Essays
Vietnam’s North African Defectors
Hundreds of conscripted Moroccan soldiers defected to join the Viet Minh during the French Indochina War, then stayed in Vietnam to build their lives — until the Americans came, and they were forced to flee to a home they hadn’t seen in decades.
The Desert Mothers
The Desert Mothers of early Christianity were as determined as male mystics to live solitary lives in the most testing of conditions. While their characters and lives are less well documented, what we do have gives intriguing glimpses into what it was like for a woman to be a recluse in a milieu dominated by men.
Truth, Lies and DNA Testing
The news in March that 23andMe had filed for bankruptcy sent customers scrambling to delete their DNA data. Having written about true crime, I already understood that DNA reveals much more than just our genetic material. But I never envisioned it upending my own family’s story.
The Untold Story of Polish Refugees in Uganda
During World War II, thousands of Polish refugees, mostly women and children, were displaced by Soviet and Nazi aggression. Many ended up in British territories, including Uganda, where they settled in remote camps, facing hardship but also benefiting from racial hierarchy.
The Long Shadow of the Debate Between Edward Said and Michael Walzer
Revisiting the intellectual confrontation between the literary theorist Edward Said and the political philosopher Michael Walzer today illuminates the ways liberal Zionism both invests in, and disavows, its ethno-religious fantasies.
Tracing My Grandfather’s Past Took Me to the Violent Heart of the British Empire
I was caught off guard when a relative asked me if I knew that my grandfather was a hero during the Mau Mau uprising, infiltrating enemy gangs, sometimes in blackface. Investigating further was a source of shame, but felt like an opportunity to draw a line between us.
Overcoming the Deep Roots of Byzantine Orientalism
Western writers have hesitated for centuries — over a millennium even — to call Byzantium what it was: the Roman Empire. The historian Anthony Kaldellis has dubbed this tendency “Roman denialism,” an intellectual condition he has mercilessly criticized for years. Now he has brought this battle to a popular audience.