Franklin D. Roosevelt

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Hallelujah!

The Democrats won and the Republicans lost. That, in a nutshell, is the bottom line.
Health-care reform is a new high-water mark
By EDITORIAL | March 26, 2010

Booked solid

The holidays are over — time to hit the books.
A hefty season of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry
By BARBARA HOFFERT | January 01, 2010

Eight years after the destruction of the World Trade Center — the result of one of the most devastatingly successful conspiracies in history — Americans still take comfort in paranoia.
9/11 Truthers, Tea Parties, Birthers — conspiracy is in the air. No wonder Hollywood is embracing paranoia.
By PETER KEOUGH | September 11, 2009

Spare Change?

A tension lies at the heart of the Obama presidency. After 100 days in office, the public still seems uncertain how to interpret the historic nature of the election last November.
At the 100-day mark, Barack Obama still doesn't have a clear mandate for sweeping reforms
By STEVEN STARK | May 01, 2009

Mr. Populist?

Barack Obama is an inspirational leader, a potential realigner, and a racial trailblazer.
Populism has many faces . . . but Obama's not one of them
By STEVEN STARK | March 24, 2009

Crimson tied

Barack Obama's presidential campaign was successful in part because he was able to cleverly negotiate and navigate the battles that have plagued the United States the last few years.
A new battle threatens to disrupt the American political landscape, and it's hardly academic
By STEVEN STARK | March 11, 2009

Nice package

As the largest stimulus package in world history winds its way through Congress, the critics are already out in force.
Poetry not prose
By STEVEN STARK | January 28, 2009

President Obama

In retrospect, it all seems of a piece: suitably fitting, almost ordained.
The trek ahead
By EDITORIAL | January 21, 2009

Revenge of the nerds

Barack Obama's new administration has been characterized many ways — as a return to liberalism, a Chicago Mafia, and the harbinger of a new age.
For the first time since JFK, 'the best and the brightest' are back in the White House. Will Ivy-League intellect be enough to set the country straight?
By STEVEN STARK | January 21, 2009

Inauguration daze

For the next week, the press and pundits will talk all about the historical importance of Barack Obama's inaugural address. And, based on his past rhetorical performances, it should be a great one.
If a presidential speech is made outside of prime-time TV-viewing hours, does it make a sound?
By STEVEN STARK | January 15, 2009

Red, white, and blue balls: Bringing the party to the people

Are there any jobs on Earth more virile-sounding than commander in chief?
A history of our Inaugural West Swingers and White House Hoedowns
By KARA BASKIN | January 14, 2009

Hey guv: stop slashing!

It seems as if there’s no light at the end of the state’s gloomy fiscal tunnel.
State budget cuts just make the recession worse
By LANCE TAPLEY | December 31, 2008

BHO's no FDR

As we enter a new year, a new administration, and indeed a new era, the advice most given to Barack Obama is model your presidency after that of Franklin D. Roosevelt's.
Nor should he aspire to be because, trite but true, things are very different now
By STEVEN STARK | December 30, 2008

More sex, more Lincoln

The subject of Lincoln is like catnip to publishers (and readers), but the only things missing from our winter list are actual cat books.
A hefty reading season, from Jayne Anne Phillips and T.C. Boyle to Pablo Neruda
By BARBARA HOFFERT | December 29, 2008

From Russia, with vlog

Wearing a crisp blue suit and tie in his first video blog post, Medvedev, jokingly referred to as geek-in-chief, talked about his agenda for the Evian political conference in France.
It's a Small World Dept.
By PETER PIATETSKY | November 25, 2008

The Impeachinator

From Caligula to Bush...er Obama: Bruce Fein watches them all.
Watchdog Fein
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | November 19, 2008

Obama redraws the map

Barack Obama has made history. The next question is whether his victory has sparked a lasting electoral realignment.
But the electoral shifts may not last
By STEVEN STARK | November 05, 2008

Hope restored

Barack Obama's election has sparked international wonder. His task, however, is great.
Barack Obama's election has sparked international wonder. His task, however, is great.
By EDITORIAL | November 05, 2008

Flashbacks(1)

The Boston Phoenix has been covering the trends and events that shape our times since 1966. These selections, culled from our back files, were compiled by Chris Brook and Ian Sands.
From the archives of the Boston Phoenix
By | October 27, 2008

Travels with Sarah

Apparently, the idea of Palin as the Queen Esther for our time has made it to New Hampshire.
As Palin tours New Hampshire, signs of Biblical calling, talent on the stump, and a shot at 2012
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | October 22, 2008

More different than alike

In 1935, Franklin Delano Roosevelt established the Federal Writers’ Project (FWP) as part of the New Deal’s Works Projects Administration (WPA).
Searching for national identity in State By State: A Panoramic Portrait of America
By MIKE MILIARD | September 24, 2008

Sarah, get your AK-47

Ever since John McCain selected Sarah Palin to be his running mate, she has been the focus of the campaign.
The Alaska governor is dominating the election as we head into the fall — Why that is bad news for the Obama campaign
By STEVEN STARK | September 17, 2008

Winners and sinners

Ah, fall, when Nobel Prize winners are announced — and, now, when past winners turn up with more good reading.
Barth, Bolaño, Roth, Morrison, and more
By BARBARA HOFFERT | September 08, 2008

Parody flunks out

Artist Barry Blitt’s brilliant illustration — which sought to satirize the naysayers who portray Obama as a flag-burning, unpatriotic Muslim and his wife as a black-power radical — cut to the core of today’s political paradox.
Political humor is no longer welcome in Academia as administrators choke the life out of parody
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | July 30, 2008

Killing grounds

Chekhov wrote to a friend while composing The Seagull , first of his Big Four, that he was writing a “comedy with three female parts, six male parts, four acts, a landscape (a view of the lake), much talk about literature, and five tons of love.”
The Seagull flies at the Publick; Company One knocks off Assassins
By CAROLYN CLAY | July 15, 2008

Going Dutch

One odd thing is already clear about the fall campaign: in it, one of the two major candidates, John McCain, is going to play only a minor role.
If Obama is to win the general election, he’ll have to crib from the playbook of . . . Ronald Reagan
By STEVEN STARK | June 11, 2008

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