When Book Bans Came to Small Town New Jersey

At the heart of the current U.S. war against Iran is an inconvenient truth: that the United States is, in many ways, responsible for creating the very regime it now seeks to topple. Today, Scott Anderson, a New York Times Magazine contributor and author of “King of Kings”, tells the story of America’s outsize role in the Islamic Revolution, and why all these years later we’re still no closer to understanding Iran.

College graduates used to lean right politically, but over the past few decades, they have increasingly moved to the left. Today, Noam Scheiber, the author of “Mutiny: The Rise and Revolt of the College-Educated Working Class,” explains the economic forces that have left many college grads deeply indebted, underpaid and angry, and also how their unmet expectations are reshaping class politics in America.

The war in Iran has had some visible consequences, like skyrocketing energy costs and higher gas prices, but the effects of this war are often far less obvious and much more serious for the world’s most vulnerable people. Today, Peter S. Goodman tells us what he learned on a recent trip to Somalia, and why the system of global aid is no longer in a position to help.

On Tuesday, Maine will vote in a high-stakes primary contest for a Senate seat that Democrats think they can win back from Republicans for the first time in decades. Democrats are pinning their hopes on Graham Platner, a progressive who has faced a string of scandals. Today, Lisa Lerer and Katie Glueck discuss what this race means for Maine and for the prospects of the Democratic Party.

From the war in Iran to his plan to use taxpayer money to pay his allies, the Republican-controlled Congress has begun rebelling against President Trump. Today, Julie Hirschfeld Davis, a congressional editor at The New York Times, discusses whether this rebellion is a preview of a new dynamic in Washington, or a temporary show of independence that will vanish just as quickly as it arrived.