Photos by Maria Oswalt

by Timothy Kirchoff — Early in the morning of January 3, 2026, the US military launched an operation in Caracas, Venezuela, which succeeded in its objective of abducting Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, apparently to be tried on charges related to drug trafficking and narcoterrorism. As of now, it remains to be seen whether the American government has more evidence of Maduro’s guilt on these charges than they did for the various individuals who were killed without trial i

by John Whitehead — The new year of 2026 has brought a dramatic escalation in the conflict between the United States and Venezuela. The US military attacked Venezuela  on January 3, capturing the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife. This US military intervention comes after months of growing American pressure on Venezuela. The US military has greatly increased its presence in the region around Venezuela and has imposed a blockade  on the passage of sanctioned oi

by Lauren Pope — Yesterday, Renee Good was killed by an ICE agent who shot her three times at point blank range. Many videos released yesterday show her turning away from the agent. I am going to temporarily set aside the question of whether this was a justified use of force, because focusing on that question obscures a larger and more important one. Why was ICE in Minneapolis at all? This was not a neutral or routine law enforcement interaction. Paramilitary federal agents h

by John Whitehead — A group of activists known as a Meta Peace Team  (MPT) traveled to the West Bank this autumn. These activists are committed to “creating a nonviolent alternative to militarism.” During their West Bank work, the MPT collaborated with the Palestinian-led International Solidarity Movement  (ISM).   The MPT and ISM’s joint mission includes “participating in Palestinian-led demonstrations, creatively disrupting activity by the Israeli occupation forces, [and] a

by Sarah Terzo — After the Dobbs  decision was leaked  in May 2022, many media outlets predicted that maternal deaths would rise as a result. More women, they said, would die in childbirth if abortion weren’t available. For example, an article in the Washington Post  said “researchers have estimated that maternal deaths could increase by up to 25 to 30 percent.”  Pro-choice authors Rebecca Little and Colleen Long, in their book I’m Sorry for My Loss: An Urgent Examination of

by Christy Yao Pelliccioni — About a year ago, I was nine months pregnant and letting my two-year-old have some extra screen time while I lay on my mother’s couch. I was pretty exhausted when a new show came on— Carl the Collector .  I then forced myself to pay attention. I had heard about this show before: PBS had been running promos, and a news article had popped up on my phone reporting that this show was unique in that the main character openly explained how he is autisti

by Sarah Terzo — Many people claim that public assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which assists people in buying food, allow lazy people to avoid working. They imagine a “welfare queen” who lives high on the hog on government benefits while refusing to work. They resent their tax dollars going to help such a person. People aren’t eating lobster and steak on SNAP, though. The monthly SNAP benefit varies , but the average amount pe

by John Whitehead —   Nuclear war is the greatest catastrophe that could befall life on this planet. Nuclear war would mean death on an unparalleled scale and the likely end of human civilization.  Today, in 2025, the danger of nuclear war is greater than it has been in decades. We are living through a period of nuclear danger comparable to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 or the extreme Cold War tensions of the 1980s.  We see the danger of nuclear war in the ongoing war in U

by Nora Stewart Wylie — In 2005, the Netherlands made the historic decision  to legalize assisted death for terminally ill infants under the age of one. Dutch law specifies that, should a baby be born with a severe medical condition that is irremediable and causes “unbearable” suffering, parents may have the right to terminate their child’s life .  While many other countries in the world have legalized assisted dying for adults, the Netherlands was the first to legalize it fo

by Timothy Kirchoff — The term “heritage American” has come into use  in certain parts of the internet—in blogs, on X, and in hand-wringing commentary  from outlets like Politico . While definitions of the term vary, it seems to mean roughly “Americans who trace their presence in the country back to the colonial or Civil War era.” The term is endorsed by some as a celebration of the United States’ “national heritage and its culture.”  When I first heard the term “heritage Ame

by John Whitehead — A group of activists known as a Meta Peace Team (MPT) traveled to the West Bank this autumn. These activists are committed to “creating a nonviolent alternative to militarism.” During their West Bank work, the MPT is collaborating with the Palestinian-led International Solidarity Movement (ISM).   The MPT and ISM’s joint mission includes “participating in Palestinian-led demonstrations, creatively disrupting activity by the Israeli occupation forces, [an

by Christy Yao Pelliccioni — Starting in early September,  the Trump administration started attacking vessels supposedly being used in the illegal narcotics trade, as part of what it calls Operation Southern Spear. Between September 2 and November 19, 22 vessels have been hit in 21 strikes, and 83 people have been killed.  This is the largest US military operation in or around Latin America for decades, with tens of thousands of troops and substantial air and naval assets hav

Start with Common Ground You and Uncle Paul might disagree on literally everything politically (although I would challenge this, you probably have a few shared premises that you can build on) but you probably agree on the damage that Brian Kelly did to the LSU football program. The advice here isn’t to avoid politics altogether, but rather to start with some friendly topics that won’t trigger any immediate arguments. If things turn political, take a stance of curiosity not in

by Lauren Boyer — *Spoilers Alert* I must admit I had no idea what I was in for when I sat down to watch My Oxford Year . I thought it would be cheesy and well-acted. Neither assumption was particularly the case. But what My Oxford Year  loses in—I’m sad to say—Sophia Carson’s character’s stiffness (blame the actor or the writer), it makes up for with its storyline.  The film centers around Ana (Sophia Carson), a hard working American eager to give herself a taste of Oxford b

by Timothy Kirchoff — In the aftermath of Roe v. Wade , pro-life activists disagreed on the best strategy to pursue. One proposed strategy focused on a sweeping proclamation of the rights of the unborn. Another proposed strategy  focused on achieving and building on smaller rhetorical and legal victories, with the aim of eventually leading people toward accepting abortion abolition. Both of these approaches, abolitionism and incrementalism, have the same philosophical startin

by John Whitehead — While we can hope the Gaza ceasefire agreement brings an end to the war there, Israeli injustices and acts of violence against Palestinians are far from over. Gaza has understandably received the most attention recently, but abuses against Palestinians are also being perpetrated in the West Bank. Along with Gaza and East Jerusalem, the West Bank has been under varying degrees of Israeli control since 1967. Some parts of the West Bank are ruled by the Pales

by Christy Yao Pellicioni — This week has been a hard one for many families, particularly in the Washington, DC, area. The government shutdown has left many uncertain about employment and government benefits. According to Reuters , this includes the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, generally referred to as WIC. WIC provides nutritious foods and support for those who are pregnant or breastfeeding and children under the age of five. The f

by Robert Byrd ‬ — Fetal Organ Harvesting. It’s a bewildering term, regardless of one's familiarity with the subject. However upsetting...

by Timothy Kirchoff — A decade – or perhaps a lifetime – ago, in early 2016, former Speaker of the House John Boehner and then-Vice...