Essays
Physics and the Paranormal
From experiments with psychedelics to Nobel Prize winners interested in fitting consciousness into physical theories, research into the inexplicable is gaining ground in the academy.
Zaha Hadid’s Sumerian Roots
Zaha Hadid’s architecture is known for being cutting-edge and hypermodernist. But she drew inspiration from as far back in time as the Sumerian civilization of her native Iraq.
How the World Celebrated America’s 200th Birthday
The U.S. bicentennial in 1976 was an international affair, celebrated in diverse ways by countries around the world, in a turning point for American soft power and a rejection of the blunt propaganda of the early Cold War.
Watching the Last Years of the Ottoman Empire From an Istanbul Jail
In 1915, a 20-year-old named Vartuhi Kalantar was unjustly jailed in Istanbul for promoting Armenian independence. Her prison memoir, the first by a woman in the Middle East and a fascinating window into the dying days of the Ottoman Empire, has now been translated into English.
What a Pocketful of Metal Reveals About Afghanistan’s Forgotten Empires
Nearly 200 years ago, an East India Company agent in Central Asia started collecting ancient coins. Now kept in the British Museum, they reveal a time when Afghanistan was wealthy, cosmopolitan and culturally confident.
The Arabs of Hyderabad
From royal guards to entrepreneurs and wrestlers, Hyderabad’s Yemeni-origin community has navigated the collapse of princely rule, the violence of 1948 and life in independent India, preserving its identity and reinventing itself in a changing city.
How Ibrahim Rugova’s Literary Training Shaped His Political Philosophy
Ibrahim Rugova, who led Kosovo’s nonviolent resistance and ascended to the country’s presidency after independence, died 20 years ago. Before that, he was a literary scholar. That little-known first act was crucial to his worldview and, ultimately, his approach to politics.