Will the queue bring down Putin?
Few things symbolize late Soviet decay like the queue. I remember, in 1991, walking to the grocery store from school so I could hold a…
The orthodox Jews tripping on toad toxins
There are more than a few places in the Old Testament where it appears that the ancient patriarchs and prophets were tripping their brains out: Moses and the bush that…
The war for China’s soul
True to its Marxist-Leninist roots, the Chinese Communist Party has long regarded religion as spiritual opium. A few weeks ago, it appeared to double down on the drugs imagery by…
Why Brexit is back
This time 10 years ago, I was heavily pregnant and waddling around small-town England with a bag of Leave campaign leaflets, in the weeks leading up to that seismic referendum.…
Trump’s monumentalistic aesthetic
From the ancient Redwoods in northern California, to the thunderous roar of Niagara Falls in upstate New York. From the Empire State Building in Midtown Manhattan, to the sandstone buttes…
The Iron Lady who could save Venezuela
This piece was first published on 26 July, 2024. Despite being the most popular politician in Venezuela, María Corina Machado has been banned from standing in this weekend’s election. Forbidden…
Why plutocrats love Trump’s war
When the bombs began to rain down on Iran, I predicted Donald Trump’s Waterloo. Watching his MAGA coalition, a noxious brew of working-class resentment and tax cuts for billionaires, descend…
The triumph of Brexitball
A ball over the top. A big center-forward muscles the center-back out of the way and then fires past the goalkeeper. It happened to be Sunday, and Manchester City’s 1-0…
Why Human Design is perfect for our age
One of the basic tenets of religious scholarship is that religions reflect the society that created them. In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, the German social theorist…
Don’t mention the old World Wars
Any pressure on Kiev to make a deal with Moscow is tantamount to “appeasement,” according to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who tweeted as much on Sunday. The “appeasement” stick…
The new epidemic of black youth violence
Last summer, Chicago’s progressive Mayor Brandon Johnson used his first veto to kill an ordinance passed by the city council that would have given police authority to impose last-minute “snap”…