From Mark Twain to Chris Rock, it provokes book banning and nervous giggles. A black scholar asks if it's ever OK to say "nigger."

The radio host's resignation shows that some people still don't get it: In America, some words are off-limits

UPDATED: Rich Benjamin responds to critics of his assessment of the president's Trayvon Martin speech

The porn star talks to Salon about her memoir, smoking crack in BDSM dungeons, and why she's smitten with her work

Millions of Americans abandoned their fellow citizens in search of mythical uplift — and our future is in doubt

How desperate is GOP? It now fantasizes that Obama’s campaign was a coded order to the IRS to target the Tea Party

Lil' Kim debuted as a brassy M.C. who wanted orgasms -- not respect. Four years on, the life of a porn-positive rapper looks pretty empty.

Bush looks anxious, Nicole feels guilty, Ewan feels effeminate, and Jayson writes for Jane. Plus: Will Bonnie Fuller buy a respectable masthead?

The controversial radio host goes off the rails making a point about race. Was she just misunderstood?

If Trump is following in Goldwater's footsteps, he will lose the election, but win over Republicans ideologically

The angry radio quitter is another right-winger who misunderstands the First Amendment and loves playing victim

Democrats spotlight a pair of Texas officials who have been dinged for bigoted remarks.

In the Age of Obama, conservatives continue their tradition of racial slurring — without actually saying the word

By Charles Taylor

Roth's fiction is often perceived as sympathetic to the Black struggle. His real legacy is far more complicated