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Black History Month: "Go-Go has a long history of really taking back the power."

"Every movement has a soundtrack. The Civil Rights Movement's included the promise of 'We Shall Overcome" by the late activist and folk singer, Pete Seeger. The profanity of N.W.A.'s 'Fuck tha Police' provided foresight to the L.A. riots of 1992 after the beating of Rodney King. Kendrick Lamar's 2015 'Alright,' delivered a myth that defied reality; anchoring our imagination in something monumental, majestic, and joyous."

Kelsey Navarro

Black joy: the power and politics of Go-Go music in the era of Black Lives Matter

Are we alone in the universe? The unwavering question that took over this family's meals.

"My family didn't argue about politics or religion. Our major source of contention at dinner was UFOs" In this personal and fascinating piece, Keith A. Spencer chronicles how the Human Potential Movement helped solidify his grandfather’s beliefs in aliens, UFOs and ESP.

Ken Foster

Aliens at the dinner table

"Simplicity and impulsivity don't translate to thoughtful conversations on Twitter."

In an age where digital politics are rife, Brian L. Ott urges us in Salon to look outside of social media for our news and politics. Here, he especially looks at how Twitter usage is positively correlated to narcissism and Machiavellianism.

The dangers of digital politics

Black History Month: Her success is an inspiration, but what about her predecessors?

Who is the most famous historical African American business person? Madam C.J. Walker is often referenced as being the first Black millionaire, but that might not be the case. Shomari Wills sets the record straight in Salon.

"The earliest known African American to achieve a net worth of a million dollars was William Liedesdorff. He lived free in New Orleans in the early 1840s, passing as a white man and working as a naval merchant. When he was outed as a black man, he migrated to California, then a Mexican territory populated with Native Americans and mixed-race Mexican nationals. In California, he acquired over 30,000 acres of land, which turned out to be laden with gold, just before the 1849 gold rush."

Ron Butler

Madam C.J. Walker wasn’t the first African American millionaire

"Dr King influenced my grandma, who in turn influenced me."

"In my youth, my Grandma wanted me to be more like MLK, but I didn't think he had anything to offer a kid like me." D. Watkins shares in Salon some timeless words of wisdom as he reflects on growing up in east Baltimore; his relationship with the church, Martin Luther King Jr. and his grandmother.

"Grandparents were the driving force of our households in the '90s. Not to generalize, but it seemed like no one was really being raised by their parents back then. It could've been the crack era, mass incarceration, people making kids before they were ready to raise them, or a combination of it all, but the Gen Xers and Millennials I knew were raised by granny, who remembers when the black church used to be the epicenter of the black community. Our grandparents invested their all in church because it was a one-stop shop for everything African Americans needed to survive oppression — where you can get food if you are hungry, receive free marriage counseling, a small business loan, guidance, tutoring, prayer, praise, worship and basically help of all kinds. I don’t think enslaved Africans would have been able to get through slavery, or survive in America after it ended, without the black church. That resiliency is what King represented and why our grandmas honored him with a permanent place in living rooms across the country."

Coming around on Martin Luther King Jr.: my grandma, the black church and me

Unlikely connections: a journey for when you're homesick for generosity, freedom and community.

Amy Cuddy recounts in Salon how an impromptu trip, following the Grateful Dead's summer tour offered her more than just a mere escape, but a sense of community.

Sarah Naughton

Communing with the Dead: I followed the Grateful Dead to escape and ended up finding home

“A book can be a star, a living fire to lighten the darkness.” 

Wendy Francis tells in Salon the heartwarming story of how a mutual love of books created a bond so strong between her and her mother, it couldn’t even be broken when her mother passed away.

Allyson Johnson

My mother and the books that bind us

A study of the historical and multi-cultural meanings of being depressed, and how to treat it today.

In Salon, Matthew Rozsa talks to author and award-winning historian Jonathan Sadowsky about his book, "The Empire of Depression", which touches on the definitive history of 'depression' and how it spans across cultures and time in different forms.

Jonathan Booth

In "The Empire of Depression," a medical historian digs into the ailment's peculiar history

Amanda Marcotte, author and politics writer, interviews the Harvard law professor, Cass Sunstein on “how change happens”. In this in-depth interview published in Salon, they discuss the importance of social movements and how they allow for broad social change to become possible.

Andi Arndt and Karl Miller

Cass Sunstein on "How Change Happens": hope that a better society is possible

Anastasia lives in the Bronx and cleans homes for a living — the pandemic has magnified her struggles.

"I feel we have no voice, undocumented people. I didn't come here to take anything away from anybody else. We just want to be able to live." In Salon, Anastasia talks to Dao X. Tran about the magnified struggles facing undocumented immigrants in the US during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Jan Cramer

Being undocumented during the pandemic: "I feel we have no voice"

The 11th of September, 19 years later: did America hide from the harsh realities of the attack?

