Today's Liberal News

The 10 Must-Read Stories of 2021

Today we’re reflecting on what The Atlantic covered in 2021. Below you’ll find stories that are both cautionary and hopeful—and that cover both the natural world and our digital one.To get a single Atlantic story curated and sent to your inbox each day, sign up for our One Story to Read Today newsletter.What Bobby McIlvaine Left BehindMcIlvaine was 26 years old when he died in the September 11 attacks. Two decades later, his loved ones are still grappling with the loss.

Right-winger and anti-vaxxer blowhard Candace Owens pushing bogus cure that turns skin blue

The notoriously ignorant right-winger and anti-vaxxer Candace Owens went from denying the validity of vaccines to encouraging her 4.1 million followers on Instagram to follow her regimen of using colloidal silver as a daily supplement. 

“Yes, colloidal silver!” Owens says enthusiastically in her latest Instagram video. “I take colloidal silver every single day, I love colloidal silver. That is a great one.

Family of Black teen Cedric Lofton calls for criminal charges after autopsy rules death homicide

After months of waiting, the family of a Black 17-year-old who died at a Witchita, Kansas, juvenile center has their answers.

According to an autopsy report released Monday, Cedric “CJ” Lofton’s death has been ruled a homicide. His heart and breathing stopped after he was handcuffed while lying on his stomach. 

The new report contradicts the initial one, where it was reported that the teen had not suffered any life-threatening injuries.

Trump’s ex-adviser spells out 2020 election subversion scheme

Former White House trade adviser to former President Donald Trump, Peter Navarro, is currently shilling a memoir. In his book, In Trump Time, he says that it was he and conspiracy blowhard Steve Bannon that were responsible for coordinating an effort among congressional legislators to stop certification of Joe Biden’s win in 2020.

“His Spirit Reflected a Giant”: Mumia Abu-Jamal Remembers Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s Visit on Death Row

Mumia Abu-Jamal remembers South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who died on Sunday at the age of 90. Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for fighting to end apartheid in South Africa. In 2007, Tutu visited Mumia when he was still on death row. “His spirit reflected a giant,” says Abu-Jamal. “He struggled for change with his prophetic voice, his sweet humor, his deep love and his boundless sense of compassion.

Angela Davis on Imagining New Worlds, the Campaign to Free Mumia and the Biden Presidency

World-renowned author, activist and professor Angela Davis talks about navigating the pandemic and an inadequate two-party political system during a time of racial uprising in the United States. She also talks about imprisoned journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal, the Biden presidential campaign and the protests that erupted from the police killing of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

Scholar Angela Davis on Prison Abolition, Justice for Palestine, Critical Race Theory & More

World-renowned author, activist and professor Angela Davis talks about the prison abolition movement from her time as a Black Panther leader to today. In her tireless efforts as an abolitionist and a teacher, Davis continues to be a fierce advocate of education and the interconnected struggles of oppressed peoples. Davis talks about Indigenous genocide, Palestine, critical race theory and the role of independent media.

“People Have the Power”: Poet & Singer Patti Smith Awarded Key to New York City

Legendary poet, singer, author and activist Patti Smith has been awarded a key to New York City. Smith’s music has inspired countless bands and helped earn her the title of the queen of punk. Her song “People Have the Power” has become an anthem at protests across the globe. Patti Smith has also been a longtime activist, performing regularly at antiwar rallies and political benefits.

The Cost of Engaging With the Miserable

Every morning, I wake up and grab my doom machine. My phone is a piece of revolutionary technology that puts the entire world a scroll away, its every pixel an industrial miracle. It’s also a cataclysm-delivery device.I roll over and click the blue “f” logo to watch older friends and relatives grow angry and entrenched in their politics. I click on Twitter and drown in a torrent of terrible news delivered by shouting messengers.

How I Demolished My Life

I had wanted, I thought, soapstone counters and a farmhouse sink. I had wanted an island and a breakfast nook and two narrow, vertical cabinets on either side of the stove; one could be for cutting boards and one could be for baking sheets. I followed a cabinetry company called Plain English on Instagram and screenshotted its pantries, which came in paint colors like Kipper and Boiled Egg.

Emily in Paris Is the Last Guilty Pleasure

Right-thinking people agree: Like the burning of Notre Dame, Netflix’s Emily in Paris is a catastrophe for the culture. In mid-2020, when COVID-19 was still novel, the first season of the Sex and the City creator Darren Star’s new sitcom portrayed an American marketing professional (Emily, played by Lily Collins) Instagramming her way through the most sophisticated city on the planet (Paris, shot on location).