Emergency Responders on the U.S.-Mexico Border
Ieva Jusionyte explores the spirit of first response in an area where dangers don't care about boundaries.
Peter C. Baker
Peter C. Baker, a Pacific Standard contributing editor, is a writer based in Illinois.
The Global History Behind 'Build the Wall!'
Since ancient times, border walls have simultaneously assuaged and stoked our fears of outsiders. But a history of walls can't tell the full story of civilization.
From the Killing Fields of Cambodia to California and Back
Katya Cengel tracks the lives of four families following the fall of the genocidal Khmer Rouge.
The Third Reich's Supporters in the United States
A nervous storm cloud of historical might-have-beens—a fitting companion to our age of diffuse paranoia.
Racism and School Closings on Chicago's South Side
Sociologist Eve Ewing analyzes the closings from multiple angles.
What Happens When a Black Man Tries to Embrace White Gun Culture
RJ Young's memoir recounts how he tried to endear himself to his white in-laws by learning how to shoot. Both love affairs eventually fell apart.
Why Our Families Can't Afford America
A portrait of the stressed and shrinking American middle class.
The Epic Disruption of the Ad Business (and Everything Else)
Ken Auletta's latest book explores the chaotic world of contemporary advertising.
A Cure for White Fragility
A new book argues that we can't overcome racism unless white people are willing to be a little uncomfortable.
Keeping Up With the Bundys: What Really Happened at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge
A new book with an imperfect narrator demonstrates the benefits—and limits—of taking right-wing extremists at their word.
Sex, Surveillance, and the Decades-Long Government Plan to Imprison 'Promiscuous' Women
Behind the nationwide program that empowered health authorities to surveil women, quarantine them in miserable conditions, and force them to undergo painful and ineffective treatments.
A Theory (on Bullshit Jobs)
With help from readers who wrote to him about their workplace experiences, anthropologist David Graeber develops a taxonomy of bullshit jobs.
The Global Uprising Against Poverty Wages
Historian Annelise Orleck traveled to Mexico, Cambodia, and Bangladesh, plus all across America, to interview low-wage workers fighting for better conditions and pay.
Commercialization and Far Right Youth Culture in Germany
Sociologist Cynthia Miller-Idriss argues how brands sneak past German laws against Nazi symbols while building a community among customers.
How America Uses Digital Tools to Punish Its Poor
A new book argues that America uses digital tools to sequester and punish its poorest citizens. But can we really blame technology?
There's a Name for That: Dementia Worry
Are aging Americans hyper-anxious about dementia?
Focus Groups and the Culture of Consultation
Political writer Liza Featherstone uses focus groups as a lens on the past, present, and future of the American project.
The Hidden World of Police on Steroids
Professor John Hoberman turns his attention to cops.
The Rise of Silicon Valley as a Political Powerhouse and Social Wrecking Ball
Journalist Noam Cohen's new book argues that Silicon Valley is a social wrecking ball, but is that perspective enough to create change?
Have Recreational Vehicles Killed the American Dream?
In her new book, journalist Jessica Bruder argues that, in post-2008 America, the nostalgic vision of RVs and other "wheel estate" is incomplete.
Height Discrimination and Strategies for Social Change
In her new book, lawyer Tanya Osensky argues that constantly monitoring height is a symptom and driver of a pervasive "heightism" that unjustly frames tallness as powerful and shortness as weak.
Two Young Migrants and the Making of an American Life
Journalist Lauren Markham's new book tells the story of twin teenage brothers who migrate from gang-ridden El Salvador to Oakland, California.
The Origins of the Women's Self-Defense Movement
In her new book, martial artist Wendy Rouse digs into the history of women fighting back.
Derailing Stereotypes of Masculinity, Queerness, and Gang Violence
In her new book, Vanessa Panfil offers a detailed and nuanced portrayal of homosexual life among gangs in Ohio.
The Desegregation of American Airports
A new book by a German historian looks at the conflicting history of segregation in commercial air travel.
There's a Name for That: The Emotional Seesaw
According to a recent research, law enforcement often leverages a powerful psychological susceptibility—the "emotional seesaw effect"—that potentially has widespread application.
A Blueprint for Resisting Islamophobic Prejudice
Erik Love's new book is invaluable for its detailed chronicle of Muslim-American activism.
A True Story of Pathological Friendliness
Jennifer Latson's debut illustrates a boy's coming-of-age, complicated by a genetic disorder that strips peoples' social inhibitions.
How the U.S. Government Segregated America
Richard Rothstein's magisterial new book tracks how the government segregated America—and how new policy, and new education, could save us.
Letter From North Lawndale, Chicago: Embodying the Spirit of Change in Chicago's Freedom Square
Exploring the rising tensions between Chicago police and citizens.
There's a Name for That: Invisibility Cloak Illusion
Stuck inside our heads, we all know how much we're watching others, but fail to grasp just how much everyone else is watching us.
There's a Name for That: Partisan Signaling
Most of the time, we end up with opinions we parrot from political figures we support.
Confronting Race and Colonialism in Contemporary America
In his latest book, Chris Hayes urges white Americans to take black suffering seriously.
Darkness, Sleep, and Dreams During the Civil War
Jonathan W. White argues that the Civil War might have been the most sleepless period in American history.
Ona Judge, the Washingtons, and the Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave
A portrait of George Washington as slave master.
There's a Name for That: Jevons Paradox
The 19th-century British economist Stanley Jevons predicted—correctly—that the invention of more-efficient steam engines would lead to more coal getting burned.
What 'Stand Your Ground' Really Means
A new book traces the legal history of self-defense in America—and shows how laws for self-protection have been generally reserved for whites.
Printed Pistols and Racial Panic
When Cody Wilson pioneered 3-D printing for guns, he claimed the technology represented a victory for liberty. In Wilson's new book, it seems "liberty" can also mean "racial purity."
Bleak House
Living among renters in a hotbed of evictions to try to understand this complex—and mostly unknown—driver of poverty.
Shelf Help: 'The South Side'
A look at the powerful forces dividing America's third-largest city into different worlds.
Silicon Valley Outsiders
Our focus on C-suite executives and venture capital-funded unicorns distracts from the underclass that keeps the San Francisco Bay Area running.
Shelf Help: 'Hood'
The history of hooding has two intertwined strands: forced and voluntary.
Shelf Help: 'Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories'
Conspiracy thinking represents a heightening of cognitive tendencies shared by almost everyone.
There's a Name for Why We Give Too Much Weight to the Opinions of Others
And it's called equality bias.
Brown as Dirt
How the language of racism is related to the language of cleanliness—even to this day.