by Kenan Malik
The latest (somewhat random) collection of recent essays and stories from around the web that have caught my eye and are worth plucking out to be re-read. . The emptiness of an ending Amanda Hammer, Africa is a Country, 8 September 2019 A day dawned with an early call. Mugabe was dead. And then, nothing. Nothing at all in my heart and mind. Just a gaping, blank canvas, waiting for a clear script to form out of the morass of […]
Categories: Pandaemonium
by Kenan Malik
The latest (somewhat random) collection of recent essays and stories from around the web that have caught my eye and are worth plucking out to be re-read. . Britain’s infrastructure is breaking down. And here’s why no one’s fixing it Aditya Chakrabortty, Guardian, 14 August 2019 When I am out reporting it is not uncommon to go into a suburban postcode short of money yet still bustling with people – but the banks have nearly all cleared out, the church […]
Categories: Pandaemonium
by Kenan Malik
The latest (somewhat random) collection of recent essays and stories from around the web that have caught my eye and are worth plucking out to be re-read. . Europe’s treatment of migrants is shameful Mathieu von Rohr, Spiegel International Editorial, 4 July 2019 A father and his daughter lie dead on the bank of the Rio Grande, entwined in an embrace, after drowning in their attempt to reach the United States. The man is Óscar Alberto Martinez Ramírez; his 23-month-old […]
Categories: Pandaemonium
by Kenan Malik
The latest (somewhat random) collection of recent essays and stories from around the web that have caught my eye and are worth plucking out to be re-read. . European policies create new dangers on Mediterranean Steffen Lüdke, Maximilian Popp, Jan Puhl & Raniah Salloum, Spiegel International, 18 June 2019 For refugees, Europe is increasingly becoming a fortress without a gate. Even volunteer maritime rescuers are now being criminalized. Ports are closed to them. Ships are confiscated. Helpers are put on trial. Lifeline captain Claus-Peter Reisch […]
Categories: Pandaemonium
by Kenan Malik
The latest (somewhat random) collection of recent essays and stories from around the web that have caught my eye and are worth plucking out to be re-read. . He was arrested at 13. Now Saudi Arabia wants to execute him Muhammad Darwish, Tamara Qiblawi & Ghazi Balkiz, CNN, June 2019 Foot on pedal, 10-year-old Murtaja Qureiris is about to lead the group of around 30 children. In video footage obtained by CNN, he is wearing rolled up denim jeans and […]
Categories: Pandaemonium
by Kenan Malik
The latest (somewhat random) collection of recent essays and stories from around the web that have caught my eye and are worth plucking out to be re-read. . ‘If we don’t rehabilitate reason, we will not be able to fix our broken world’ Achille Mbembe & Andreas Eckert, Mail & Guardian, 10 May 2019 South Africa has been your home for many years. When you went there (in 2000), it was still a country full of hope. At the end of […]
Categories: Pandaemonium
by Kenan Malik
The latest (somewhat random) collection of recent essays and stories from around the web that have caught my eye and are worth plucking out to be re-read. . When Christians are under attack, Muslims and the left need to defend them Mehdi Hasan, The Intercept, 22 April 2019 From Christchurch, New Zealand, to Xinjiang, China, there is a war on Muslims. Many of us have spent years writing about it and condemning it. But let’s be clear: From the Middle East to parts of Asia […]
Categories: Pandaemonium
by Kenan Malik
The latest (somewhat random) collection of recent essays and stories from around the web that have caught my eye and are worth plucking out to be re-read. . How the UK lost Brexit battle Tom McTague, Politico, 27 March 2019 Nowhere was the imbalance of power more important than on the Irish border. By February, 2017 — before Britain had even triggered Article 50 — Brussels had taken ownership of the problem and come up with the beginnings of a […]
Categories: Pandaemonium
by Kenan Malik
The latest (somewhat random) collection of recent essays and stories from around the web that have caught my eye and are worth plucking out to be re-read. . Doing more, getting less Malcolm Harris, The Nation, 7 March 2019 In Gigged, we get a national tour of the new labor relations that provide the basis for Silicon Valley’s prosperity. Kessler began covering the gig economy in 2011, when she was herself a casualty of the post-financial-crisis labor market. Her first post, […]
Categories: Pandaemonium
by Kenan Malik
The latest (somewhat random) collection of recent essays and stories from around the web that have caught my eye and are worth plucking out to be re-read. . CRISPR babies: a view from the centre of the storm Robin Lovell-Badge, Development, 6 February 2019 JK’s rationale was clearly to make children resistant to HIV. Apparently, there is a lot of stigma associated with being HIV-positive in China, or even having a family member who is, and children with HIV-positive parents […]
Categories: Pandaemonium
by Kenan Malik
The latest (somewhat random) collection of recent essays and stories from around the web that have caught my eye and are worth plucking out to be re-read. . Martin Luther King Jr and the meaning of emancipation Asad Haider, n+1, 18 January 2019 The contemporary betrayal of King lives on in the suppression of this voice of intransigence, and the reduction, by liberals and conservatives alike, of King to an empty symbol. Reagan’s neutralization of his politics is repeated, year […]
Categories: Pandaemonium
by Kenan Malik
The latest (somewhat random) collection of recent essays and stories from around the web that have caught my eye and are worth plucking out to be re-read. . Citizenship v the surveillance state Matthew Longo, Boston Review, 6 December 2018 As a society, we have accepted as self-evident that a secure border protects our national sovereignty (and, by extension, citizens). But in fact, the opposite is increasingly true. New forms of bordering rely extensively on data and information sharing at […]
Categories: Pandaemonium
by Kenan Malik
As another year draws to a close, here are some of the highlights of a year of Pandaemonium in 2018. . Politics British politics was, of course, dominated by Brexit. I wrote little directly on the issue (though my original pieces still, I think, hold up well), but much around the issue of populism, including analyses of the Lega/M5S victory in Italy and of the standoff between Italy and the EU over the new government’s budget, and an article on the gilets jaunes […]
Categories: Pandaemonium • Tags: 2018, pandaemonium
by Kenan Malik
Just a short post to say thank you to all Pandaemonium readers. It’s been another tumultuous year, from Brexit to Brazil, from Myanmar to MeToo. Another year posing new questions, challenging old analyses, generating fractious debates. Hopefully Pandaemonium has played a role in navigating through this and in the rethinking necessary for our time. I want especially to thank my Patrons. Patreon, for those who don’t know, is a crowdfunding platform for funding the work of writers, artists and musicians, allowing […]
Categories: Pandaemonium • Tags: pandaemonium, patreon
by Kenan Malik
The latest (somewhat random) collection of recent essays and stories from around the web that have caught my eye and are worth plucking out to be re-read. . Can the yellow vests speak? Édouard Louis, Jacobin, 8 December 2018 Right from the start of this movement we have seen ‘experts’ and ‘politicians’ in the media belittling, condemning, and mocking the gilets jaunes and the revolt that they embody. I saw the words ‘barbarians,’ ‘idiots,’ ‘yokels,’ ‘irresponsible’ spread across social networks. The media […]
Categories: Pandaemonium
