Riga
TLDR: I'm heading back to New Europe. I will be convening talks in Sofia, Lviv, Budapest, & Bratislava. If you want to support this work, while supporting a Maine artist I admire, scroll down. It is time to empty the carrier bag of curiosity, and then fill it
fulbright ukraine
I live in Maine. AKA America's forehead. Or Acadia South. Or The Way Life Should Be. Maine is many things. It is a state that is often fetishized as Vacationland. At this moment when we are in the crosshairs of reductionist political discourse, it is easy to miss
ukraine
Dear Alex and the Planet Money team, ¿Have I got a pitch for you? Well, yes, in fact I do. It is about Unit.City in Kyiv, and about Ukraine, Ukrainians, and models of creative endeavors in creative, intentional spaces—models for us and the world. It is very much
ukraine
One of the guiding principles of effervescence.world is be THOUGHTFUL, not CAREFUL. As any seasoned athlete learns, tentativeness is the difference maker, and can undermine years of training. At the same time, the nature of a world built increasingly on inequality requires civic minded mission oriented people to consider
Armenia
By at least one measure, the good people of Wyoming have the most voting power* in the most powerful democracy in the world (pause for dissenting views/teeth gnashing/rumination). So maybe they should have a global press presence. ¿Could the Wyoming Star, a glossy newspaper that appeared on the
TLDR: I spent the last two weeks in Ukraine. It was an opportunity to connect in person with so many people I admire from afar. Being there opened up some helpful ideas new framings for understanding. And diagnoses for what ails us. Last month, Hungarians took action after 16 years
I am preparing to depart Budapest. I, and the Hungarians with whom I have been traipsing across this singular city are feeling...so much...I'm not sure the right words. I want to say exhaustersized though that is hard to say, so I'm going with изморентусиазиран*
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May we live in simplicated times. This not ancient, not Chinese proverb is our curse to carry. We are not living in the upside down. The challenges of the moment are a mix of simple matters presented complexly, and complexities simplified through signifiers*, sorting, and sustained, stubbornly static notions in
"I wonder if you might like to participate in a bit of bedevilment.” These words are driving my thoughts as I'm making arrangements to be present for the vital elections in Hungary and Bulgaria while the latest acts of aggression and cynicism accelerate the acceleration of cynical
As anyone who has seen my cheeky ¿what if we are not journalists? talk, I have been trying to learn from the approach of other professions: visual artists, geographers, baristas, musicians, nutritionists, and epidemiologists. Wearing my distinctly-amateur epidemiologist's cap a couple of years ago, I started to
A letter to my US Senator
A brief update from Warsaw
On the occasion of a broken alliance between nations, let's collaborate better as global citizens
One Hungarian journalist's warning to protect democratic values and public institutions
A Ukrainian journalist reminds us of what is at stake
Lessons from a Ukrainian journalist on the eve of the US elections
Bulgaria's new laws against LGBTQI "propaganda" in schools
Collecting questions ahead of my next trip to the Balkans
Thirty years on from a moment of glory, Bulgarian fans struggle with the decline of their national team, and what it tells us about challenges beyond the field of play