The Meaning of Allahu Akbar
An essay on the many true and beautiful meanings you’ve never heard of behind “takbir” — the expression of Muslim faith, “Allahu Akbar” — literally, “God is great.”
Who Is Guy Fieri?
Who is Guy Fieri, really, and how does one get to Flavortown?
The Rumpus Interview with George Saunders
In addition to plenty of great advice for aspiring writers, George Saunders reflects on the creative process for his new novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, the mystery of the “constellation of meaning” — the interviews, notes, and scenes that once distilled become his nonfiction work, and on bold compassion as the right course of resistance under a Trump presidency.
Norma McCorvey, Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade Decision Legalizing Abortion Nationwide, Dies at 69
An obituary of Norma McCorvey, aka “Jane Roe,” the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that yielded the legalization of abortion. McCorvey later became a born-again Christian, had a change of heart, revised parts of her story including recanting the part about having become pregnant while being raped, and became an anti-abortion activist.
Sovereignty Under the Stars
Large, high elevation telescopes allow scientists to conduct important research into the birth of the universe, but one proposed telescope on a sacred mountain instigated a loud public debate in the long-standing one about whether the US should return Hawaii to the native Hawaiians, and who owns what.
I Say, Damn It, Where Are the Beds?
With the rise of Trump’s authoritarianism and campaign against truth, people are rereading George Orwell. This review of two books about Orwell offers a sidelong view into Orwell’s work and the person behind it, in order to show that Orwell is more than a brand and symbol. He was person of strange habits, strong convictions, artistic vision and foul smells.
The Slow Confiscation of Everything
Climate apocalypse: a coming calamity that’s morally different from nuclear exchange in a way we haven’t yet dealt with.
Fifty Shades Darker: A Spoilereview
A blow-by-blow recounting of an awful, retrograde sequel.
She Was a Soul Food Sensation. Then, 19 Years Ago, She Disappeared.
From the 1960s through the 1990s, Princess Pamela ran a thriving word-of-mouth restaurant inside her Manhattan apartment, and it attracted enough taste-makers to make her a legend. Then she abruptly closed shop and disappeared. Like many black culinary figures, her memory was nearly lost, until white celebrity chefs used their influence to revive it.
The Age of Rudeness
When society is as polarized and stratified as it is today, what does it take to imagine a definition of politeness and civility that transcends our differences?
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