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*
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
What's the point
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 diagnose
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A letter to my US Senator
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A brief update from Warsaw
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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
The Uriah Heep song that came to represent change and hope, and spawned a holiday in Bulgaria
Making sense of the recent EU elections
Understanding the impact of loopholes in sanctions on Russia
Lessons from Finland in periods of rapid change
Understanding legal and psychological challenges to anti-corruption efforts