ROBERT ELLSBERG – “An Ordinary Insanity” may alert the public to the dangers we are facing from “The Doomsday Machine.” But it will also require widespread conscientious action, a kind of pandemic of courage, wisdom, enlightenment, and dedication to the survival of our planet.
Category: June 2026
Why Trump blinked on Iran
SOPHIA GONZALEZ – Trump stepped back because the next step looked less like victory than attrition. He should keep stepping back. The United States does not need another demonstration of airpower. It needs an exit from the logic that made airpower seem like a substitute for policy. Diplomacy is not a gift to Tehran. It is a rescue operation for Washington’s own overstretched strategy.
Investing in Care: A Public-Private Model for Youth Opportunity
COLIN GREER and REYNARD LOKI – A scalable model that combines education, paid work, mentorship, and healthcare to support vulnerable youth.
Around the world, global solidarity and cooperation are remarkably popular
LAWRENCE WITTNER – In most countries, including the United States, support for international solidarity and cooperation is very substantial, and growing. Consequently, political activists and politicians shouldn’t be reluctant to speak out for them. Indeed, given the popularity of this internationalist approach to global affairs, it might even prove a winning political issue.
Two visions of the US will compete at the World Cup
MARIA J. STEPHAN – A big tent coalition is harnessing the energy surrounding the World Cup to imagine a more free and democratic United States.
Best possible Iran agreement will leave everyone worse off than they started
MEL GURTOV – We’ve seen this movie several times already: Trump issues threats, Iran refuses to kneel, negotiators rush to Qatar, Trump or Rubio announces an imminent deal, and then optimism evaporates as it becomes clear that the two sides are miles apart.
The American epoch of oil is collapsing. What comes next could be ugly
JONATHON WATTS – China is dominating the energy transition with astonishing results, while fossil fuel fascists in the US try to turn back the clock.