Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
Top Stories

Webinar rewind: Preparing for potential election crises

A pandemic. Battles over millions of mailed-in ballots. The Supreme Court deciding an Electoral College dispute. The accelerated undoing of democratic norms. Dozens of legal battles over election administration and voting rights. Each would be enough to create unprecedented challenges to an election. But all are present this year, positioning Election Day 2020 and the days after to face challenges rarely as intense before. As Nov. 3 approaches, voters, government officials, candidates and the media may become overwhelmed by the many storylines, the shifting landscape and the potential outcomes. Preparation needs to start now.

The Fulcrum convened an expert panel to discuss these issues and more on June 9. Editor-in-Chief David Hawkings moderated the webinar, which also included:


  • Bryan Monroe, associate professor of practice at Temple University's Klein College of Media and Communication. Before joining Temple, Bryan was editor of CNNPolitics and Washington opinion editor for CNN; president of the National Association of Black Journalists; and editor-in-chief of Ebony & Jet magazines.
  • Trevor Potter, president of the Campaign Legal Center. Trevor is a past chairman of the Federal Election Commission and was general counsel to John McCain's 2000 and 2008 presidential campaigns.

Read More

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and US Senator Bernie Sanders standing at a podium together with a crowd of supporters behind them.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speak to supporters during the Mayor's 100-day address on April 12, 2026 in New York City.

Ryan Murphy / Getty Images

Just What Is a Socialist?

Gertrude Stein famously wrote, "A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose," meaning everyone knows what a rose is. The same cannot be said of a Socialist.

There are many Democratic politicians who proudly call themselves Socialists or Democratic Socialists, and there are many adversaries who brand those individuals as Socialists. Both sides use the same word, but the word means very different things to the two sides.

Keep ReadingShow less
10 Organizations Independent Voters Need to Watch

Young woman at voting booth

Canva

10 Organizations Independent Voters Need to Watch

Independent voters are no longer a political afterthought. They are the majority.

And when these voters look at the state of politics in the US, they see the lack of accountability, representation, competition, and meaningful choice that the system produces.

Keep ReadingShow less
Carefree Friends Enjoying a Sunny Day in the City Park with Playful Dogs

An opinion essay exploring viewpoint diversity, academic freedom, political polarization, and why universities should encourage intellectual diversity to strengthen higher education and American democracy.

QunicaStudio / Getty Images

Viewpoint Diversity at Work and Play

I suspected that my answer to the gentle but surprisingly direct query about my politics would have a bearing on my long-term prospects to be welcomed at the dog park. Picking up on my questioner’s left-of-center sensibilities, I’d hoped my confession about being Strom Thurmond’s illegitimate child would not kill my chances to be welcomed back and deny Sadie, my ten-year-old beagle-dachshund pup, the opportunity to frolic with the other people’s left-leaning canines.

I passed the entrance exam. But I wasn’t surprised to learn that other first-time dog park visitors had not, and quickly concluded that self-deportation was in their best interest.

Keep ReadingShow less
​A Lebanese girl returns with her family to live amid the ruins of an apartment wrecked by Israeli strikes.

A Lebanese girl returns with her family to live amid the ruins of an apartment wrecked by Israeli strikes in the Houch neighborhood, after being displaced for weeks by war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia that has displaced 1.2 million Lebanese, on April 28, 2026, in Tyre, Lebanon.

Scott Peterson / Getty Images

Please Don't Feed the Warmongers

I was recently catching up with an old friend from my Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps days who told me about some young sailors he knew in Bahrain tasked with intercepting hostile drones. Critically, as highly disciplined professionals, they have become extraordinarily good at it. My friend and I, with over twenty years of active duty service as military officers between us, discussed the extent to which their competence and vigilance are keeping them, and other Americans deployed in the area, alive, all while their leadership in Washington treats war with an increasingly terrifying callousness.

As brave servicemembers risk their lives on the front lines, Trump brags about how much money he’s making as president. It is true that for those invested in the types of industries that thrive during armed conflict, this war in Iran is a windfall. Trump himself invested between $9.7 million and $24.3 million in arms manufacturers and Pentagon contractors in 2025. Why would he end the war?

Keep ReadingShow less