Excerpt
List of Excerpt articles
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george blake simon kuper book Before Jihadi John, There Was George Blake
The British KGB double agent was a forerunner of today’s radicalized Western jihadis.
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Robert Gersony (left) in Dominica in 1979. The Greatest Humanitarian You’ve Never Heard Of
Bob Gersony was a mostly anonymous U.S. diplomat—and his country’s best model for creating change in the world.
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Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter arrive for the Inauguration of Donald Trump at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2017. How the United States Learned to Love Human Rights
The United States’ human rights story started less than 50 years ago with the extraordinary efforts of one president—and could end this November with the re-election of another.
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Chinese farmers put peaches in boxes to sell in Lianyungang, in China's Jiangsu province, on June 29, 2017. China Wants Workers to Stay in the Countryside
Beijing is doubling down on its plan to keep migrants out of big cities.
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Signs opposing fracking Why Scientists Should Shape Environmental Policy
The case of fracking in Pennsylvania shows that if experts and fossil fuel industry leaders can cooperate, innovation is possible.
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A soldier stands guard as cocaine seized on the Atlantic coast of Honduras is incinerated on October 17, 2013. In Honduras, the U.S. War on Drugs Is Empowering Corrupt Elites
The Central American country has become a transit zone for drug traffickers and the center of a biofuel boom. Dispossessed indigenous groups are paying the price.
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A Boeing B-29 Superfortress flies over the National Mall during the Arsenal of Democracy, a World War II flyover for the 70th anniversary of V-E Day, in Washington on May 8, 2015. Wall Street Was America’s First Foe in World War II
Breaking up monopolies was the first step in fighting Hitler.
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A tent orphanage for Jewish refugees in Tehran, 1942. When Iran Welcomed Jewish Refugees
In the middle of World War II, Tehran became a haven for both Jewish and Catholic Polish refugees who were welcomed as they arrived from Soviet Central Asia.
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Plant biotechnologist Swapan Datta inspects a genetically modified Golden Rice plant at the International Rice Research Institute in Los Baños, the Philippines, on Nov. 27, 2003. The True Story of the Genetically Modified Superfood That Almost Saved Millions
The imperiled birth—and slow decline—of Golden Rice.
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A refugee camp near Suruc in southern Turkey, across the border from Kobani in February 2016. Many Kurds fled Kobani and other areas of Syria in 2014 to escape the Islamic State. Now, with a new war launched by Turkey near their homes, people are fleeing again. Turkey’s War in Syria Was Not Inevitable
U.S. strategy in Syria has long been plagued by short-term thinking, while Russia, Turkey, and Iran played a long game. Trump’s betrayal of the Kurds is just the latest chapter in Washington’s bungled approach to the region.
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Far-right activists carrying German and Saxon flags and chanting "Wir sind das Volk" (We are the people) cast shadows as they gather to protest against a planned refugee center on Nov. 14, 2013 in Roetha, Germany. Putting Our Own People First
Defining “us” and “them” is crucial for the success of far-right parties, and the boundaries are constantly shifting.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a meeting in Beijing on Aug. 29. The Chinese Communist Party Wants It All
China's use of sharp power could shatter East Asia.
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Indian workers use boats to remove sand in Allahabad on March 16, 2018. The Coming Sand Wars
Battles over mining sand in India are only the beginning.
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Moshe Reuven Azman, the chief rabbi of Ukraine and Kiev, walks inside a synagogue in central Kiev on Apr. 22. Russian Disinformation Distorted Reality in Ukraine. Americans Should Take Note.
Putin’s propaganda portrayed Ukraine as a fascist state filled with anti-Semites. Despite Ukrainians’ election of a Jewish president, the image has stuck.
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A man carries South Sudan's national flag at Mangateen Internal Displaced persons (IDPs) center during the visit of South Sudan's vice president in Juba on Nov. 17, 2018. The Old Guard Are Killing the World’s Youngest Country
South Sudan was born amid great hope but has since descended into war. It will take a new generation of leaders to make it a successful state.
