There is *so much* coverage of U.S. politics in Germany. But it is often breathless, frantic, reproducing the constant outrageousness. What is lacking is perspective, context, depth. This is what I am trying to offer in my newsletter. Now also available *in German*:

Falls es gesagt werden muss: Mein Newsletter ist 100% KI-frei. Recherchieren, strukturieren, schreiben, redaktionell bearbeiten, Audio aufnehmen – und jetzt auch: übersetzen, und zwar nicht nur in eine zweite Sprache, sondern auch für ein anderes Publikum. Meine Arbeit. No AI.

Es gibt eher ein Überangebot an atemloser Berichterstattung über die USA - und gleichzeitig nicht genug Tiefenschärfe und Kontext. Das versuche ich in meinem Newsletter anzubieten, indem ich politische Analyse und historische Einordnung verbinde. Ab jetzt auch auf Deutsch:

Eine tolle Nachricht für alle Deutschsprachigen, die seine Texte schätzen. Herzlichen Dank, @thomaszimmer.bsky.social !

Meinen Newsletter zur Geschichte, Gegenwart und Zukunft des Kampfes um die amerikanische Demokratie gibt es jetzt auch auf Deutsch. Demokratie Americana:

Seit diesem Wochenende auch auf Deutsch: der fantastische Newsletter von @thomaszimmer.bsky.social Für alle, die nicht nur Headlines aus den USA konsumieren möchten, sondern verstehen wollen, was sich in dem Land politisch und gesellschaftlich verändert: Demokratie Amerikana ist ein must read!

I admit this is an experiment that requires considerable extra work. The prospect makes me nervous a little bit. Please help me spread the news to whoever might benefit – and find an audience for Demokratie Americana. Thank you!

For the record: What I am offering is 100 percent AI-free.   The research, structuring, writing, editing, audio recording, and now also translating not just into a different language, but also for a different audience is all being done by me. No AI. Ever. My thoughts, my work.

🚨 My newsletter on American politics and history is now also available in German Same analysis, same content. But in German. And with a slight tweak to the title: Demokratie Americana is now live. Please help me spread the news! steady.page/en/demokrati...

🚨 My newsletter on American politics and history is now also available in German Same analysis, same content. But in German. And with a slight tweak to the title: Demokratie Americana is now live. Please help me spread the news! steady.page/en/demokrati...

Ich kenne Thomas als sehr lesenswerten, gründlichen, klugen Autor, von dem ich viel lerne - also schaut doch mal vorbei! ⬇️

🚨 Meinen Newsletter zur US-Politik und Geschichte gibt es jetzt auch auf Deutsch. Demokratie Americana: Nachdenken über die Geschichte, Gegenwart und Zukunft der amerikanischen Demokratie und ihrer Gegner Bitte weitersagen!

Lohnt sich 👇👇

Ich gebe zu, das ist ein Experiment, bei dem mir auch ein bisschen mulmig ist: Der Mehraufwand ist erheblich – ich hoffe, Demokratie Americana findet ein Publikum. Wenn ihr mir dabei helft, die Nachricht unter die Leute zu bringen, bin ich euch sehr dankbar!

🚨 Meinen Newsletter zur US-Politik und Geschichte gibt es jetzt auch auf Deutsch. Demokratie Americana: Nachdenken über die Geschichte, Gegenwart und Zukunft der amerikanischen Demokratie und ihrer Gegner Bitte weitersagen!

🚨Wichtige Neuigkeiten🚨   Meinen Newsletter zur US-Politik und Geschichte gibt es jetzt auch auf Deutsch.   Demokratie Americana: Nachdenken über die Geschichte, Gegenwart und Zukunft der amerikanischen Demokratie und ihrer Gegner   Bitte weitersagen!

Sehr gute Nachricht!

I had the pleasure and the honor to discuss the past, present, and future of the United States – and what it all means for the rest of the world – with @adamtooze.bsky.social and Robert Habeck in Berlin last week.   The conversation is now out in both video and podcast form. What now, America?

🚨Democracy Americana auf Deutsch🚨 Ein guter Moment, um anzukündigen, dass es meinen Newsletter bald auch auf Deutsch geben wird – die deutsche Version startet am Wochenende. Wenn ihr euch dafür interessiert, könnt ihr den Newsletter hier abonnieren:

Was wird aus Amerika? Ich hatte das Vergnügen und die große Ehre, in Berlin mit @adamtooze.bsky.social und Robert Habeck über Geschichte, Gegenwart und Zukunft der USA zu sprechen – und was das alles für den Rest der Welt bedeutet. Das Gespräch gibt es nun als Video und Podcast:

I had the pleasure and the honor to discuss the past, present, and future of the United States – and what it all means for the rest of the world – with @adamtooze.bsky.social and Robert Habeck in Berlin last week.   The conversation is now out in both video and podcast form. What now, America?

Podcast "Habeck live": am vergangenen Sonntag sprach Robert Habeck mit den Historikern @adamtooze.bsky.social und @thomaszimmer.bsky.social über die politische Zukunft der USA. das Gespräch findet ihr ab sofort als Audio- und Videopodcast auf YouTube und auf www.berliner-ensemble.de/magazin/was-....

Here is the article @taniel.bsky.social refers to. It is exactly the type of reporting and analysis we need, clarifying the stakes and how the struggle for Black political representation is not just about Congress, but affects the lives of people in very concrete ways on the local level:

I really appreciate how @thomaszimmer.bsky.social kindly mentions & discusses Bolts' reporting on racism & voting rights in West Tennessee: thomaszimmer.substack.com/p/america-is... Especially since this is the same article that the NYT decided to lift & rewrite with no acknowledgment or citation.

