Saudi Arabia and the Tired ‘Whitewashing’ Trope
Critics blasted comics for performing in Riyadh and fretted about Saudi money in video games. But the “whitewashing” critique flattens Arab societies, ignores local audiences and indulges a Western moral superiority that is no longer tenable.
Chicago Is Pushing Back Against Trump
The ongoing immigration crackdown in the Windy City and across multiple other locations in the U.S. is extreme but not without precedent in American history. What does seem different, though, is the degree to which local residents are resisting the federal onslaught — both spontaneously and through organized channels.
How a Classic Russian Opera Became a Work of Protest
The opera “Boris Godunov” — first performed in St. Petersburg in 1874 — has, in recent years, become a lightning rod for clashing interpretations of Putin’s regime and, by extension, the question of Russians’ complicity in the bloodshed in Ukraine.
Uncovering the Human Stories Behind Global Politics
Hosted by Faisal Al Yafai and Lydia WilsonFeaturing Yaroslav Trofimov and Christina LambProduced by Finbar AndersonAssistant Producer Henry Wilkins Listen to and follow The LedeApple Podcasts | Spotify | Podbean Storytelling has a different imperative when closer to home, The Wall Street Journal’s Yaroslav Trofimov tells New Lines’ Faisal Al…
Stalled Reconciliation Leaves Hama’s Alawites in Limbo
In Syria’s Hama province, displaced Alawite villagers are unable to return to houses and lands now occupied by their former Sunni neighbors, whose own homes were destroyed. With property disputes unresolved and pistachio orchards — the region’s economic lifeblood — neglected, the fragile coexistence that once defined these communities risks collapse.