Barack Obama Archives

PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 21: Donna Elms wears a Democrat donkey pin while lining up outside in advance of a campaign rally with former President Barack Obama, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, and Senator Bob Casey (D- PA) on September 21, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Midterm election Day is November 6th.

News in Brief

No, Democrats Do Not Need to Nominate a White Man in Order to Defeat Trump

It's the conditions of the economy, the popularity of the incumbent party, and the state of foreign relations that really affect a presidential nominee's chances—not their race or gender.

Seth Masket

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer pose for pictures after delivering a response to President Donald Trump's televised address to the nation on border funding at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on January 8th, 2019.

News in Brief

Did Democrats Support Border Barriers Before Trump Took Office?

In the president's Tuesday night address, he claimed Democrats supported barriers but changed their tune once he took office.

Jack Herrera

Environment

The BLM Deletes Information on the Endangered Sage Grouse, Just Ahead of Public Comment Period

One webpage, now removed, touted the current policies' successes—and praised the bird's mating dances.

Francie Diep

Firefighters light backfires as they try to contain the Thomas wildfire in Ojai, California, on December 9th, 2017.

Environment

Since 2000, the National Climate Assessment Has Grown Significantly More Certain—and Much More Grim

The latest assessment paints a bleak picture of the future.

Kate Wheeling

Workers continue the decontamination and reconstruction process at the Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s embattled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on February 25th, 2016, in Okuma, Japan.

Dispatches: Obama’s Science Adviser on Responding to the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

News and notes from Pacific Standard staff and contributors.

Francie Diep

U.S. Border Patrol agents take Central American asylum seekers into custody on June 12th, 2018, near McAllen, Texas.

Social Justice

The Roots of Trump’s Deportation Policy

The bureaucratic machinery pulling families apart was built long before the sitting president assumed office.

Jared Keller

Supporters listen as President Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Elkhart, Indiana, on May 10th, 2018.

Social Justice

Fear of Coming Minority Status Drives White Opposition to Welfare

New research shows whites are less supportive of government benefits if they believe the recipients will primarily be people of color.

Tom Jacobs

Former U.S. President Barack Obama and artist Kehinde Wiley unveil Obama's portrait during a ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery on February 12th, 2018, in Washington, D.C.

PS Picks: Nigerian Creatives and the Art Scene in West Africa

PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.

Chinelo Nkechi Ikem