Jeff Sharlet’s “The Undertow” tells how the cultural divisions in American society could allow such a thing as the storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters to happen. (And how, despite everything that’s happened since, he remains the Republican frontrunner for the 2024 presidential race.) Sharlet believes that event is part of a “slow civil war” that threatens the future of the American republic.
The Conversation
Why Extreme Cold Happens in a Warming World
Extreme cold-weather events often occur in association with changes to another river of air high above the jet stream: the stratospheric polar vortex, a great stream of air moving around the North Pole in the middle of the stratosphere. When this stratospheric vortex becomes disrupted or stretched in part due to warming, it can distort the jet stream as well, pushing it southward in some areas and causing cold air outbreaks.
Your Laundry Is a Top Source of Microplastic Pollution
The most common microplastics in the environment are microfibers – plastic fragments shaped like tiny threads or filaments. Microfibers come from many sources, including cigarette butts, fishing nets and ropes, but the biggest source is synthetic fabrics, which constantly shed them.
Airstrikes in Yemen Risk Only Strengthening Houthis
The Houthis stand to gain politically from these U.S.-U.K. attacks as they support a narrative that the group has been cultivating: that they are freedom fighters fighting Western imperialism in the Muslim world.
70 Years After Brown vs. Board of Education, Deep Segregation Persists
In June 2023, the Supreme Court ended most race-conscious college admissions efforts. The decision followed the Covid pandemic, which exacerbated racial inequalities in the U.S.. Politicians and school boards have banned or removed books by authors of color from school libraries and restricted teaching about racism in U.S. history. These setbacks amid the current political climate make finally realizing the full promise of Brown more urgent.
Scattershot in 2016, Trump’s Iowa Campaign Was All Business This Time
Attention to organizing is a shift for the Trump campaign. Today, it looks nothing like the scattershot campaign from 2016, the only other time Trump has waged a nomination battle in the state. Trump’s nod to organizing is noteworthy and is at odds with his brand, which is more focused on stirring the pot and agitating, rather than painstakingly building an infrastructure.
Was Going to Space a Good Idea?
Nations are competing to exploit lunar and asteroid mineral resources. Private corporations and space billionaires are increasingly being touted as the way forward. After the Moon, Mars is the next world in line for “conquest”. The contemporary movement known as longtermism promotes living on other planets as insurance against existential risk, in a far future where humans (or some form of them) spread to fill the galaxies.
How Coca-Cola Took Africa
A new book called Bottled: How Coca-Cola Became African tells the story of how the world’s most famous carbonated drink conquered the continent. It’s a tale of marketing gumption and high politics and is the product of years of research by critical writing lecturer Sara Byala, who researches histories of heritage, sustainability and the ways in which capitalist systems intersect with social and cultural forces in Africa.
NRA Scandal and The Importance of ‘Designated Contrarians’ on Boards
Nonprofit boards should require their members to take turns serving as “designated contrarians.” When it’s their turn for this role, board members would be responsible for asking critical questions and pushing for deeper debate about organizational decisions.
Where the Humanities and Medicine Meet
While there is a long history of doctor-poets – one giant of mid-20th-century poetry, William Carlos Williams, was famously also a pediatrician – few people seem to know this or understand the power of combining the humanities and medicine. Literature has had a large role in helping the author define the kind of physician she strives to be – one who is not only empathetic and a good listener but also a fierce advocate for changing the sociopolitical forces that affect patients’ lives.