Nation in the News | The Nation

North Carolina has traditionally been, politically speaking, the most moderate of the Southern states. In recent months, however, the state’s legislature has taken a sharp turn to the right as Republicans won both houses and began to enact a right-wing wish list, including tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy and scaling back access to unemployment benefits, Medicaid and even basic voting rights.

North Carolinians are fighting back—in April, the Moral Mondays movement began as a means to dramatize and publicize the drastic affects of decisions made in state politics. The Nation’s Ari Berman is featured in this short Bill Moyers documentary discussing the latest developments in North Carolina’s politics. Read his latest here.

As Ukraine remains divided over whether or not to sign an agreement with the European Union, the US media continues to spread myths about the protests surrounding the conflict, according to Stephen Cohen. The Russian studies professor and Nation contributor joined Between the Lines to debunk those myths and explain what the protesters are actually demanding and what role the United States is playing, adding to his critique of the US media's coverage of the protests on the John Batchelor Show last week.

—Rebecca Nathanson

Beyoncé’s surprise album release last week reignited an ever-contentious debate: Does the pop singer present a feminist message? “Absolutely,” Nation blogger Jessica Valenti answered on the Melissa Harris-Perry Show on Saturday. Valenti joined CBS’s Nancy Giles, Columbia University professor Farrah Griffin and Newsweek’s David Cay Johnston to talk about how Beyoncé’s self-authorship serves the cause. “I’ve been calling this the album that is going to launch a thousand women’s studies papers,” Valenti said.
—Steven Hsieh

On the John Batchelor Show, Russian studies professor and Nation contributor Stephen Cohen criticizes the American media’s coverage of ongoing protests in Ukraine. Expanding on a letter he wrote to The New York Times, published on this site, Cohen disputes the narrative that Vladimir Putin bullied President Viktor Yanukovych into rejecting a EU-deal. Hear why EU-integration might not be such a great idea for Ukraine in the first place and how the American press has failed to report “the true story” of what’s really going on in Kiev.
—Steven Hsieh