The 2016 presidential election looked, more than anything else, like an Alabama election. Donald Trump’s relentless appeals to populist conservative ideas echo decades-long trends in the South. The current worries about Trump’s irresponsible governing style are similar to concerns Alabama commentators have been expressing about their often-demagogic leaders since before the 1940s. To understand the … Read more
Along with the perks that come with becoming the leader of the free world, President Trump will most likely be given the opportunity to throw the first pitch at a baseball game. After all, every sitting president since William Howard Taft has thrown out a first pitch. The idea for the presidential first pitch emerged … Read more
“For black lives to matter,” proclaims the character Mariah Dillard in the premiere episode of Marvel’s Luke Cage, “black history and black ownership must also matter.” Mariah’s choice of words in this scene serves two purposes. It demonstrates how Mariah, a corrupt Harlem politician and one of the main antagonists, is willing and able to deal … Read more
On January 20, I went to Washington, D.C looking for hope. President Donald Trump has inherited a divided nation, and one that is largely against him. America’s split was obvious on inauguration weekend—the presidential festivities were marred by protests and upstaged by the Women’s March a day later. Reconciling this divide is frustrating work when … Read more
Nina Khrushcheva, great granddaughter of the late Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, writes the following: “Russia is a hypothetical culture. Ruled by despots for most of our history, we are used to living in fiction rather than reality.” But if Russia exists in a fictional world, laced with larger-than-life characters and theatrical plots, what can we … Read more
Sundays at 7:30 a.m. are usually not a peak hour for the nation’s noisy nightclubs. SoulCycle, which combines indoor cycling and high-energy music into arguably the world’s most notorious fitness brand, is a different story. One dreary October Sunday, nearly 50 riders and I rose with the sun and clocked in at SoulCycle’s Union Street … Read more
Young with too much cash, watch how I came up fast They say I’m next to get it They bring your name up last And while I made it splash, rappers came and passed But still I ask myself How long does famous last? —G-Eazy Almost Famous G-Eazy’s meteoric rise to fame has taken the … Read more
Associate physician in the University of Pennsylvania Health System, Dr. Muhamed H. Almaliky is also director of the Iraqi American Institute, a non-profit organization based in Boston that conducts policy research regarding Iraq. In addition, as a member of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs Associates, he has chaired study groups on the politics of disease, … Read more
Today’s college students can tolerate anything except the outgroup. Writers have argued that many students are coddled, disrespectfully smug, and even prejudiced against conservatives. The HPR’s own writers have weighed in on debates about oversensitivity and free speech on college campuses. However, discussions about tolerance, free speech, and engagement can often feel abstract and intangible. … Read more
On June 16, literary elitists like myself pay homage to Leopold Bloom, the hero of James Joyce’s modernist epic Ulysses. Last year, Donald Trump inadvertently commemorated Bloomsday in the most fitting way possible. Declaring his presidential candidacy on June 16, 2015, the Donald infamously proclaimed that immigrants from Mexico were “bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. … Read more