A hammer blow to the American psyche, the horror and trauma of 9/11 rapidly morphed into something else. 19 years on, we revisit this piece from Daniel Harris for Salon. Despite being published just months after the attack, the piece provides excellent insight into how the nation's collective pain after the sickening attacks could have been exploited for commercial and political ends.

Karl Miller

The kitschification of Sept. 11

"The Indigenous fight in Ecuador is a fight that anyone who cares about biodiversity and the global climate should join."

Amongst the fight against climate change, Reynard Loki, from Salon, follows the historic lawsuit launched by the Waorani people of Ecuador who want to save their homes — and our planet — from destruction.

Indigenous peoples go to court to save the Amazon from oil company greed

Has a militarised local police always been the norm in America?

The militarisation of US local police to civilian protesting has caused international outrage, and Peter Houlahan from Salon, traces it back to the 1980 Narco bank robbery, claiming this moment is when it all changed.

The road to Ferguson: this 1980 bank robbery changed how American police are armed

“I’d never envisioned teaching Austen's books to a room of men found guilty of making life deeply unfair for others” confesses Professor of English, Devoney Looser in Salon magazine, on giving her first lecture to convicted sex offenders. 


Andi Arndt

Teaching Jane Austen to sex offenders

Post-traumatic stress disorder can develop after being involved in, or witnessing, traumatic events. 

For Mary Elizabeth Williams, the near-fatal experience of Cancer, and the harrowing near-death experience of her two-year-old daughter, left her crippled with anxiety. Writing in Salon, she shares her experience and the adverse challenges of validating her trauma.

Betsy Foldes Meiman

You don't have to go to war to develop PTSD

Could Erik Killmonger be the single most important political philosopher to appear in a major film?

The villain in Marvel’s successful 2018 film “Black Panther” got everyone talking. Could Erik Killmonger be the single most important political philosopher to appear in a major film? Matthew Rozsa, writing in Salon, makes the case.

The powerful politics of Killmonger

The singer's affinity for the American Renaissance is almost a trademark of his work.

Throughout his career, Dylan has borrowed from many great American writers. This time, it's Walt Whitman's turn. English professor, Scott Peeples, analyses the influences of the 19th-century writer on the Nobel prize winner newest song.

Bob Dylan contains multitudes: Walt Whitman as Dylan's muse on "Murder Most Foul"

This mouthy "Clone Wars" breakout questioned the Jedi Order long before Luke did it onscreen.

The animated series Clone Wars wrapped its final season in May 2020. In this lovely piece, Caroline Cao reflects on how her perception of its leading character, Ahsoka Tano, evolved considerably over the years. From her strange origins to a fully fleshed-out role, vital to understanding the fall of the Jedi Order in the Star Wars franchise.

Marni Penning

How I learned to love Ahsoka Tano, the Jedi pariah who wasn't supposed to exist

A story about the oscillation of heart's concern, from the global to the personal.

"If our lives are made up of a string of a thousand moments, at some of those moments we look a lot more spiritually evolved than at others. This is a story about the latter." In 1999, Anne Lamott went on holiday to Hawaii to celebrate her birthday. Meanwhile, war was raging in Kosovo. Here, in Salon, she recounts the tale.

A heart's breath: personal and political care

Quantum entanglement makes some scientists question the nature of reality — this is why. 

Physics professor at Emory University, Jed Brody, writes in Salon about why understanding what science means by 'reality', has proven one of the most interestingly complex challenges of his field.

Michael Satow

Why physicists still don’t know what reality is

One brave action that saved thousands of lives.

Author Emily L. Quint Freeman, writing in Salon, explains why she decided to live a life running from justice after burning thousands of Vietnam draft cards —  a decision that stopped thousands of young men from dying.

How to stop a war: Why I risked prison by burning thousands of Vietnam draft cards

“A city for tech bros means that real human concerns will fade into the background.”

In 2018, more than 20 US cities competed to host Amazon’s second headquarters. Jason Rhode, writing in Salon, argues that America’s great cities should not present themselves as brands to be invested in— they are so much more than that.

Memo to CEOs: my city is not a “brand”

Epstein's lawyers are signalling his most powerful friends' secrets are safe with him - but are they?

In this piece, a former friend of Jeffrey Epstein writing in Salon before his death, offers a personal insight into Epstein's double identity, depicting the social circles that complied with and protected the convicted sex offender and - who he was to them.

I was a friend of Jeffrey Epstein; here's what I know

"A lot of times, I feel they have taught me more... Chief among the lessons: control is overrated."

Linda Kulman shares fifteen lessons that are a useful reminder for anyone fighting the overpowering impulse is to be in control — and to do whatever we do well. "Muddling through is not just true of parenting but of all my roles — wife, daughter, sister, writer, next-door-neighbour". 