Blake Arias A sudden chill shot down my back as I quickly hung up the phone. It was not until that moment that I fully understood the silence —an unordinary silence. The interviewee’s abrupt refusal to continue the conversation when I said “women in Iran” was what struck me the most, revealing a culture of fear so deep that even speaking safely felt impossible. That instant mirrored what many Iranians feel daily: that even a single word can come at a cost. What was meant t

Mark Adams In Mali, protestors burn Western flags while brandishing signs proclaiming a love for Russia, as traditional chiefs perform rituals that synthesize tradition with political claims, demanding an end to neo-colonial interference in their country. This is not a scene from the Cold War; although the actors may seem reminiscent, the context is quite different. Across Africa, since 2020, throughout the southern band of the Saharan desert known as the Sahel region, a s

Image credits: Wikimedia Commons Tulsi Patel In the sweltering heat under a waxy white tent in the Ambelia refugee camp, hundreds of injured individuals wait. They wait while the arid dust around them billows and their children cry with naiveté. They wait with a variety of ailments- paralysis, malnutrition, gun wounds - for which some have been waiting on treatment for over a year.  Beginning in April 2023, millions of Sudanese people sought refuge in neighboring North and S

Matthew Ployhart During a presidential address on April 14, 2021, American President Joe Biden announced his intention to withdraw...