Essays
Marching Out of Step
Last month’s military parade in Beijing brought the leaders of Russia, China and North Korea together in a show of unity. But the history of such meetings reminds us of the hidden dynamics beneath the diplomatic veneer.
The First Arab Indie Label
The rise and fall of the Baidaphon music label is a story of entrepreneurship and inventiveness, spanning countries at a time of global upheaval, and of love and friendship among Arabs and Jews amid growing racism and antisemitism. But above all, it is the story of the Baida family.
Anti-Americanism in Canada Is Nothing New — It’s a Tradition
Trump’s tariffs and threats to make Canada “the 51st state” have sparked boycotts of U.S. products, and may have even swung Canada’s April election. But anti-American fervor has a long, colorful history in Canada.
The Russian Ascetic Who Reached for Immortality
The driving force behind transhumanism — the idea that technological advancements will help us achieve immortality — may be the tech billionaires of Silicon Valley, but its genesis lies in the little hovel of a 19th-century Russian ascetic who had a new vision of eternity.
A Greek Island’s First Settlers Weren’t Human
New archaeological finds on the Greek island of Naxos bear the hallmarks of Neanderthal craftsmanship, suggesting that this enigmatic hominid reached the area at the same time as humans, or even before them, and toppling the assumption that our species alone had the navigational nous and curiosity to colonize islands.
Haile Selassie’s Refuge in Britain
In the 1930s, as Ethiopia fell to Mussolini’s troops, Emperor Haile Selassie went into exile in Bath, England, where he rallied global support against the Italian invasion of his country.
After France Outlawed Brothels, Its Army Kept North African Women Selling Sex in Secret
After World War II, France outlawed prostitution and shut more than a thousand brothels within its borders. But the army, which had thousands of North African troops to demobilize, set up its own secret brothels and trafficked women, often against their will, to service the troops.