The Summer of Delta
This summer was supposed to be, in the words of President Biden, the “summer of freedom” from the coronavirus. What we saw instead was the summer of the Delta variant.The surge driven by Delta — which...
8 Sep 202124min
How Will the Taliban Rule This Time?
Since the Taliban took over Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, last month, many have wondered what kind of rulers they will be.The memory of the Taliban of the 1990s — the public executions, the whippings ...
7 Sep 202131min
How Texas Banned Almost All Abortions
In a way, the new Texas law that has effectively banned abortions after six weeks is typical — many other Republican-led states have sought to ban abortions after six, 10 or 15 weeks. But where federa...
3 Sep 202121min
New Orleans in the Aftermath of Hurricane Ida
After Hurricane Ida hit New Orleans, leaving destruction in its wake, comparisons with Hurricane Katrina were made.There are, however, big differences between the two disasters — namely that the city,...
2 Sep 202125min
The Education Lost to the Pandemic
The closure of schools because of the pandemic and the advent of widespread virtual learning has impacted students of all ages — but particularly the youngest children.Research suggests that the learn...
1 Sep 202125min
America’s Final Hours in Afghanistan
On Monday night, after a 20-year war that claimed 170,000 lives, cost over $2 trillion and did not defeat the Taliban, the United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan. As the last of the A...
31 Aug 202123min
The Tale of California’s Recall Election
Almost from the moment Gavin Newsom was elected governor of California, there were attempts to remove him from office. Initially, a recall election against him seemed highly unlikely — but the pandemi...
30 Aug 202123min
The Sunday Read: ‘How Long Can We Live?’
Jeanne Calment lived her entire life in the South of France. She filled her days with leisurely pursuits, enjoying a glass of port, a cigarette and some chocolate nearly every day. In 1997, Ms. Calmen...
29 Aug 202141min
