We Are Those Who Suffer: Free Speech, the Media and the Roots of Violence

By Barbara Soros Feb 20, 2015 Condemnation of the Charlie Hebdo killings must be accompanied by understanding of root causes and by compassion for struggling peoples. And the media must refrain from fanning the flames of hatred. Dig deeper ( 8 Min. Read )

Edward Snowden’s Moral Courage

Chris Hedges / Truthdig Feb 24, 2014 In a speech at Oxford University, the Truthdig columnist frames his team's argument in a debate on how we should view Snowden (left), the systems analyst who exposed the massive surveillance of Americans.In a speech at Oxford University, the Truthdig columnist frames his team's argument in a debate on how we should view Snowden (above), the systems analyst who exposed the massive surveillance of Americans. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Hannah Arendt’s Last Interview

By Andrew Nagorski Jan 10, 2014 “To think critically is always to be hostile,” political philosopher Hannah Arendt declared before her death in 1975. “Thinking itself is such a dangerous enterprise.” Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

The Last Gasp of American Democracy

Chris Hedges / Truthdig Jan 6, 2014 If we fail to halt the state's wholesale intrusion into our private lives, exposed by the Snowden leaks, we will find ourselves living under a ruthless totalitarian system. (At right, NSA Director Keith Alexander.)If we fail to halt the state's wholesale intrusion into our private lives, we will find ourselves living under a ruthless totalitarian system. (Pictured above, NSA Director Keith Alexander.) Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

The Soldier Who Never Sleeps

Staff / Truthdig May 31, 2013 Scientists are trying to construct military members who can fight without fatigue and thus be more efficient killing machines; a lot of Chinese students who hope to pursue higher education in the U.S. don't speak enough English to do so; meanwhile, an organization named VIDA was formed to create awareness about gender bias in the literary world and it's succeeding in making some publishers and reviewers uncomfortable. These discoveries and more after the jump. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Beyond the Politics of the Big Lie

By Henry A. Giroux, Truthout Jun 19, 2012 The American public is suffering from an education deficit; a growing dearth of critical thinking which generates the ideology of the big lie -- the myth that the free-market system is the only mechanism available to safeguard democracy and ensure human freedom. Dig deeper ( 26 Min. Read )

Upcoming: A Film on Hannah Arendt

Staff / Truthdig Mar 28, 2012 German film director Margarethe von Trotta is at work on a film about Hannah Arendt, the 20th century political philosopher who coined the phrase “banality of evil” while reporting on the trial of Nazi officer and Holocaust organizer Adolf Eichmann. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Gated Intellectuals, Fortress America, and the Politics of Occupy

By Henry A. Giroux, Truthout Mar 21, 2012 A group of right-wing extremists would have the American public believe it is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of a market society. Dig deeper ( 14 Min. Read )

Rosa Luxemburg and the Libertarian Left

Scott Tucker / Truthdig Jan 15, 2011 “Freedom,” Rosa Luxemburg wrote, “is always freedom for those who think differently.” Those are certainly her most famous words, but they must not be mistaken for a general piety of liberalism. “Freedom,” Rosa Luxemburg wrote, “is always freedom for those who think differently.” Dig deeper ( 25 Min. Read )

Happy as a Hangman

Chris Hedges / Truthdig Dec 6, 2010 What is frightening in collapsing societies is not only the killers, sadists, murderers and psychopaths who rise up out of the moral swamp to take power, but the huge numbers of ordinary people who become complicit in state crimes.What is frightening in collapsing societies is not only the killers, but the huge numbers of ordinary people who become complicit in state crimes. Dig deeper ( 7 Min. Read )

How Democracy Dies: Lessons From a Master

Chris Hedges / Truthdig Oct 11, 2010 The ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes spent his life battling the assault on democracy by tyrants. It is disheartening to be reminded that he lost. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

State of Denial: Searching for Peace in Israel

Robert Fisk / Truthdig Feb 12, 2010 The Israeli-Arab conflict is about land It is about colonies and walls and about binational states and two states and -- in the end -- about who has power The Israelis with their eternal American supporters? Or the Palestinians, hopelessly divided and soaked -- in Gaza, at least -- in corruption and nepotism The Israeli-Arab conflict is about land . Dig deeper ( 19 Min. Read )