JULY 17. 2026

Spain and Argentina Share a Common Language and Love for Soccer—but Not Much Else

Their teams will face off in the upcoming FIFA Men’s World Cup final.

Rowing Up That Hill

Suddenly, rowing was everywhere. Rowing videos were all over Instagram, fed to me by accounts I did and didn’t follow. Businesses seized on it in their advertising; bars invited customers to “come row with us” during the next game. I saw Ro for Norge! , apparently our new national slogan, written on the pavement in pastel chalk.

Beijing Is Trying to Turn Taiwan’s Sea Goddess Into a Chinese Agent

China wants to use the ancient deity Mazu to push unification narratives.

The Battle for Borsch

Ukraine is using the beet-based soup to fortify national identity in the face of Russian aggression.

The Soccer Surveillance State

How the United States used the World Cup as a testing ground for policing technologies.

Inside the Race to Protect Ukrainian

Kyiv’s language revitalization program seeks to save Ukrainians’ mother tongue through complex state law.

Syria’s Weak Parliament Still Matters

The country’s newly opened assembly is by no means democratic, but it can still be more than a rubber stamp.

Two-Thirds of Shri Thanedar's Campaign Cash Came Through AIPAC as He Lost Over $600K

Two-thirds of the Michigan congressman's campaign cash last quarter came from AIPAC bundlers after he invested millions in crypto.

The Heated Debate In Europe Over Air-Conditioning

Technology, like climate, shapes culture.

The U. S. and Iran Signed a Memorandum of Misunderstanding

Detail and care matter in peacemaking, but not to this White House.

Does Cuba Really Have Iranian Drones?

Experts say Trump is laying the pretext for U. S. military action against the island.

Wildfire smoke threatens the World Cup final. FIFA still doesn’t have a plan.

The biggest game in soccer is set for Sunday, when Argentina and Spain will meet in the World Cup final, held just outside of New York City.

Martin Picard’s Mitochondrial Theory of Mind

The biologist’s bold “energetic view of life” looks to the body’s strangest organelles as the link between cells, health, and mind and the foundation of our experience of being alive.

Lebanon’s Peacekeepers Are Heading for the Exits

As UNIFIL leave Lebanon, it’s not clear who—if anyone—will replace it.

U. S. -China Relations Are More Volatile Than Ever

Trump and Xi have brutally undermined the institutions and personnel responsible for safeguarding diplomacy.

How to Isolate Tehran

Opening Hormuz requires marrying force with effective diplomacy.

Artful Weaving

Aristotle, for one, wasn’t all that impressed by Odysseus’s adventures. In the seventeenth chapter of his Poetics he observes, apropos of the relationship

Latin America’s Oil Boom

Some exporters are reaping financial benefits amid the Iran war.

Russia’s Arms Buyers Rejoice Over Trump’s Deal With Turkey

India and other Kremlin customers will benefit from an easing of restrictions.