Building Civilization at Shenzhen Speed
Once the poorer neighbor of Hong Kong, Shenzhen has been transformed into a showcase for the speed, power, and dynamism of Chinese development — and a study in extreme inequality.
Blog
Issue 59: Letters + The Internet Speaks
No border can contain our subscribers’ enthusiasm.
Partisans on Ponies
One German’s idiosyncratic obsession with the American frontier led to an unlikely West German–Yugoslav cinematic partnership that fed the European appetite for cowboys and Indians.
Orson Welles, South of the Border
After his post–Citizen Kane slump, Orson Welles teamed up with Universal for a big Hollywood comeback about corrupt police on the US-Mexico border. The executives balked at his vision — but today Touch of Evil is regarded as Welles’s final masterpiece.
Borders Books
Some recommendations from the Republic of Letters.
Jacobin Turns 15 Today
Here’s why we still publish.
How Israel’s War Economy Defied Economic Predictions
Many observers thought that years of prolonged war would cripple Israel’s economy. But the opposite has happened. By giving billions of shekels in compensation to reservists, Israel has managed to keep its citizens spending while Gaza burns.
In Venezuela, Trump Is Engaged in Plain and Simple Murder
Donald Trump’s assassinations of alleged drug traffickers in Venezuela with zero due process represent some of the greatest dangers of his second term. They can’t be understood apart from the bipartisan history of national security state overreach.
Zillow and Redfin May Be Steering Homebuyers Into Bad Deals
Experts warn that the one-click homebuying sites Zillow and Redfin are steering consumers to the platforms’ own mortgage lenders, squeezing out competition and discouraging buyers from finding cheaper options.
Trump and Rubio’s Petty War on Cuban Athletes
Last year, Cuba’s basketball team did the unthinkable and beat the US at the FIBA AmeriCup. Now Trump and Rubio have taken their revenge, blocking every Cuban team — from table tennis to girls’ softball — from competing in the US and Puerto Rico.
The Economics of Donald Trump’s Mass Deportations
Donald Trump’s mass deportations will do little to improve the lives of American workers. But he is fueling a deportation-industrial complex that funnels billions of dollars into the hands of private companies.