Defining the ethical use of generative tools to augment visual journalism instead of replacing it
As artists working in the evolving space of artificial intelligence, we stand at the intersection of excitement and uncertainty. Our work explores what it means to create with tools that did not exist a decade ago. They are tools that now raise urgent ethical, legal,...
When pathological denial becomes doctrine and the refusal of truth makes a political party psychotic
Republican politics has evolved beyond conventional partisanship into something that more closely resembles a psychological condition. It operates on a reflexive distrust of any democratic outcome not personally affirmed by its adherents, an impulse that has...
Podcast: A “Deep Dive” into how an AI finds God in the structure of reality
The Deep Dive podcast by Milwaukee Independent takes a closer look at the stories that matter most, uncovering the layers of complexity behind today’s pressing issues. From groundbreaking research to critical social movements and the intersection of local and global...
From data to divinity: How an AI finds God not in faith but in the structure of reality itself
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is the result of an experiment in collaborative reasoning between human and machine. The text was generated by an artificial intelligence trained on centuries of recorded human thought, instructed to examine the question of God strictly...
The Decline of Childhood: Gen Alpha and the danger to America from overexposure to technology
The ascension of Donald Trump to the presidency for a second time again underscores the stark realities of an American society increasingly dominated by unchecked technology and social media. His reelection serves as an unflinching symbol of the fracturing social...
What do we owe the future? Our urgent moral responsibility to safeguard generations to come
What do we owe future generations? The question of what humanity owes to people in the future is no longer a matter of theoretical debate. It is a pressing, unavoidable moral imperative. As the modern world faces existential threats ranging from climate change to...
The flawed modern obsession with naming “voices of a generation” when they do not speak for everyone
By Helen Kingstone, Senior Lecturer in English Literature, Royal Holloway University of London Sally Rooney, author of Normal People and now Intermezzo, keeps being called “the voice of a generation.” And she is just the latest in a sequence of authors to get this...
How institutional decline under Trump has forced America into an accelerated “Failed State” era
The United States continues to project an image of exceptional strength, democratic stability, and global leadership, but mounting evidence shows a country struggling with deep institutional decay. Under Donald Trump and a Republican Party aligned around his...
How Frank Herbert’s cautionary tale in “Dune” echoes charismatic politics that cast Trump as a messiah
The warning Frank Herbert embedded in his book “Dune” was never subtle, but its relevance sharpened dramatically in 2025 as the United States navigated the political force of Donald Trump’s return to power. Herbert wrote a story about a society that...
Why Trump’s immigration agenda is consistent with ethnic cleansing through fear and forced removal
Ethnic cleansing in the modern era does not require mass executions or military occupation. It can unfold through policy decisions that remove people from a society by force, block their return, or prevent their presence altogether. During both of Donald Trump’s...
How the Christian Right began as a political effort to preserve White-only schools and resist Civil Rights
The modern Christian Right is often presented in American political discourse as a faith-driven grassroots movement focused on traditional values, personal morality, and the sanctity of life. For decades, politicians, commentators, and national media have treated it...
Social media presents monetization as a rescue plan for journalism even as it constrains newsrooms
Social media platforms like Facebook continue to portray monetization tools as new lifelines for struggling newsrooms. But for many small publishers, the financial reality does not match the marketing promise. As the economics of journalism collapse across the...
