- Social:
Harvard University
Professor of history at Harvard University and author of The War on Alcohol: Prohibition and the Rise of the American State
PROFILE
Lisa McGirr
Guest
FROM Lisa McGirr
To the Point
Prohibition and America's 'War on Alcohol' Juice joints, hooch, flappers and speakeasies often come to mind when we think of the Prohibition Era, and historians have often treated it as a little more than a misguided moralistic hissy fit. The influential Richard Hofstadter called prohibition “a means by which the reforming energies of the country were transmuted into mere peevishness.” But Harvard professor Lisa McGirr says we're missing a serious point. In The War on Alcohol: Prohibition and the Rise of the American State , she argues that Prohibition planted the seeds for many of the problems we see today in our criminal justice system -- including racial and class inequity, police brutality, and flawed drug policy.
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To the Point
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?
To the Point
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
To the Point
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?