John Fabian Witt
@johnfabianwitt.bsky.social
Duffy Prof @YaleLawSch, legal history. Germantown born and bred. Fisherman, orchardist, baseball. Profile photo sitdowners park in Flint. The Radical Fund is out from Simon & Schuster.
In then new @zelizer.bsky.social book on the Biden presidency I describe the symbiotic relationship between the imperial Supreme Court and the dangerous postmodern presidency. Frenemies and mutual enablers, even when also adversarial. press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
The Presidency of Joseph R. Biden
Leading historians offer the first look at Biden’s four years in the White House
press.princeton.edu
Deepak Bhargava of Freedom Together bundles good lessons from The Radical Fund for funders today. More to say about the interaction of class and race.
Benjamin Soskis@bensoskis.bsky.social · 6mo agoNew HistPhil post: Deepak Bhargava reviews @johnfabianwitt.bsky.social The Radical Fund, finding in the early 20th C. history of the Garland Fund lessons for today's progressive, radical, and movement-oriented funders. histphil.org/2026/02/17/a...
Thoughtful review of The Radical Fund in @dissentmag.bsky.social by @cdunning.bsky.social. (Will hand-wringing keep the left from doing what’s required to build power while in exile?) dissentmagazine.org/online_artic...
Philanthropy for Radicals - Dissent Magazine
The Garland Fund was not a typical foundation, but its history shows the potential role philanthropy can play in moments of rising authoritarianism—and the tensions inherent in that role.
dissentmagazine.org
I'm delighted to announce BU's Clark Legal History Series @bostonu.bsky.social @bulaw.bsky.social Weds 4:20 to 6:20: Starting 1/21: @johnfabianwitt.bsky.social presenting his outstanding new book "The Radical Fund" Then @sherifgirgis.bsky.social @beaubaumann.bsky.social & more:
Always fun to talk to @profmmurray.bsky.social — esp about The Radical Fund! @simonandschuster.bsky.social
11th Hour with Ali Velshi@11thhourmsnow.bsky.social · 7mo agoA century ago, a band of visionary progressives achieved success challenging inequality, economic upheaval, and threats to democracy. Historian @johnfabianwitt.bsky.social argues their genius was in “organizing tens of millions of working-class Americans” to make democracy work. #Velshi
Nice note on The Radical Fund in the @nytimes.com! Missed it last week. “Engrossing” sounds good! @simonandschuster.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/12/15/b...
This one was fun to write: did 2025 put a final stake thru the heart of the process school? Or was it maybe the beginning of a revival? (Take our course this spring for more!) @yalelawschool-yls.bsky.social @samuelmoyn.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/12/24/o...
Opinion | The Year America Blew Up the Process
nytimes.com
William E. Nelson, one of the giants of U.S. legal history has passed. I have fond memories of spending a year as a Golieb Fellow at NYU under his tutelage -- as do many others. Sending love and comfort to his family and to all those who who counted him as a friend.
Legal History Blog@legalhistoryblog.bsky.social · 8mo ago
Finkelman reviews @bradsnyderprof.bsky.social for @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social: “Snyder details Herndon’s legal odyssey with great insight. He does not make the point directly but provides the evidence that good lawyering matters.”
I'll be at Harvard Book Store this eve at 7 pm, in conversation with @noahrfeldman.bsky.social about The Radical Fund. Among other things, my best effort in 30 years to capture the history of the law in all its multifariousness. Join us! @harvardbookstore.bsky.social @simonandschuster.bsky.social
Hey New Haven join the conversation with Kica Matos @nilc.org and me about The Radical Fund, 6:30 this evening at Possible Futures on Edgewood. Liberals and leftists in political exile, a century ago and today. Should be fun! possiblefuturesbooks.com/events/39805...
