With the Coronavirus, Science Confronts Geopolitics
The containment of COVID-19 raises pressing questions related to the freedom of scientific information, civil liberties, and human rights, one scholar explains.
Bipartisan Forever Wars
A critical analysis of both political parties is necessary to understand how the US has created its informal empire—and to envision a different future.
Iran in the Trump Era
President Trump's decision to order the assassination of Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani has backfired in spectacular fashion. Why?
Why There Is No “Countervailing Power” Against Monopolies
The New Deal revolutions in law and policy were so successful that the economist John Kenneth Galbraith took their accomplishment for granted.
The Fear That Synthesizers Would Ruin Music
A German musicologist complained in 1954 that they reminded him of "barking hell-hounds."
Why Did Ousted Egyptian President Morsi Lose Power?
Mohamed Morsi was elected president in 2012, in Egypt's first free elections. His death has put his brief presidency back in the spotlight.
How Natural Gas Helped Make our Industrial World
Gas was in fact one of the first readily available fuels, and shaped spaces and politics in Regency-era London.
Why Miles Davis’s “Kind of Blue” Is So Beloved
A music scholar suggests that Miles Davis combined the blues with the musical avant garde in a manner reflecting the integrationist spirit of the era.
Sudan’s Revolution and the Geopolitics of Human Rights
Sudan's former president Omar al-Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and genocide. Why isn't he on trial?
Enfranchisement Is the Only Route to Security
In our final security studies column, our columnist posits that security as a permanent mode of government is actually making Americans less secure.