Transparent Transphobia: The Fight for LGBT Rights Is Far From Over
The day after President Joe Biden was sworn into office, #BidenErasedWomen trended on Twitter. What had the brand-new president done to women that was so horrible? He signed an executive order to protect LGBT Americans from discrimination. Biden signed several executive orders on his first day in office; most of them reversed Trump-era policies regarding […]
Algorithms Are Censoring Us
Image by Ethan Harris Twitter’s ban of former president Donald Trump has sparked a national debate about online censorship. The president’s supporters rallied to his side, asserting that social media platforms should not censor conservatives for holding certain beliefs. From the printing press to Facebook, technology has always molded how society understands freedom of speech, […]
Camus and Kirk: Combating the Right With Political Absurdism
Illustration by The Daily Beast. How does one navigate a world where “alternative facts” abound, evidence and logic can be scorned, and people with immovable opinions live in political echo chambers divorced from reality? In this world, efforts to construct robust and factually supported arguments are mocked and people are far too receptive to bullshit—attempts […]
The Progression of Journalism: Transparency When Objectivity Fails
Photo by Joe Piette Objectivity doesn’t mean what most people think it does. Its original definition, popularized by Walter Lippmann, explained how neutrality applies to journalism the same way the scientific method does to science: a collection of evidence that leads to a deductive conclusion. Today, objectivity is synonymous with “fairness” and “balance.” It’s unattainable […]
Coming of Age in the Age of Trump
As Donald Trump leaves office, those of us who learned politics during his administration must reckon with what he’s taught us.
I Understand Your Concerns, But Let’s Get Vaccinated
Illustration by Ishita Khanna Dear Skeptic, I’m writing to you because I understand why you—and so many others—are doubting the COVID-19 vaccine. I’m writing because I think that I can convince you to take it anyway. And most importantly, I’m writing because I think that scientists must address your worries rather than brushing them off […]
Sears and Streetcars: Color-Blind Capitalism at Work
History shows that capitalism is color-blind. Though not even three hundred years old, free-market capitalism has revolutionized the world. Its positive influence on general economic prosperity is undeniable; most successful countries have adopted some form of free market. However, a growing body of scholars criticize capitalism for its supposed corruption by historical inequities, most notably […]
The War On Christmas and the Conservative COVID Calamity
It’s that time of the year again, folks! Get your keyboards ready for outraged op-eds, caroling controversies, and coffee cup complaints! As the days grow short, the trees go bare, and snow coats the land, we must now engage in the time-honored, perennial tradition that so perfectly encapsulates the twenty-first-century American winter. Come all ye […]
Aliens on Venus or Human Foolhardiness?
Healthy skepticism is important, whether about our world or alien ones. No one predicted 2020 would unfold the way it did. The discovery of a novel coronavirus—and the world’s response to its spread—America’s racial reckoning, and the death of Supreme Court legend Ruth Bader Ginsburg are only a few of the life-changing events that have […]
The Ugly Side of Fashion: How the Industry Harms People of Color
Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and former editor-at-large André Leon Talley. In December 2018, luxury fashion brand Prada released a collection of “fantasy charms” that critics say were inspired by blackface. The products, which Prada claimed were “imaginary creatures,” resemble black monkeys with bright red lips—seemingly a callback to nineteenth-century minstrel shows. Following immediate social media […]