Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Sport is more than just a game in America

Jackie Robinson: The First African American to Play in the MLB | Mini Bio | BIO

The Fulcrum is committed to connecting pop culture to democracy. That includes music, theater, poetry and so much more.

As we think about the many aspects of American culture that are connected to democracy, we would be remiss if we did not include sports.


No one can deny the important role sports play in American society. But perhaps more important than the game itself are the values of justice, fair play and teamwork that emerge when sport is at its best.

Perhaps more than any other social institution in America, sport has contributed to racial and social integration.

One prime example is the role Jackie Robinson played in 1947 as he broke Major League Baseball's decades-old "color barrier" when he made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

It is almost unfathomable today to think that "America's pastime" excluded people of color from playing. There is no doubt that Robinson impacted more than just the game of baseball, as his outspoken activism in his later years helped set the stage for the burgeoning civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Robinson was a man of courage. As he was taunted and insulted with racial epitaphs he repeatedly stated that he was not concerned with whether people liked him or disliked him: "All I ask is that you respect me as a human being."

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

His endurance at being "first," is honored one day every baseball season, when all players wear his number, 42. It's a tribute to a man who experienced the flaws of our nation through bigotry and chose to serve his community throughout his life. He was a team player.

There are many examples of how athletes have impacted our society and our democracy in ways that model the character needed to endure, offer support and be a good human being. Things far more important than the winning or losing of a game.

As The Fulcrum embarks on this journey of connecting American sport to democracy we want to hear your stories, your examples of sport connecting to democracy — whether by advancing social justice, economic rights or gender equality; placing the team above the individual; or honoring one's opponents.

There are so many powerful forces beyond the field or the arena. Which is your favorite? Do you have other examples? Please send your ideas to pop-culture@fulcrum.us.

Read More

The White Lotus Politics: Is Hollywood Storytelling Shifting Right?

Premiere of HBO Original Series "The White Lotus" Season 3 at Paramount Theatre on February 10, 2025, in Los Angeles, California.

(Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

The White Lotus Politics: Is Hollywood Storytelling Shifting Right?

As HBO's The White Lotus nears its season three finale, Mike White's dark exploration of the human condition through privilege and class has not only continued to seep into our cultural conversations but has increasingly woven itself into our political ones. The series, which has always been inherently political, made it more overt this season through the friendship of three women with clashing political views (played by Michelle Monaghan, Carrie Coon, and Leslie Bibb)—that culminated in a now-infamous dinner scene that captured the current political malaise defining so many of our American interactions today.

For an entertainment industry long viewed as American culture's most progressive stronghold, this show exists at a time when the Trump administration is censoring museums and muzzling news organizations, all coinciding with a swell of conservative voices gaining more visibility within the broader culture. Take NBC's Saturday Night Live, which, this March, invited country singer Morgan Wallen to perform for a secondtime, years after a video surfaced of him using a racial slur outside his Nashville home in 2021.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ben Folds Upcoming Tour: Offers His Fans a Time to Reflect

Ben Folds performs on stage with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra at Perth Concert Hall on January 28, 2021 in Perth, Australia.

Getty Images, Matt Jelonek

Ben Folds Upcoming Tour: Offers His Fans a Time to Reflect

In February, Ben Folds resigned as artistic adviser to the National Symphony Orchestra, shortly after President Donald Trump took charge of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. “Given developments at the Kennedy Center, effective today I am resigning as artistic advisor to the NSO,” Folds wrote on Instagram on February 12. “Not for me.”

While Folds is not overtly political, he has used his music as a platform to encourage dialogue and understanding within his audience. He has the opportunity to do so in his recently announced 2025 concert tour, which includes the “Paper Airplane Request Tour,” where members of the audience can request songs by sending paper airplanes to the stage.

Keep ReadingShow less
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood screenshot
Sony Pictures Entertainment

Movies that show us at our weaving best

The Aspen Institute’s Weave: The Social Fabric Project tackles the problem of broken trust that has left Americans divided, lonely and in social gridlock. Weave connects and invests in grassroots leaders stepping up to weave a new, inclusive social fabric where they live. This is part of an ongoing series telling the stories of community weavers from across the country.

With the weather getting colder across the northern hemisphere and some holiday time with family and friends coming up, you might want to kick back with a movie. We’ve got you. Here are some movies that will give you hope, leave you smiling and maybe inspire you to get out and rebuild social trust in your community in 2025.

Keep ReadingShow less