Italy – The Struggle for Nationhood

Italy is a country with the world’s highest number of world heritage sites, yet often finishes low on the list of best places for doing business. Historically Italy has sent millions abroad throughout Europe and the Americas, forming one of the world’s largest diaspora networks, yet today has one of the highest net immigrations in…

Cybernetics – Across the Grid

Cybernetics is a term that, broadly defined, encompasses nearly all human-system interaction. More narrowly, and with help of Hollywood, images of intelligent robots and computer-enhanced humans come to mind. But in the real world, and especially when it comes to dealing with issues of pervasive scale and self-reinforcing centers of power such as social networks,…

Podiums, Plagues and Politics – After Dark

With Superbowl LV having failed to garner much interest in dissident spheres, many were surprised to learn the Oscars – Hollywood’s annual coronation ceremony for the most approved-of messages and mediums – had come and gone as well. In an era of very real danger in the form of pandemic outbreaks and very fake politics,…

Banana Imperialism – Central America and the Rise of the United Fruit Company

Agriculture has historically played a central role in global empires, from wheat in North Africa during the Roman Era to sugar in the Caribbean during the era of French and British domination. But in the case of American imperialism, the little beforehand known banana plant became crucial in the rise of American money and power…