Listening to the Living, Mourning the Dead: Dispatches from the West Bank
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
15 hours ago6 min read
Predictions and Reality about Abortion and Maternal Mortality
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
16 hours ago5 min read
Collecting Empathy with Carl
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
16 hours ago4 min read
Why People Need SNAP: Countering Myths with Reality
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
16 hours ago6 min read
Act to Prevent Nuclear War: What You Can Do
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
5 days ago4 min read