Russia After the Arab Spring
In 2015, I moved to Moscow to spend a year teaching human rights. I lasted five months. As my former students from that time are arrested for protesting the Ukrainian war, here are some reflections on what I learned about the evil of Putin and the kindness of Russians.(...)
Thomas Mann in Silicon Valley
Why would someone want to read Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain? And why would they finish it?(...)
The Battleground’s Fall Book List
Blame it on the algorithms. The bad press bears itself out. For progressive journalists seeking to reach bigger audiences, according to reports, the world’s biggest social media - Facebook and Twitter - prefer the right.(...)
The Azerbaijani Loophole Affair
According to The Guardian, the Azerbaijani government is using Facebook to harass opposition politicians and independent news media.(...)
Britain Enters the Void
It was inevitable that Brexit Day would be a day of mourning for some and of celebration for others. Some of us did our best to ignore it.(...)