In 2024, the Democrats ran on the catchphrase “We are not going back.” Even after the party’s resounding defeat, the refrain may have been more prophetic than they imagined. New research shows that once a country begins a descent into authoritarianism it’s extremely difficult to reverse. And the first vector of attack is often the free press.

Bob, with his remarkable intellect and even more remarkable capacity for communicating his vision of a media that served citizens rather than corporations, was always the driving force. His research and his insatiable curiosity helped him to see the future more clearly than any scholar of his generation...

On Tuesday afternoon, President Donald Trump signed a far-reaching executive order that Eliza Sweren-Becker, senior counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice’s voting rights and elections program, described as “an astonishing and unprecedented voter suppression” effort. It would upend how Americans register to vote, how they cast their ballots, and how their votes are counted.