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.
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.
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.
Now isn’t now
Why do ceasefire negotiations in Gaza keep getting deadlocked? How did a predictable weather event result in such devastating loss of life in Texas? & How did a “truth-seeking” chatbot become a platform for Nazi rhetoric? New music from Sonita Alizadeh. &c. … The member’s despatch, Week XXVIII.
The course of human events
What good is U.S. diplomacy with Russia? Can democracy live with huge laws passed by just a few votes? & Is it finally dead in Hong Kong? … + The weird end of the U.S.-China trade war. Why Americans are losing interest in news. Music from Michael Gordon. &c. … The member’s despatch, Week XXVII.
War and peace
Why didn’t China or Russia help Iran? What on Earth is “the West”? New music from Four Tet, Mary Halvorson, & Amon Tobin. + What’s a pandeiro? &c. … The member’s despatch, Week XXVI.
