Environmental Disaster and Hopeful Revival in Central Asia
The dried-up Aral Sea tells a story about decisions made in the past, but it is also the site of countless choices in our present: what kinds of economies we prioritize, what forms of nature we value and what we want our future to look like.
As a Tenuous Ceasefire Holds, Will Gaza Dare To Dream Again?
As the ceasefire was announced, everyone in Gaza was caught between joy and disbelief — smiling, crying, uncertain whether to hope. It felt like the first deep breath after years of suffocation, a long pause from an even longer fear.
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.