Tag Archives: Fascism

Books Banned Because They’re Powerful

By Robin Bates | Published: January 19, 2023

Book banning is on the rise in the U.S., including recently in Virginia. Brecht’s “Burning of the Books” is always powerful.

By Robin Bates | Published: December 21, 2022

In “Seduced by Story,” Peter Brooks warns of the dangers of narrative. Borges agrees in “Tlon Uqbar.”

By Robin Bates | Published: September 20, 2022

The ancient myth about Athena and Poseidon, historian Snyder argues, captures what Ukraine needs today in its battle with Russia.

By Robin Bates | Published: June 30, 2022

It’s now clear that Trump, on Jan. 6, 2021, dreamed of leading his followers into the Capitol. Think of Voldemort entering Hogwarts.

By Robin Bates | Published: May 18, 2022

Shakespeare gives us a brilliant depiction of the authoritarian mindset in “Richard III.” Think Trump and Putin.

By Robin Bates | Published: April 17, 2022

The authoritarian Christian right has now begun going after public libraries, one of which recently had Sendak’s “In the Night Kitchen” pulled.

By Robin Bates | Published: September 2, 2021

A British judge has ordered a white supremacist to read Dickens and Austen. Why these authors.

By Robin Bates | Published: April 4, 2021

Should we cancel “Little Black Sambo,” which I loved as a child. I wrestle with the question here.

By Robin Bates | Published: August 30, 2020

Lewis’s “It Can’t Happen Here” and Roth’s “Plot against America” do a very good job of predicting a Donald Trump.