Essays
Uncanny Echoes
There are uncanny similarities in how Bush spun and justified the Iraq War and how Trump is spinning and justifying the war in Iran. Yet Trump administration officials are trying to combat the perception that the two wars are at all similar, no doubt to avoid any association with a generational U.S. foreign policy failure.
A Tale of Two ‘Ketamine Queens’
As “ketamine queen” Jasveen Sangha awaits sentencing for her role in the death of “Friends” actor Matthew Perry, Joanne Drayton traces parallels with the all but forgotten tale of the heiress Marcia Moore, who championed the drug’s mind-expanding properties and died in mysterious circumstances.
The Family Memoirs Uncovering a Different History of the 20th Century
The personal and political collide in three new books — Julia Ioffe’s “Motherland,” Lea Ypi’s “Indignity” and Olia Hercules’ “Strong Roots” — that use family memoir to illuminate the lives of women in 20th-century Eastern Europe.
Beirut’s History Is Being Repaved
Incredibly, parts of Beirut’s Roman walls have survived all the intervening upheavals, human and natural, of the past two millennia. But these remnants, and the ancient tombstones the walls were lined with, are under threat — not from earthquakes or war, but the construction of a parking lot.
Saudi Arabia’s Break With Interventionism
After decades of shifting alliances that failed to deliver stability, Saudi Arabia now has a “zero-conflict” policy toward its neighbors. It is this, rather than a turn to Islamism, that is paradoxically creating tension with the United Arab Emirates and Israel.
Minneapolis Protests Sound a Lot Like the French Resistance
In Minneapolis, whistles warn of ICE agents’ approach. How far do they echo the church bells that guided resistance in occupied France? History does not repeat, but in the details from the ground in Minnesota and the work of historians of wartime Europe, parallels emerge that may be instructive.
Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt That Decided History
The Great Arab Revolt of 1936 is one of the most important and least remembered events in the history of Arab-Zionist relations in Palestine. A newly released film and a recently published book provide thought-provoking insights and a new understanding of how events that occurred 90 years ago shaped the present.