On Jan. 20, Americans focused their attention on Washington, D.C., as the presidential inauguration ceremony took place on the National Mall, a place that urban scholars, geographers and historians refer to as a “stage for democracy.”

As an urban geographer, I study the important role of public space in cities. Perhaps no public space...

As Donald Trump was sworn into office, Barack Obama watched. Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were also nearby, in more ways than one.

I regularly teach a course on the American presidency. My students join a generation of Americans who have come of age with a particular vision of the presidency established by Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack...

Editor’s note: The following is a roundup of archival stories.

The members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet will hold power over policies that determine many aspects of life in the U.S., touching citizens and immigrants, America’s relations with foreign governments and our nation’s use of natural resources.

The task of...

President Donald Trump’s inaugural speech – a brief address, which, at 1,433 words, was the shortest since President Carter’s – combined his trademark combative populism with shades of Ronald Reagan.

Though sprinkled with calls for unity, it also relied upon creating a sharp divide between his self-declared...

Former President Obama famously suggested in a 2016 interview that he questioned a set of orthodox assumptions about American foreign policy that he labeled “the Washington Playbook.”

That orthodoxy, widely accepted among American political elites since 1945, includes an unending national commitment to employ America’s financial...

It is hardly unusual for Cabinet nominees to leave more questions than answers after their confirmation hearings. Yet for the millions whose lives hang in the balance depending on the future of the Affordable Care Act, Rep. Tom Price’s (R-Ga.) answers were surprisingly vague on...

With the new administration beginning, many people might want to know how to resist it. The inauguration week includes many protests against Donald Trump’s values – from the Women’s March on Washington to the #J20 Art Strike. What should we aim for as we head into protests?

As a reflective citizen and a practitioner of philosophy,...

Family is important to Donald Trump. The president-elect has appointed his son-in-law Jared Kushner as a senior White House adviser. For the duration of the presidency, the real estate mogul has handed over the reins of his company to two of his sons Donald and Eric (and the CFO Allen Weisselberg). His children have played important roles in the...

The military’s most prolific leaker of digital documents has ushered in an age of even more increased surveillance over government workers. The legacy of Chelsea Manning’s actions is under discussion in the wake of the announcement that the former Army private will be released from military prison in May. In one of...

To some liberals, Donald Trump’s inauguration portends doom for the republic; to many conservatives, it’s a crowning moment for the nation that will usher in an era of growth and optimism.

It’s as if each side is living in a different country – and a different...