Blind spots
A dictators’ parade as personal betrayal for the U.S. president. Open corruption topples a strongman. &c. | The member’s despatch, Week XXXVI.
Interpretation codes
Competing interests in Gaza spin competing evidence of famine into competing narratives about the war there—with vastly different stakes. … Ghislaine Maxwell’s jailhouse testimony clearing Trump raises tougher questions than whether she’s telling the truth.
Death by smartphone
How are smartphones transforming modern warfare? … How much has Donald Trump made off the U.S. presidency? … & How can America adapt to an increasingly multipolar world?
The archaeology of a story
Who shot Abu Sayed? … How important is education to reducing poverty? … & Will the U.S. trade war have predictable consequences?
What breaks, what bends
Making sense of Israel’s sudden escalation in Gaza. … A new chapter in the strange, high-stakes relationship between Trump and Putin. … & France is burning like it’s 1949—and Europe isn’t ready. … The member’s despatch, Week XXXII.
Persistence without memory
Why is the greenback still the world’s apex currency? … How can you succeed in the Chinese Communist Party? … & Will protectionism save the American auto industry? … New works, Week XXXII.
The weaponization of everything
Making sense of Israel’s sudden escalation in Gaza. … A new chapter in the strange, high-stakes relationship between Trump and Putin. … & France is burning like it’s 1949—and Europe isn’t ready. … The member’s despatch, Week XXXI.
Promises, promises
Getting the questions straight on Trump’s Epstein gamble. … A reckoning in Gaza for the post–World War II humanitarian-relief system. … & How much of a threat is violence toward Syria’s Druze minority—for the country and the Middle East as a whole? … The member’s despatch, Week XXX.
As you were
What are the stakes of Trump’s ultimatum to Putin in Ukraine? … The Epstein case: What happens when a movement to out conspiracies takes over institutions it was meant to expose? … & Are crackdowns in El Salvador and Cambodia part of a global dictators’ playbook? … The member’s despatch, Week XXIX.
