Today's Liberal News

Two Disasters Are Exponentially Worse Than One

Eleven thousand lightning strikes, 370 wildfires, a pandemic, a heat wave, and rolling blackouts—California has endured a lot this week. Hundreds of thousands of acres have burned, and tens of thousands of people have had to evacuate. The largest of the blazes—the LNU Lightning Complex fires, which alone span Napa, Sonoma, Solano, and Lake Counties—is only 7 percent contained.One disaster is bad. Two are worse, but the damage doesn’t just double.

Listen: The Comedy and Tragedy of Virtual Live Events

On this episode of Social Distance, the comedian Maeve Higgins is back home in New York after weathering the pandemic’s first peak in her native Ireland. She joins James Hamblin to talk about her strange journey back to the United States, and the strange moment the country finds itself in.James Fallows returns to reflect on the Democratic National Convention and why politics (unlike comedy) might actually be better without the crowds.

The Books Briefing: The Legacy of a Political Speech

Political speeches make up a strange genre of writing. This year’s Democratic National Convention has showcased their breadth, featuring Barack Obama’s fearful warning, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s self-aggrandizing remarks, a disjointed keynote from 17 “rising stars,” and Michelle Obama’s forceful call to action.Speeches such as these can influence a figure’s legacy. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words highlight his eloquence and vision.

Cornel West & Ben Jealous on the DNC and Whether Progressives Can Push Joe Biden Leftward

Harvard professor Cornel West and Ben Jealous, president of People for the American Way and former president of the NAACP, discuss the 2020 DNC, Joe Biden’s vow to fight systemic racism and “overcome this season of darkness in America,” the historic nomination of Kamala Harris as his partner on the ticket, and how the convention was a showcase for a broad anti-Trump coalition, including prominent Republican figures given plum speaking slots, but few voices from the party&rsq

“Light Is More Powerful Than Dark”: Biden Vows to Fight COVID, Climate, Racism & Economic Meltdown

We air highlights from Joe Biden’s highly anticipated speech on the final night of the Democratic National Convention, in which he formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination, focused on the dangers of President Trump’s reelection and pledged to address the four simultaneous crises of systemic racism, the pandemic, the economic downturn and the climate crisis. “United, we can and will overcome this season of darkness in America,” Biden said.

Stuttering Through It

You could hear the stutter in Brayden’s lungs, all those heavy inhalations, his search for sounds that wouldn’t come. The 13-year-old stared into a stationary camera and told the world about his problem, the affliction he shares with 3 million Americans, one of whom is now the Democratic nominee for president.“Without Joe Biden, I wouldn’t be talking with you today,” Brayden began. A big smile revealed braces.

Photos of the Week: Flooded Buddha, Tokyo Skytree, Damp Moose

Retired police dog adoptions in Ecuador, ballet in Brazil, an open-air brass band rehearsal in Wales, the Criterium du Dauphine cycling race in France, record heat in Death Valley and wildfires across California, a cool bear in Kosovo, scenes from the the Democratic National Convention, a sail-in floating cinema in Israel, and much more.

Joe Biden delivers the speech of his lifetime, at exactly the right time

Joe Biden appeared on a stage, not in Milwaukee, but in Wilmington, Delaware to accept the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. But if the convention was constrained by the disaster that’s resulted from Donald Trump’s malignant neglect of the COVID-19 crisis, there was nothing small about Biden’s speech.

In a long career, Joe Biden has delivered many speeches, but none of them were a match for what he did on Thursday evening.