Category Archives: Opinion

THE NEW YORK TIMES – SATURDAY, AUGUST 22, 2026

Canada-U.S. Trade War Escalates as Talks Collapse

Negotiations to stave off new U.S. levies ended in an impasse. U.S. tariffs on Canada, and retaliatory tariffs on the U.S., will come into effect.

Carney Stands Up to Trump in Trade War Despite the Risks

Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, walked away from what he thought was a bad trade deal. Many Canadians are behind him, but it will be costly.

Polling Chaos Could Create Big Problems for American Politics

Bad polls and misleading betting odds are sowing serious confusion about candidate strength and voter sentiment ahead of the midterms and 2028.

Who Has the Last Say in Lebanon? Hezbollah and the State Both Say They Do.

President Joseph Aoun took office with a popular mandate to reassert control after the militant group dragged the country back into war with Israel.

NATIONAL REVIEW MAGAZINE – OCTOBER 2026 PREVIEW

NATIONAL REVIEW: The latest issue features ‘Improving By Degrees’…

Have We Turned the Corner on Higher Ed?

The battle has not yet been won, but the signs are auspicious. Frederick M. Hess

Mamdani’s Intifada

The dangerous Islamist-socialist vanguard. Andrew C. McCarthy

Chasing Lost Edens

The real divide in America today: nostalgia vs. reality. Charles C. W. Cooke

The New Generation of Defense Wizards

Where Silicon Valley meets the Pentagon, the wheels of innovation are whirring. Luther Ray Abel

Best Western: A Road Trip from Ohio to the Pacific

I hiked, I camped, I conquered. Sarah Schutte

REASON MAGAZINE – OCTOBER 2026

REASON MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘The American Prison Experiment’ – A 250-year history of good intentions and bad results…

The American Prison Experiment: A 250-Year History of Good Intentions and Bad Results

A strange trip through the U.S. prison system’s never-ending cycle of failure and reform

European Cars Are Spying on Their Drivers. The Same Tech Could Be Coming to the U.S.

New cars in the E.U. must now have cameras that track drivers’ eyes and flag distractions.

Trump Said He Would Rid the Kennedy Center of ‘Woke.’ He Injected His Own Politics Instead.

This is what happens when you give the government control over artistic institutions.

Do You Have the Right To Possess an AR-15? The Supreme Court Will Soon Decide.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a pair of cases involving rifle restrictions imposed by Connecticut and Cook County, Illinois.

THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE- AUGUST 23, 2026

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THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE: The 8.23.26 Issue features Christopher Cox on the fragility of American power grids; Christopher Payne’s images of transformers; Nicholas Casey on people who came to the U.S. and were deported to countries like Eswatini; and more.

What if America Went Completely Dark?

The power grid relies on thousands of aging, hand-built transformers. If enough fail, the blackout could last years. By Christopher Cox

Why Is It So Hard to Build the Thing Our Entire Power Supply Depends On?

Transformers are the linchpin of modern civilization. A single one can take five years to build. Photographs by Christopher Payne

Chatbots Are Pushing Us Toward a Post-Human Internet

In matters of work, school and even romance, we turn to A.I. chatbots. But what happens when the bots begin talking to one another? By Callie Holtermann

He Was Deported to a Country He’d Never Heard Of. He May Never Go Free.

As the Trump administration sends a growing number of immigrants to countries they have no connection to, some find themselves imprisoned with no way out. By Nicholas Casey

THE NEW YORK TIMES – FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2026

The Message Behind Trump’s Threats of ‘Economic Warfare’ Against Iran

President Trump’s warnings of an “economic D-Day” carry a clear signal to Iran that he does not want to go back to war.

Iran Must Plan to Overcome ‘Unjust’ U.S. Sanctions, Top Tehran Official Says

Spike in ‘Dark’ Oil Tankers in Gulf Raises Risk of Catastrophic Spills

Giorgia Meloni Cuts the Hard Right a Path to Power

In a rare interview, the onetime political outcast reflects on her route from “the uncomfortable side of history” to the threshold of leading Italy’s most durable postwar government.

How Harvard’s Epic Fight With Trump Is Costing the University

The federal government has slowed Harvard’s funding, despite the university’s legal victories. The conflict is forcing hard choices on campus.

THE ECONOMIST MAGAZINE – AUGUST 22, 2026 PREVIEW

THE ECONOMIST MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘Could AIs become conscious?’…

Could AIs become conscious?

