The Men Who Started the War
John Brown and the Secret Six—the abolitionists who funded the raid on Harpers Ferry—confronted a question as old as America: When is violence justified?
Features
How the Negro Spiritual Changed American Popular Music—And America Itself
In 1871, the Fisk University singers embarked on a tour that introduced white Americans to a Black sound that would reshape the nation.
Peter Thiel Is Taking a Break From Democracy
It’s one of his many, many disappointments.
‘I Am a Practicing Catholic and I Am a Proud Jew’
Newly opened Vatican files detail the desperate circumstances of Italian Jewish families under Fascism—including the family of the prominent American jurist Guido Calabresi.
Dean Phillips Has a Warning for Democrats
The Minnesota representative’s presidential bid could jolt his party out of complacency—or gift the presidency to Donald Trump.
The Kamala Harris Problem
Few people seem to think she’s ready to be president. Why?
A Satanic Rebellion
Social justice collides with the Satanic Temple.
How We Got ‘Democracy Dies in Darkness’
And other stories from eight years running The Washington Post
The Parents Trying to Pass Down a Language They Hardly Speak
Losing your family’s language can feel like an inevitable side effect of immigration—but it’s one I want to prevent.
The Patriot
How General Mark Milley protected the Constitution from Donald Trump