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Joseph McCarthy

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Brent Bozell and William F. Buckley, reading a book about Joseph McCarthy.

All In the Family

How William F. Buckley Jr. turned his father’s private convictions and prejudices into a major political movement.
by Paul Baumann via Commonweal on June 26, 2025
William F. Buckley Jr. at his desk in 1965.

"A Practical Fanatic"

How William F. Buckley shaped modern conservatism through his organizational skills and charisma.
by Sam Adler-Bell via The Ideas Letter on June 25, 2025
H.A. Smith is sworn in as a first witness at a HUAC hearing.

American Hysteria

Red Scare can be read as solid history of the years it depicts—and chilling prophecy of the years to come.
by Maurice Isserman via Democracy Journal on June 18, 2025
William F. Buckley reclines behind a desk, glasses in hand, a bulletin board of National Review magazine material behind him.

The Conservative Intellectual Who Laid the Groundwork for Trump

The political vision that William F. Buckley helped forge was—and remains today—focused less on adhering to principles and more on ferreting out enemies.
by Jack McCordick via The New Republic
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on June 3, 2025
Senator Joseph McCarthy speaking into microphones.

Newly Declassified Documents Reveal the Untold Stories of the Red Scare

In his latest book, journalist and historian Clay Risen explores how the House Un-American Activities Committee and Senator Joseph McCarthy upended the nation.
by Sara Georgini, Clay Risen via Smithsonian Magazine on April 1, 2025
Joe McCarthy pointing to a map, while Joseph Welch looks dismayed.

Like Joe McCarthy, I Enjoy a Good Dossier

Diplomatic relations, domestic repression. Plus: the truth about Joseph Welch, and a bit of family history.
by Tim Barker via Origins of Our Time on March 12, 2025
A propaganda poster of an American flag on fire and white American citizens struggling against Communist officials, with the caption: "Is this tomorrow? America under Communism!"

What Happened the Last Time a President Purged the Bureaucracy

The impact can linger not just for years but decades.
by Clay Risen via Politico Magazine on February 6, 2025
Joseph McCarthy on a television screen.

No, We’re Not in a New McCarthy Era

Defending academic freedom doesn’t mean exaggerating the threats to it.
by John K. Wilson via The Chronicle of Higher Education
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on January 31, 2025
David Duke, a former Klansman and neo-Nazi, lost the race for governorship in Louisiana but won a majority of the white vote.

The American Election That Set the Stage for Trump

In the early nineties, the country turned against the establishment and right-wing populists thrived. A new history reassesses their impact.
by Isaac Chotiner, John Ganz via The New Yorker
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on June 18, 2024
Republican elephant and Democratic donkey with crossed arms turned away from each other.

Party People

Many recoil at the thought of stronger political parties. But revitalized parties could be exactly what our ailing democracy needs.
by John Sides via Democracy Journal on June 13, 2024
A sign left behind by Trump supporters at a rally outside the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, September 27, 2023.

American Fascism

On how Europe’s interwar period informs the present.
by Rick Perlstein via The American Prospect on January 24, 2024
A group of men in a mailroom pose next to tube equipment

When a Labyrinth of Pneumatic Tubes Shuttled Mail Beneath the Streets of New York City

Powered by compressed air, the system transported millions of letters between 1897 and 1953.
by Vanessa Armstrong via Smithsonian Magazine on December 22, 2023
The Dig
Podcast
The Dig

J. Edgar Hoover’s America

This episode covers the life and career of J. Edgar Hoover, who, for half a century, helmed the Federal Bureau of Investigation. His staunch anti-communism drove him to utilize his position as the leader of the nation's foremost law enforcement agency to root out radicals and quash any non-conformist efforts suspected of being connected with the Soviet Union.
November 6, 2023
A librarian protects a book from a fat man in a suit who is burning books that don't look "American."

How Librarians Became American Free Speech Heroes

In the past and present, librarians have fought book bans and censorship.
by Madison Ingram via Zócalo Public Square on October 5, 2023
Voter registration at the Brookfield Conference Center in the Milwaukee suburb of Brookfield on Nov. 8.
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Suburbs Have Moved Leftward — Except Around Milwaukee

A far right politics that developed in the middle of the 20th century has prevented Democrats from gaining as they have in suburbs elsewhere.
by Ian Toller-Clark via Made By History on April 14, 2023
A John Birch Society billboard in Stratton, Colorado, calls for the impeachment of Chief Justice Earl Warren, December 1962.

The Fringe Group That Broke the GOP’s Brain — And Helped It Win Elections

The John Birch Society pushed a darker, more conspiratorial politics in the ’50s and ’60s — and looms large over today’s GOP.
by Matthew Dallek, Ian Ward via Vox on March 19, 2023
Fox News studios in New York in 2018.
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Fox News’s Handling of Election Lies Was Extreme but Far From Unusual

News organizations air lies from political figures more often than you’d think, but for very different reasons than Fox News.
by Kathryn J. McGarr via Made By History on March 7, 2023
A photograph of Marvel Cooke overlayed over The Crisis' newspaper office.

This Radical Reporter Dedicated Her Life to Fighting the System

"I idolized women like Marvel Cooke," Angela Davis tells Teen Vogue.
by Olivia Lapeyrolerie via Teen Vogue on February 8, 2023
Brazilla Carroll Reece, Joseph McCarthy and Harry S. Truman with democratic donkeys in word bubbles.

The Real Origins of the “Democrat Party” Troll

We can’t blame Joe McCarthy for this one. (Though he was a fan.)
by Lawrence B. Glickman via Slate
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on January 21, 2023
J. Robert Oppenheimer.

J. Robert Oppenheimer Cleared of “Black Mark” Against His Name After 68 Years

Manhattan Project physicist was infamously stripped of his security clearance in 1954.
by Jennifer Ouellette via Ars Technica on December 25, 2022
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