Thomas Frank on the Financial Feminism of Clinton Democrats

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Feb 23, 2016 The historian and arch journalist spent 2015 studying the modern Democratic Party, and his new book, “Listen, Liberal,” is the result An excerpt published exclusively at Harper’s Magazine finds in the career of Hillary Clinton “a performance of liberalism so realistic one could almost believe it lived”. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

The New Republic: The Bad and the Good

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Dec 15, 2014 As the aftermath of the staff departures at The New Republic continues, the veteran journalist who exposed the Iran Contra affair in the 1980s recalls the magazine's deadly tradition of cheerleading for empire, while Salon columnist Tom Frank admits it published some "pretty damn good" writing shortly before it came apart at the hands of its new owner. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Thomas Frank: What’s the Matter With Democrats?

Staff / Truthdig Nov 7, 2014 This week on Truthdig Radio in association with KPFK: The "What's the Matter With Kansas?" author says Democrats blow off right-wing populism and "walk right into the buzz saw every time." Also: what to expect when you're expecting a Republican Senate, and Silicon Valley's take on indentured servitude. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

‘Paul Krugman’s Sloppy, Wet Kiss’ for Barack Obama

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Oct 20, 2014 Historic Obama critic Paul Krugman made an about-face in his opinion of the president's performance in a much-discussed Rolling Stone essay on Oct. 8 that Salon columnist Thomas Frank, who believes Krugman's "relentless, one-man war on austerity… should have earned him a second Nobel Prize," finds incredible. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

California Trial Places Mortgage Blame on Bankers

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Sep 8, 2014 In an "unprecedented" trial that challenges the Obama administration's official position on who was responsible for the 2008 financial meltdown, a Sacramento jury in late August thwarted a federal prosecutor's effort to charge borrowers with mortgage fraud after the defense successfully argued that executives who signed off on the loans didn't care whether answers given on mortgage applications were accurate. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Does Laughing at ‘Daily Show’ Clips Blind Us to Democrats’ Follies?

Staff / Truthdig Aug 12, 2014 Though poking fun at right wingers is amusing, a Salon writer argues that it gets Democrats off the hook; Israeli media are "waking up" to the devastation in Gaza and to international criticism; meanwhile, an IBM chip has been developed that works similarly to human brains. These discoveries and more after the jump. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Thomas Frank: ‘An Ineffective and Gutless Presidency’s Legacy Is Failure’

Peter Z. Scheer / Truthdig Jul 22, 2014 The Salon columnist imagines President Obama's inevitable library, and how it will cope with the transition of "an unlikely champion" of the masses to "the only thing between [Wall Street] and the pitchforks." Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Iran Insider on the Mistakes of the Past and the Prospect of Peace

Staff / Truthdig Jun 28, 2014 This week on Truthdig Radio in association with KPFK: Iran's former ambassador to Germany is optimistic about relations with the U.S., the Supreme Court's digital decisions, Thomas Frank checks Hillary Clinton's memory, and more World Cup controversy. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Eric Cantor and ‘The Certainty of Conservative Sellout’

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Jun 15, 2014 Salon columnist Thomas Frank explains House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's surprising loss to a tea party primary challenger last week as "part of a long-running and basically unchanging Republican melodrama. …An eternal populist revolt against leaders who never produce and problems that never get solved." Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

‘Brief Histories of Inequality’: Student Debt Edition

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Jun 8, 2014 Salon columnist Thomas Frank takes us from the start of the university "tuition spiral" in the early ’80s, past the refusal to note the role of ballooning administrative costs, and through the emergence of the view that as an investment in future earnings, individuals should shoulder whatever price for education the market sets. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

‘Borrowing to Attend an American College May Be Hazardous to Your Dreams’

Natasha Hakimi Zapata / Truthdig May 27, 2014 What if the real reason college has become increasingly inaccessible is that the institution itself is a "scam meant to perpetuate the 1 percent?" Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Thomas Frank Locates Thomas Piketty’s Blind Spot

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig May 18, 2014 The celebrity economist's proposal of an "international IRS" as a means to end rampant wealth inequality falls far short of methods that exist in the American tradition, Salon columnist Thomas Frank writes in a critique of the best-selling "Capital in the Twenty-First Century." Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )