So much for the “rules-based” international order: in the span of just a few short weeks, Donald Trump has invaded Venezuela and, for good measure, threatened to annex the Danish territory of Greenland. This in turn stands to wreak devastating diplomatic consequences for NATO and the transatlantic alliance set in […]
Was all the rhetoric about ‘America First’ simply hot air? While campaigning in 2024, Donald Trump promised an end to “forever wars.” Later, during his inaugural address, Trump remarked “we will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars that we end, and […]
Now that the U.S. has captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, perhaps it is worth asking: what are the different interest groups within Trump’s White House and how are such factions likely to shape the trajectory of Venezuela’s political future? While U.S. foreign policy may be somewhat torn between conflicting agendas, […]
While Charles Darwin’s voyage of discovery aboard the Beagle helped spur on the naturalist’s later theory of evolution, his 1832-1835 diary from South America sometimes makes for uncomfortable reading. In Tierra del Fuego, an archipelago located at the southern tip of South America, young Darwin encountered the indigenous “other,” who […]
Though earthquakes are certainly destructive, the geological process behind such fearsome events has provided favorable conditions for life on Earth, and particularly human life. Plate tectonics — which takes after the Greek word “tekton,” meaning builder — sustained life by grabbing rocks into the bowels of the Earth and then […]
Washington’s relentless drive to clamp down on dissent, which has recently taken the form of Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr exerting pressure on media conglomerates while threatening to withhold lucrative mergers, underscores a deep fascist impulse to silence those who would skewer the powerful. More specifically, the FCC has […]
Throughout earth’s evolution, volcanoes have contributed to the rise of complex life, yet now could eruptions be overlapping with cascading natural disasters? It’s a question which might have intrigued Charles Darwin, who visited Chile at various points between 1832-1835 during his epic voyage of discovery aboard HMS Beagle. Though the […]
During global ice ages glaciers contributed to the rise of complex life, yet now could these imposing and towering structures contribute to our own undoing? It’s a question which might have intrigued Charles Darwin, who visited Chile at various points between 1832-1835 during his epic voyage of discovery aboard HMS […]
What constitutes an “invasive species” and should animals associated with indigenous peoples be considered “native wildlife”? Last year, while retracing Charles Darwin’s voyage in Chile, I pondered such questions. During one of the more memorable episodes of my trip, I found myself in Punta Arenas, the most southerly city in […]
Though Charles Darwin is known for his study of finches inhabiting the Galápagos Islands, a discovery which later informed his theory of evolution, the scientist failed to scrutinize the backstory of other key wildlife during his voyage aboard HMS Beagle. While traveling in Chile in 1834, the young naturalist encountered […]
