Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

The (New) Fulcrum celebrates the American spirit

Sheet music in front of an American flag
merrymoonmary/Getty Images

Molineaux is president/CEO of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, and Nevins is its co-founder and board chairman. They are co-publishers of The Fulcrum.

In May 2021, when we took over as publishers of The Fulcrum, we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build upon the successes of the first two years. We told you then that The Fulcrum has the potential to serve an important role in acknowledging our differences as a nation in order to strengthen the bonds among us.

Our four-month journey has taught us much.


We are proud of our accomplishments. The 150,000-plus page views per month and 150-plus stories from The Fulcrum that have been re-published by other newspapers and journals across the country are indicators of expanding interest in our coverage.

But we are committed to do more and we are proud to announce a relaunch of The (New) Fulcrum that will further increase our coverage.

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, in a recent report called "Our Common Purpose," spoke of "healthy civic culture of participation and responsibility ... which is a combination of the values, norms and narratives that keep our political institutions responsive and inclusive."

The (New) Fulcrum is committed to continuing coverage of news, politics, policy and public affairs. But we are adding new coverage of culture to deepen understanding of our differences and similarities and discover our shared interests and common destinies.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

The cultural references we will focus on will include all of the creative arts — music of all types, poetry, dance, literature, painting and drawing, comedy, drama. We will also include aspects of sports: the wonder of athletes' physical prowess, cooperative potential and competitive instincts. We will appeal to the human spirit — spirit that expresses the joys, sorrows and harmonies of the heart and soul.

Indeed, culture is the quintessence of humanity's expressive hope; the realm of endeavor in which our senses — sight, sound, smell, touch and feeling — are shared in family, community and country.

In our increasingly complex world of trauma and travail, where we must care about the health of our democracy and strive relentlessly to strengthen our representative republic, we call upon the products and services of our artists and athletes to remind us of our heritages and traditions, our cooperative and competitive selves.

Accordingly, The (New) Fulcrum will be committed to honoring and celebrating culture as a bridge to the latest news and analysis of politics, policy and the birth of a new civic and political voice to build greater social cohesion, civic engagement and problem-solving.

We invite you to discover and share with us cultural references and products that inspire our better angels that we can disseminate as part of our continuing coverage of the problems and solutions of our times.

As an example please take two minutes and listen to the song "Democracy" from the Broadway musical "Soft Power," and you'll understand our intent.

"Democracy (Reprise)" from SOFT POWER | The Public Theaterwww.youtube.com

As you listen to the song we hope you will agree that art has power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people.

We invite you to subscribe to our daily email, share our content widely and join us on our journey as we fulfill our mission of being a place where insiders and outsiders to politics are informed, meet, talk and act to repair our democracy and make it live and work in our everyday lives.

Read More

Megan Thee Stallion in front of an audience waving "Kamala" signs

Singer Megan Thee Stallion performs at a Kamala Harris rally in Atlanta on July 30.

Julia Beverly/Getty Images

Do Charli XCX’s and Kid Rock’s endorsements make a difference? 19% of young people admit they might.

Longoria is an associate professor of political science at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

British pop star Charli XCX sent many young people’s group text chats and social media feeds wild when she endorsed Kamala Harris by playing off a term she coined in a song, and posted on X, that “kamala IS brat.”

While this endorsement, which happened in July 2024, likely means very little to most adults who don’t follow the singer’s music, it is considered high praise among young people. Harris’ campaign astutely embraced Charli XCX’s support – temporarily changing the background of its X profile to the same shade of lime green that Charlie XCX favors.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande

Sarah Morris/WireImage/Getty Images

Ariana Grande for Harris. Kanye West for Trump. Does it matter?

Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.

It didn’t take long after Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and Kamala Harris became the odds-on favorite to be the Democratic Party's nominee for the celebrity endorsements to follow. Within a few days, Ariana Grande, Cardi B and John Legend all publicly announced their support for Harris.

Of course, not all celebrities are Democrats and Donald Trump has his share of celebrity support as well — people like Ye (Kanye West), Jason Aldean and Kid Rock, who endorsed Trump in the past and are likely to endorse him once again.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jay-Z on stage

Hip-hop legend Jay-Z performs at a 2012 rally for President Barack Obama, who changed how politicans connect with pop culture icons.

Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images

From Rock the Vote to TikTok: Pop culture’s political influence

Johnson is a United Methodist pastor, the author of "Holding Up Your Corner: Talking About Race in Your Community" and program director for the Bridge Alliance, which houses The Fulcrum.

In 1992, a young Bill Clinton tried to connect with Generation X by joking around and soulfully playing the sax on “The Arsenio Hall Show.” It was a game-changer that forever shifted how presidential candidates court younger voters.

Nowadays, it's not about late-night talk shows but about getting attention on social media platforms like TikTok. The relationship between pop culture and politics has evolved with each generation, keeping pace with the changing times and new technologies. It's crucial to understand this evolution and what it means for how future generations will engage with politics.

Keep ReadingShow less
Simone Biles
Tom Weller/VOIGT/GettyImages

Simone Biles wins gold in life’s balancing act

Lockard is an Iowa resident who regularly contributes to regional newspapers and periodicals. She is working on the second of a four-book fictional series based on Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice."

The closing ceremonies of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris will take place this Sunday, Aug. 11. Officially called the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, they have provided a thrilling spectacle, a glimpse of the world together and on its best behavior.

Team USA’s Simone Biles will leave the City of Lights with an additional four Olympic medals, three gold (the team event, all around and vault) plus a silver in floor exercise, bringing her Olympic treasure trove to 11. Added to her 30 world championship medals, Biles is the most decorated gymnast ever. With five awe-inspiring skills named for her, she dominates the sport — truly the Greatest of All Time.

Keep ReadingShow less
Man in red and blue outfit walking in front of the Capitol.

Tony Zorc is bringing is "Congressman Curly" show to Washington, D.C.

Tony Zorc

Congressman Curly brings rockin' comedy to democracy

The Fulcrum has published many writings over the years about how pop culture in America has amazing healing and connecting powers. Our nation’s history is rich with examples of how artists, entertainers, athletes and creators of every kind invite us into a space of transcendence that leads to connectivity. We see that when we join people together their energy can be harnessed for good, and then amplified and scaled.

Certainly comedy fits in perfectly. Laughter is the embodiment of depolarization. Just consider that in order for something to evoke laughter, it has to have the capacity to both hold tension and release tension at the same time.

Keep ReadingShow less