When the doctrine of discovery became law
Steven Schwartzberg shows how the 19th-century arguments for Native American expulsion went against the intentions of the framers of the Constitution—and how they remain with us today.
The case that revolutionized libel law
Samantha Barbas’s history of New York Times v. Sullivan shows how easy it was to weaponize the law against southern civil rights leaders.
The real Jane Roe
Joshua Prager’s deep reporting reveals Norma McCorvey as never before.
A landscape scarred by the trauma of eugenics
Elizabeth Catte traces the haunting history of forced sterilizations in Central Virginia.
Is privilege real or imagined?
Sociologist Matthew Clair explores race and class at work in the criminal court system.
The law in our lives
David Opderbeck’s book about theology, the law, and how we engage with both
Tracing the racist history of the death penalty in Georgia
R.J. Maratea argues that lynching declined when white people began to realize that the courtroom would work just as well.
All identities are intersectional
Identity markers are necessary, argues Kwame Anthony Appiah. They're also inadequate.
The Second Amendment is racist at its root
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's social history highlights who's at the other end of the barrel.