Australian Rules Football Dreams of World Domination
The Australian Football League is a corporation that longs for global expansion. But in its greed and desperation, the league is undermining what makes the game great.
Blog
Page 1Next
For Roman Workers, Life Was Nasty, Brutish, and Short
Our images of the Roman Empire are dominated by the monuments and lifestyles of wealthy urban elites. An important new history shifts our attention to the 90% of Rome’s population whose brutally exploited labor made it all possible.
Africa’s Health Care Only Works for the Wealthy
Years of IMF and World Bank reforms have created two-tiered health care systems across Africa. In Kenya, the private sector is out of reach for most, but public health care has been wrecked by budget cuts and the introduction of fees for many services.
An Undemocratic Union Was Key to César Chávez’s Sexual Abuse
The horrifying revelations of César Chávez’s widespread sexual abuse of young women and girls were in part rooted in the culture of unquestioning loyalty and top-down dictation that Chávez established in the United Farm Workers.
Israel and the US Have Been Waging War on Iran’s Development
From universities to medical research centers, Israel and the US have been systematically attacking Iran’s technical infrastructure. While claiming their only issue is with Iran’s rulers, they have targeted its entire people and their achievements.
Ben Lerner Hears Ghosts in the Wires
Critics read Ben Lerner’s new novel, Transcription, as a commentary on smartphones. But with gothic style and a Victorian temperament, it meditates on a much older technology — the spectral quality of disembodied speech introduced at the dawn of telephonics.
Capitalist Profits Depend on Stealing Our Future
Capitalists have succeeded in arranging the future as a calculable source of extraordinary wealth, enriching a few in the present by imposing debts on the vast majority — and undermining the environmental conditions for a better tomorrow.
Zohran Mamdani’s Toughest Task in 100 Days: Taxing the Rich
Zohran Mamdani’s early wins are a testament to what a talented left-wing municipal executive can accomplish even in the face of major obstacles. But much of his ambitious agenda will remain blocked if he can’t convince the state to tax the rich.
Resource Competition With China Lay Behind Trump’s Iran War
The US war on Iran may have seemed like an irrational move by a president who is as reckless and impulsive as he is destructive. But there was a geopolitical logic behind the attack, based on Washington’s desire to deny China access to vital resources.
Serbia’s Government Is Targeting the Public University
The recent death of a student at the University of Belgrade triggered a police raid and fresh government attacks on education. Professors appear as the vanguard of a broad social movement, but their plans for change are less clear.
It’s Tech Versus Teachers as Strike Looms Over LA Schools
Los Angeles public school teachers have declared a strike deadline of April 14. The conflict forces the question of whether schools are an EdTech business opportunity or a public responsibility.
Iran Is Stuck in Permanent Crisis
War, and now a fragile ceasefire, is not bringing collapse in Iran but reinforcing and reorganizing its existing structures of power and inequality.