12/3 Book Talk with John Fabian Witt: The Radical Fund | Possible Futures
beloved community, neighborhood bookspace, independent bookstore
possiblefuturesbooks.com
Many thanks to the @brennancenter.org for compelling conversation about #TheRadicalFund this week. Esp nice to reconnect with former student Lauren Miller Karalunas @yalelawschool-yls.bsky.social
If only there were a story about someone with $1 million giving it away . . . . #TheRadicalFund
Brendan Nyhan@brendannyhan.bsky.social · 9mo agoLike someone with a $1M net worth giving away $1,090... mostly to themselves
Like someone with a $1M net worth giving away $1,090... mostly to themselves
How a band of visionaries and a million dollars upended America – in the 1920s, which had some remarkable similarities to our own era: Historian @johnfabianwitt.bsky.social explains – on @thenation.com podcast bit.ly/4ozD5dV
The 1920s had some striking things in common with our own ominous political world today—starting with "gates being shut after several decades of really extraordinary immigration the US"— @johnfabianwitt.bsky.social – on @thenation.com podcast bit.ly/4ozD5dV @simonbooks.bsky.social
In Detroit for the ASLH conference? I'm at the Fraser Center Wayne State at 4 pm this afternoon to talk about the archives that brought the story of #TheRadicalFund to life. @reutherlibrary.bsky.social labor.wayne.edu/event-flyers...
labor.wayne.edu
Interesting and fun convo with @jonwiener.bsky.social and @thenation.com about resonances between the 2020s and the 1920s: www.thenation.com/podcast/arch...
Mamdani’s Momentum, Plus “The Radical Fund”
On Start Making Sense: Bhaskar Sunkara comments on the tasks facing New York City’s new socialist mayor, and historian John Fabian Witt talks about left politics in the 1920s.
thenation.com
Smart questions from @zelizer.bsky.social in this conversation earlier today. Did the right co-opt progressives’ most generative 20th c tactics? #TheRadicalFund open.substack.com/pub/johnfabi...
Interview with John Fabian Witt, author of The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America
A recording from John Fabian Witt and Julian Zelizer's live video
open.substack.com
I'm at the Warren Center @harvard.edu today at 4 pm in Robinson Hall's lower library to talk about The Radical Fund. Come on out. I promise good pictures!
Lookong back to look ahead—thoughtful and revelatory by @nickperkins.bsky.social on Mamdani and Walter Lippmann. jacobin.com/2025/11/lunn...
Harlem Congressman Vito Marcantonio is Mamdani’s closing message—and practiced at the Garland Fund’s law firm. Of course. #TheRadicalFund is all around us. @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social
Zohran Kwame Mamdani@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 9mo agoUNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 5: Vito Marcantonio There are many who dismiss our vision for New York as impossible. To them, I say we need look only to our past for proof of how we can shape the future. Tomorrow is Election Day. And this is the final Until It's Done of our campaign.
New HistPhil post: David Pozen continues our book forum on @johnfabianwitt.bsky.social' s The Radical Fund, questioning whether, given evolution in nonprofit law since the fund's heydey, it can serve as a model for contemporary philanthropy seeing to "upend America." histphil.org/2025/11/03/c...
Could a Garland Fund 2.0 Upend the United States Today?
Editors’ Note: David Pozen continues HistPhil’s book forum on John Witt’s The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America (Simon & Schuster, …
histphil.org
Oh my, the 2020s bidding hard to look like the 1920s. First Billie Eilish, now Gatsby and the Roaring 20s at Mar-a-Lago #TheRadicalFund @simonandschuster.bsky.social
Radicalism (in its Latin sense at least?) is fast becoming a keyword for the age. @fotoole.bsky.social is lucid in the @nybooks.com www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
Radical constitutional change is in the air; now Sai Prakash & @casssunstein.bsky.social are in the mix with a fascinating account of social movements and elites. But what if elites are also a social movement to be explained? #TheRadicalFund virginialawreview.org/articles/rad...
Radical Constitutional Change - Virginia Law Review
At defining points in American history, there have been radical constitutional changes, defined as massive shifts in constitutional understandings, doctrines, and practices. Apparently settled princip...
virginialawreview.org
A new pod episode! Come for the nudist beach scenes from the 1920s—stay for fights over the material foundations of 20th-c liberalisms.
David Schleicher@profschleich.bsky.social · 9mo ago🚨🚨New Pod!! 🚨🚨 We have @johnfabianwitt.bsky.social on the pod!!! @samuelmoyn.bsky.social and I talk with John about his amazing and must read new book, The Radical Fund podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...
