United States
Degrees of Uncertainty
American universities are under strain amid visa restrictions and declining international enrollment. Even MBA programs are beginning to feel the heat, but liberal arts and science schools have faced deeper cuts.
Friend, Rival, Trap
In his recent summit with Donald Trump, Xi Jinping invoked the “Thucydides trap,” framing China’s rivalry with the United States in terms that serve Beijing — and laying an actual trap for the U.S. president.
UFOs Are Going Mainstream
Following the UAP story reveals more about human behaviors — and the inner workings of the U.S. government — than about anything that is potentially extraterrestrial. Grappling with the high strangeness that surrounds this topic, one comes to appreciate the need for humility.
A Progressive Hindu Bloc Emerges in American Politics
A new political formation is taking shape among Hindu Americans, as progressive groups organize around anti-caste laws and opposition to Hindu nationalism.
The Strange (Future) Death of Christian Zionism
The rise of Christian nationalism and isolationism poses a direct challenge to Christian Zionism. As the Iran war alienates much of the MAGA-verse and pushes many young conservatives into more extreme orbits, a breaking point is coming in a GOP already fractured over the Trump administration’s “Israel-first” foreign policy.
The Neoconservatives Pushing for Regime Change in Cuba See Their Chance Under Trump
A group of elected officials in South Florida, fixated on regime change in Cuba and beyond, exerts influence in Washington by advancing a binary worldview dividing friends and foes of the U.S. Ironically, they share the Manichaean outlook of the socialist regimes they seek to topple.
In Wisconsin, the Fates of Wolves and Humans Are Intertwined
The Ojibwe tribes regard their fate as intertwined with that of gray wolves. Amid renewed federal efforts to strip the animals of protections following a period of recovery, they are fighting for the wolves’ future, and their own rights.