Thomas Paine’s Common Sense and the Spirit of Revolution

Two hundred and fifty years ago, Thomas Paine published a pamphlet that argued passionately for American independence via revolution — he called it Common Sense. To mark its anniversary, join four brilliant critics and thinkers as they offer four short lectures about the spirit of revolution in America. David Wallace-Wells, a bracing voice on climate change and the near future in Uninhabitable Earth, asks what catastrophe does to our politics — and to human consciousness. Matthew Sitman, co-host of the hit podcast Know Your Enemy, brings a sharp, historically grounded perspective on the American right and the stories it tells about power. Sasha Bonét, whose The Waterbearers traces Black matriarchy across generations, writes intimate cultural history with moral urgency and force. Michael Luo, executive editor at the New Yorker and author of Strangers in the Land, draws on meticulous research on the history of immigration to America to examine the long contested question: who gets to be American? Together, in the common-sense spirit of Paine’s revolutionary project, these writers ask: what does it mean not only to describe the condition of American life, but to imagine a path forward? Can literature still create the conditions for readers to act upon their political convictions? Can revolution really begin with the written word? Paine believed they could. Join us for a conversation about what that belief demands of us 250 years into the American experiment. Recorded May 6, 2026 at The 92nd Street Y, New York. Your support helps us continue creating online content for our community. Donate now: http://www.92NY.org/Donate Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/92ndStreetY Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/92ndStreetY TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@92ndstreety Archives: https://www.92ny.org/archives