Joy of Nature: After generations of racial exclusion Black Americans are re-embracing the Great Outdoors
In Monroe, Georgia, on July 31, 1946, “The Savannah Tribune” reported a “mass lynching,” in which a “mob of 20 or more men, who lined up two Negro men and their wives in the woods, shot them to death.” This horrific practice was as uniquely American in the...
Stalled Funding: Wisconsin explores regional services as fix for struggling emergency mental health system
When Chrissy Barnard faced a mental health crisis and most needed care, law enforcement handcuffed her, placed her in the back of a patrol car and drove her five hours to Wisconsin’s only state-run mental health facility for the general public. Barnard remembers the...
Reasons for despair: Why the new “Great Depression” comes from our profound sense of political dread
A similar thing happens to me on many mornings lately. My eyes open and I suddenly become aware that I am awake. My mind quickly begins assembling the first few seconds of my day … making plans, organizing my checklist, when a terrible interruption breaks in and...
What America Denies: The racial myths and fabrications that Whiteness tells itself
On November 8, my daughter, Samantha Sencer-Mura, a professional educator, became the first Japanese American elected as a representative from her district to the Minnesota State Legislature. And yet the story of our family and community is not necessarily one of...
Why President Biden should follow President Truman’s courage and revive a Berlin-style Airlift for Ukraine
This is not the first time Russia has tried freezing and starving people to death to get them to submit. They have done it at least twice before, once successfully in 1932 and once unsuccessfully in 1949. Although I would not be born for another two years, I...
Winter of Discontent: Poor performance and low morale of Russian soldiers expected to worsen
By Liam Collins, Founding Director, Modern War Institute, United States Military Academy West Point With Russian troops digging trenches to prepare for an expected winter standoff, it would be easy to conclude that fighting will slow in Ukraine until after the ground...
Weaponized Education: Ukraine schools remain a key battleground in the fight for the nation’s future
By Katja Kolcio, Associate Professor of Dance, Environmental Studies and Education Studies, Wesleyan University When Russian missiles struck Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv on New Year’s Eve, the damaged buildings included a university and at least two schools. As a...
No longer just pawns: How the war in Ukraine is shifting the balance of power to Eastern Europe
As 2022 is coming to a close, the war in Ukraine rages unabated. Russian President Vladimir Putin sees what he still calls a “special military operation” as a life-or-death contest with the United States and its allies in NATO. The West, for its part, considers the...
The Winter Campaign: Putin has been weaponizing energy for years and has no incentive to stop now
By Thomas Froehlich, Research Fellow, King’s College London Not since the 1970s oil crisis has the west seen such a focus on energy security. Suddenly in 2022 it became a critical part of the battle for Ukraine. Russian attacks on energy facilities have left...
Over dependence on Russian oil and gas has accelerated a global swing to clean energy
By Rachel Kyte, Dean of the Fletcher School, Tufts University The year 2022 was a tough one for the growing number of people living in food insecurity and energy poverty around the world, and the beginning of 2023 is looking bleak. Russia’s war on Ukraine, one of the...
Concerns over sexual assault and pandemic response among factors causing military recruitment decline
The U.S. military is working to combat a different kind of enemy this year, a significant decline in the number of new recruits signing up for service. The Wisconsin Army National Guard’s goal for recruitment was about 1,000 new recruits this year. But Lt. Col....
Proposed posthumous promotion of Ulysses S. Grant sheds new light on his fight for equal rights
By Anne Marshall, Associate Professor of History, Mississippi State University Tucked away in an amendment to the FY2023 U.S. defense authorization bill is a rare instance of congressional bipartisanship and a tribute to President Ulysses S. Grant. If approved, the...
