Ross Barkan
The Sharpest Beach Bums You’ll Ever Meet
By Ross BarkanGive McKenzie Wark credit. Getting in the ring with Guy Debord and his Situationist crew and making their quixotic vision of a world wholly unlike this one seem palatable and almost reasonable is an accomplishment.
The Great American Swindle
By Ross BarkanIt’s rare to see an individual who dedicated his life to a celebrated calling come to the brink of rejecting everything he once accomplished. But that is what a titan of finance—in both a metaphorical and physical sense—almost did in the twilight of a vaunted career. Paul Volcker briefly asks himself what the hell he’d done for the last half century.
A Race to Nowhere
By Ross BarkanAny mildly astute analyst of racial dynamics could have quickly debunked the idea that President Barack Obama’s election represented the dawning of a “post-racial” age for America. A single election could not heal centuries of dehumanizing oppression and close a widening wealth and health gap between black and white Americans.
Can We Save Media?
By Ross BarkanThe clone artfully defends her actions against the state, exasperating the indoctrinated historian who cannot understand why anyone would want to rebel against a society that celebrates hyperconsumerism, capitalism, and authoritarianism.