Happening today!

It was my pleasure to join the “Half the Answer” podcast with the wonderful folks at @liberalcurrents.com for a wide-ranging discussion about the struggle for multiracial, egalitarian democracy in U.S. history – from Reconstruction through the end of the civil rights era we are witnessing today:

It was my pleasure to join the “Half the Answer” podcast with the wonderful folks at @liberalcurrents.com for a wide-ranging discussion about the struggle for multiracial, egalitarian democracy in U.S. history – from Reconstruction through the end of the civil rights era we are witnessing today:

Today @thomaszimmer.bsky.social joins @caitlinmoriah.bsky.social and @trentrichardnelson.bsky.social to talk about Reconstruction, and the death knell of the second one www.liberalcurrents.com/the-two-amer...

Finally, Part III: An attempt to take stock of where America stands one month after the end of the voting rights era. The country is facing an escalating representation crisis, a spiraling crisis of legitimacy, and an accelerating disintegration into two incompatible Americas.

Part II focuses on that Second Reconstruction. I reflect on why the civil rights legislation of the 1960s had such a transformative impact, explore the immediate impact of the VRA – and examine the decades-long reactionary countermobilization that has just ended the civil rights era.

In light of the Roberts Court emphatically clarifying that the voting rights era really is OVER and that the nation’s laws and constitution can henceforth only be used to *curtail* the right of minorities to vote, I am reposting my series of essays on the history of multiracial democracy:

In light of the Roberts Court emphatically clarifying that the voting rights era really is OVER and that the nation’s laws and constitution can henceforth only be used to *curtail* the right of minorities to vote, I am reposting my series of essays on the history of multiracial democracy:

But America needs transformational change. And ideally, we should seek to come up with such a transformative response before a violent breakup forces us to remake the country while the Republic lies in ruins beneath our feet. Please consider subscribing:

For anyone who believes in the promise of egalitarian pluralism, the goal should be to create a society where the status of the individual is no longer massively determined by race, gender, religion, or wealth. America is now aggressively moving in the opposite direction.

Taking stock of where America stands one month after the end of the voting rights era: The country is facing an escalating representation crisis, a spiraling crisis of legitimacy, and an accelerating disintegration into two incompatible Americas. This piece is free to read, no paywall:

Taking stock of where America stands one month after the end of the voting rights era: The country is facing an escalating representation crisis, a spiraling crisis of legitimacy, and an accelerating disintegration into two incompatible Americas. This piece is free to read, no paywall:

America Is Going Backwards - and Falling Apart After the end of the voting rights era, the country is facing rapidly encroaching minoritarianism, vastly unrepresentative political institutions, and an escalating crisis of legitimacy. My new piece:

My attempt at providing a comprehensive perspective on what the second reactionary “Redemption” is doing to America, one month after the nullification of the Voting Rights Act. This piece is free to read, no paywall:

America Is Going Backwards - and Falling Apart After the end of the voting rights era, the country is facing rapidly encroaching minoritarianism, vastly unrepresentative political institutions, and an escalating crisis of legitimacy. My new piece:

Trump’s assault on the elections is well underway. For @republik.ch I wrote about what is already happening and what is planned, discussed different scenarios for November, and asked the question: Could he really manipulate his way to victory? Some thoughts, since the piece is in German: 🧵

I wrote about the assault on the midterms (in German):

Für @republik.ch habe ich über Donald Trumps Angriff auf die Wahlen geschrieben - der längst begonnen hat. Die Situation ist brandgefährlich und die Unsicherheit groß. Aber wenn Trumps autoritäre Ambitionen auch grenzenlos sind: Seine Fähigkeiten, sie tatsächlich zu realisieren, sind es nicht.

Für @republik.ch habe ich über Donald Trumps Angriff auf die Wahlen geschrieben - der längst begonnen hat. Die Situation ist brandgefährlich und die Unsicherheit groß. Aber wenn Trumps autoritäre Ambitionen auch grenzenlos sind: Seine Fähigkeiten, sie tatsächlich zu realisieren, sind es nicht.

The lack of historical understanding among journalists is a huge problem for their reporting on politics, society, and the economy, and the consequence of ignorant journalists is an ignorant public. Everyone is easier to fool, & rightwingers exploit that.

This is the way. We do not need to accept the right’s bad-faith and blatantly dishonest caricature of higher education. Colleges and universities regularly platform views across the political spectrum, perhaps more than any other American institution.

“Viewpoint diversity” is a trap For @table.media, I wrote about the Yale report on “Trust in Higher Education” – and why we will not be able to defend academic freedom by accepting the terms set by a rightwing campaign intended to impose reactionary rule. Some thoughts, since it is in German:

The lament over a lack of “viewpoint diversity” is not a manifestation of a sincere concern for academic freedom, but part of a political project that aims at breaking what the Right calls “the cathedral” in order to establish reactionary hegemony across society.

“Viewpoint diversity” is a trap For @table.media, I wrote about the Yale report on “Trust in Higher Education” – and why we will not be able to defend academic freedom by accepting the terms set by a rightwing campaign intended to impose reactionary rule. Some thoughts, since it is in German:

I wrote this one angry: About the tireless efforts to sanitize the discourse, about the fact that we are constantly asked to come up with exculpatory tales, to please not call those pursuing a political project of re-segregation racists - so mean! so “divisive”! - or segregationists.

Putting the end of the civil rights era in historical perspective. I wrote about the Rise and Fall of the Second Reconstruction, 1964/65 – 2025/26: An attempt to really grasp what a profoundly important - and disturbing - moment in U.S. history we are currently witnessing. My new piece: