First Person
Marmalade's Unstoppable Spread
Marmalade has become a global passion. How did this staple of the British breakfast table become the focus of a competition in England’s Lake District that hosts over 3,000 jars flown in from all over the world?
The House in Zabbougha
A British-Lebanese author recalls his family's experiences of war, famine, coups and migration — and the enduring mountain home that witnessed it all.
Celebrating Syria’s Liberation From a Prison Cell in Iraq
The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime was the happiest day of Elizabeth Tsurkov’s life, though she had at the time been tortured and imprisoned for nearly two years on a militia base in Iraq.
Cycling in Search of a Disappearing Europe
In 1978, the author’s father cycled through the Balkans. A trip following in his tire tracks reveals a continent grappling with globalization, uniform commercialism and rising nationalism.
A Palestinian Citizen of Israel Reflects on Life in the Shadow of Genocide in Gaza
What does the future hold for Palestinian citizens of Israel after the Gaza genocide? The author, a Palestinian citizen who “thinks and dreams in Hebrew,” attempts to address the question through the lens of his first visit home since Oct. 7.
How Zohran Mamdani Rekindled My Faith in Politics
Zohran Mamdani’s impending win or loss is irrelevant to what his candidacy means to me: Even in this country’s darkest moments, there is always a chance that this American experiment in multiculturalism and democracy for all may not be doomed after all.
I Believed I Had Seen the Worst Humanity Could Inflict — Until Gaza
A doctor who has led four medical missions to Gaza describes the war’s devastating impact on the territory’s besieged inhabitants and hospitals, and the desperation of his fellow medical professionals. He also recounts a revealing — and ultimately dispiriting — conversation with President Joe Biden.