Culture
The Devil in the Machine
The AI Cassandras have the weight of the evidence behind them. The threat is real, even if it remains a potentiality for now. The vulnerabilities are too numerous to ignore.
Protests and Profanity
India’s Gen Z is rewriting the rules of public speech. As profanity moves from private jokes and internet culture into protests, the backlash reveals a deeper generational divide over authenticity and respectability.
A Truth-Teller for All 10 Villages
In his show “Olu Deniz” (“Dead Sea”), Deniz Göktaş skewered the audience, lampooned the state and took jabs at sacred cows of Turkish culture. Then the rising satirist was arrested.
Israel Is Trying To Extinguish Palestinian Cultural Life in East Jerusalem
Israel is slowly squeezing Arab cultural life from East Jerusalem, using a series of laws banning Palestinian self-rule and raiding cultural institutions, including a historic bookstore and theater.
A New Generation Is Redefining Pakistani Cuisine in the US
As young chefs and entrepreneurs embrace their Pakistani identity openly, a small but growing Pakistani-American food scene is emerging beyond traditional immigrant enclaves, with supper clubs and cookbooks expanding its boundaries — and pushing back against decades of being flattened into “Indian” food.
Not All Pierogi Are the Same
A new generation of chefs and media personalities is reshaping Poland’s culinary landscape, with local, traditional and artisanal foods acquiring greater prestige and visibility. That exposure has also raised questions about the role of food in defining national identity — and revealed gaps between the country’s haves and have-nots.
Jeita Grotto and the Price of Heritage
When videos surfaced of a private wedding held inside Lebanon’s Jeita Grotto, the country erupted in outrage. But the story goes beyond one event: It speaks to a wider crisis in the Arab world, where heritage sites are being turned into spectacles of privilege.