Even if they don’t, they might be treated as such—to humanity’s great cost

Israel is flirting with the next intifada

America must press Binyamin Netanyahu to rein in violent settlers

Britain would be bonkers to ditch Palantir

Whatever the company’s flaws, its critics have taken a worryingly illiberal turn

Jason Arday was treated as a symbol, not a man

Both his supporters and detractors dehumanised the tragic fabulist

THE NEW YORK TIMES – THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026

U.S. Debt Hits $40 Trillion as America’s Borrowing Binge Continues

President Trump’s promises to restore fiscal order and reduce America’s debt have been hampered by spending on the Iran war, tax cuts and tariff refunds.

Trump’s Order to Cut Military Exercises With South Korea Carries Risks, Experts Say

President Trump’s decision to curtail the military exercises came as allies question the U.S. commitment to longstanding alliances.

As Iran and U.S. Settle Into an Uneasy Standoff, Who Will Blink First?

For weeks, there has been no diplomatic progress, but also no full-scale fighting, as both sides seem to believe they can hold out longer than the other.

Russian Missiles Kill at Least 15 in Kyiv as Air Defenses Dwindle

Moscow is taking advantage of Ukraine’s depleted stock of interceptors and is intensifying attacks, worsening the civilian death toll.24m agoBy Constant Méheut

THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY —- AUGUST 21, 2026 PREVIEW

THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY: The latest issue features ‘End Of The Pier Show’ – What Farage’s election gamble says about the state of British politics.

The curtain came down last week on the summer sideshow of the Clacton byelection, called by Nigel Farage amid mounting scrutiny of his finances.

For our big story this week, Daniel Boffey explores what this campaign – in which the Reform UK leader’s main challenger was a parody candidate called Count Binface – tells us about the current state of politics in Britain.

Farage’s byelection win brought the situation full circle as, shortly after he was declared victor, parliament’s standards watchdog announced it had reopened its investigation into him, report Rowena Mason and Peter Walker.

Analysing the result, political correspondent Alexandra Topping brands the contest futile and says that while Farage aimed to make the financial questions surrounding him disappear, it was the MP himself who has been absent from the political stage over the past few weeks.

Spotlight | Scramble for soldiers
As battlefield losses mount, Pjotr Sauer asks whether Vladimir Putin will order another mobilisation

Science | Wing and a prayer
A disease threatening bat species has spread to northern Canada. Trina Moyles reports on the race to find a cure

Feature | A hymn to the weekend
In 1926, Henry Ford gave his employees both Saturdays and Sundays off – and the two-day chunk of time to party, pray or simply do nothing was born. Now the weekend has changed beyond recognition, says Jess Cartner-Morley

Opinion | Meet the second most dangerous man in the US
As chief US diplomat, Marco Rubio could do great good. But, says Simon Tisdall, his pandering and neglect are a disgrace we shouldn’t ignore

Culture | Through my eyes
As their new album is released, Sam Smith talks to Juan A Ramírez about fans, fame and finding sanctuary in New York

HARPER’S MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER 2026

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HARPER’S MAGAZINE: Erin Somers charts the rise and fall of cultivated meat, Barrett Swanson reports on the Ugly People Festival in Italy, Kyle Berlin on the French bestseller whose controversy divided the country, a pseudonymous memoir of a government official in Beijing, Finn Brunton on prediction markets and crypto-anarchism, Thomas Frank on the Obama Center, Kasia Boddy reviews William Kennedy’s Albany Trilogy, five stories from Diane Williams, and more.

Where’s The Beef?

The lab-grown-meat revolution that wasn’t by Erin Somers

Regarding the Pain of Uggos

A weekend at the Ugly People Festival by Barrett Swanson

The Chaos Machine

Prediction markets and the triumph of crypto-anarchy  by Finn Brunton

FOREIGN AFFAIRS MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

FOREIGN AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘The End Of The Alliance?’

The Abandoned Order

Learning to Live in a Post-American World by Mark Leonard

AI and the New Age of Bioweapons

Preparing for a World of Synthetic Pathogens by Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall

A China Strategy That Lasts

Congress Must Lead to Compete With Beijing by Bill Cassidy

How Alliances Survive

The Case Against Pessimism and the Path to a New Allied Order by Kurt M. Campbell and Rush Doshi