The Detective Story that Broke Politics
August 24, 2023
Luke A. Nichter— For me, December 7th is not “a date which will live in infamy,” as Franklin D. Roosevelt said in 1941. It is a date—December 7th, 2017—in which… READ MORE
Category: Essays
Are Wars Rational?
August 8, 2023
Michael Mann— Most wars have been irrational in terms of means or ends or both together. This is because choices for war are influenced by emotions, ideologies, domestic politics, and… READ MORE
“Out of Sight, Out of Mind”
August 7, 2023
Sean M. Kelley— You’ve probably never heard of William Vernon, a lifelong resident of Newport, Rhode Island, but he was one of the biggest slave owners in American history. According… READ MORE
A Darkly Radiant Vision: The Black Social Gospel in the Shadow of MLK
August 2, 2023
Gary Dorrien— The Black social gospel tradition remains what Black historian Vincent Harding luminously called “a darkly radiant vision of America’s truth.”1 It began with Black churches that were born… READ MORE
Close Enough to Touch
July 26, 2023
Brooks Lamb— It’s 1999, and I’m five years old. I’m with my family in the long patch by the road, just a few hundred feet away from the four-way stop…. READ MORE
The Lake District and Atlantic Slavery
July 24, 2023
Nicholas Radburn— If you think about locations transformed by the transatlantic slave trade, you’ll likely recall American plantations or former slaving forts on the coast of West Africa. You are… READ MORE
Teaching Writing in an AI World
July 10, 2023
Pennylyn Dykstra-Pruim and Jennifer Redmann— Our AI world poses renewed challenges for educators. How do we address AI-supported learning conditions that disincentivize “hard” work in favor of a potentially “easy”… READ MORE
The Wagner Group Explained
July 7, 2023
John Mauceri— Among the many confusions about the private Russian army known as the Wagner Group is how to pronounce its name. Reporters and pundits seem to vacillate between “Wag-ner”… READ MORE
Measurements for a Green World
July 5, 2023
Piero Martin— Will measurements save the world? Or, better, our life as humans on this planet? Certainly, they will help. Actually, they are already doing an important job since—much better… READ MORE
Oscillations and Wild Weather Years Can’t Mask Climate Change
June 13, 2023
John D. Aber— Where are the biggest unknowns, the biggest mysteries in our understanding of weather and climate? They are not where you might think. Scientists make monumental efforts each… READ MORE
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