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The Prophets
The Lessons of the Prophets
Our series on nine late, great thinkers has concluded—but their voices continue to resonate with one another.
Emily Yoffe
The Prophets: René Girard
By applying the lessons of great novels to real life, a professor predicted cancel culture decades before the internet existed.
Cynthia L. Haven
The Prophets: Octavia Butler
The science fiction writer warned that environmental decay and technological advances would spark an American decline. Now, we are seeing the future she…
Tiya Miles
The Prophets: Eric Hoffer
In 1951, a book by an unschooled dockworker predicted the forces that would give rise to radical politics on the left, populism on the right—and a…
Rob Henderson
The Prophets: Andrea Dworkin
Decades ago, the feminist warned of the damage that is done to both men and women living in a culture drenched in pornography. We live in that culture…
Louise Perry
The Prophets: Allan Bloom
Nearly 40 years ago, a University of Chicago professor warned that higher education was closing Americans’ minds. Today, he could be called the…
Thomas Chatterton Williams
The Prophets: Mary Ware Dennett
In the early 1900s, a mother fought to distribute sex education through the mail. The law that deemed her ‘obscene’ could deny women’s access to…
Emily Yoffe
The Prophets: D.A. Henderson
Years before Covid, the scientist credited with eradicating smallpox warned against shutting down the world to combat an epidemic.
Joe Nocera
The Prophets: Bayard Rustin
The 1960s civil rights hero, who was sidelined because he was gay, predicted the rise of identity politics and affirmative action—and how they would…
Coleman Hughes
Introducing a New Saturday Series: The Prophets
Meet the messengers from the past who saw the future and explain our world today. First up: Marshall McLuhan.
Benjamin Carlson
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