John Foster / 04 Sep 2020
Maverick on the Left
Remembering David Graeber
2020 has claimed another victim. David Graeber, the noted anthropologist and activist, died on Thursday, in Venice.(...)
Rojava
Joel Schalit / 26 Aug 2020
Syria is Everywhere
Field Recording Rojava
"The Kurds are the Roma of the Middle East." I should have seen it coming. The statement, made by a reporter I worked with, was typical of his repertoire. Like many Europeans, they didn't immediately fit with his idea of the region.(...)
Joel Schalit / 24 Jul 2020
Berlin After Lockdown
Don’t Forget the Kurds
History was at a standstill. The two months that the German capital was under lockdown made its residents seem as though time had stopped. It felt like the end of the world was nigh. Sidewalks were empty. Stores were closed. The hum of traffic had even disappeared.(...)
John Foster / 17 Jan 2020
Playing for the Troops
Adrestia on Rojava
As far as band names go, Adrestia couldn't be better. The goddess of revolt in Greek mythology, it's astonishing no one used it until now. Leave it to a political punk group from Sweden, with a fondness for vintage death metal, to seize the day.(...)
Joel Schalit / 21 Oct 2019
If Not Now, When?
The Crisis in Rojava
When was the last time that Washington backed the good guys? Barack Obama's support for Syria's Kurds was always a fraught proposition.(...)