormous ripple effects.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened military action against “aggressors in the region” if the Lebanon attacks continue. "Every other country or rogue actor in this position will wonder why they don’t just go ahead and do the same thing."

Israel and the Cease-Fire - The American Prospect Will Bibi Netanyahu manage to keep the war going, or will Trump finally appreciate that U.S. interests and Bibi’s are far from identical?

President Trump’s hapless efforts to extricate himself and the United States from his failed Iran war may have one salutary piece of collateral damage. Israel acts, often more aggressively than Trump wants and not always on Trump’s timetable.

Donald Trump, Wrecker of American Empire - The American Prospect The president has done more damage to American power than anyone in history.

It took 20 years to lose in Afghanistan, about ten years to lose in Vietnam, and two and a half years to lose the War of 1812, but Trump managed to get utterly dog-walked in a mere six weeks.

Marcus Foundation Bankrolls Pro–Iran War Group - The American Prospect A foundation associated with Home Depot has been the biggest funder of one of the loudest voices for war against Iran.

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), launched by Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus, who died in November 2024, has been a leading advocate both in making the case to go to war against Iran and to continue it.
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Hazing Still Kills College Students A Washington state mother navigates tragedy, working alongside anti-hazing advocates to raise awareness about fraternity and other group initiation practices that can turn deadly.

Despite federal legislation, new state laws, and campus prevention programs, hazing remains deeply embedded in many college cultures across the country. buff.ly/gGCtsjf

Vertical Vertigo - The American Prospect Brian Callaci’s book describes the deregulatory strategies franchisors use to protect their profits.

Chains of Command: The Rise and Cruel Reign of the Franchise Economy, by Brian Callaci, unbundles the business and legal strategy behind why a franchisor’s branding power is inextricably tied up with the treatment of its franchising partners.