Some Favorites
Learning from the Ancients
bioGraphic, November 22, 2022
Book Review: In his latest book, Elderflora, Jared Farmer chronicles a history of exploration and study, destruction and preservation that will keep humans and age-old trees intertwined for the long haul.
THe World is Falling in Love with Ukraine. It’s Beautiful—and Painful—to Watch
ELLE Magazine, March 15, 2022
It should not have taken all of this—air raids and casualties, threats of nuclear attacks, and inflated gas prices—for the rest of the world to learn Ukraine’s location on a map.
Letters Between Trees
bioGraphic, September 9, 2021
Strangler figs, limber pines, and a red maple tree are all featured in this essay on interspecies connection and letter writing between one species in particular.
Photo by Lolita Brayman
The Notebook: Asylum Seekers Improvise a New Border Bureaucracy
The Nation, November 30, 2018
In Tijuana, migrants and officials are breaking the law to create some semblance of order.
Photo by Lolita Brayman
Finding Peace in Georgia's Last Soviet Spa
Curiosity Magazine, August 24, 2018
Bathhouse 6 is the only operating Soviet-era spa and health sanatorium left in Tskaltubo, Georgia. The interior’s ornamental marble corridors and colorful mosaics summon a bygone era of Soviet-styled opulence meets a sterile medical facility. Legend has it that the grandiose establishment was also home to Stalin’s favorite swimming pool.
Photo by Lolita Brayman
Is It Still a Muslim Ban if Christian Refugees Are Punished?
Foreign Policy, July 5, 2017
The scene in Detroit’s U.S. District Court on June 21 was buzzing with anger and anxiety. Dozens of Iraqi nationals waited to hear whether their detained relatives would be deported back to Iraq. A rally outside the courtroom brought together hundreds of supporters, who came out with signs that read “Trump/Pence hear us, we voted for you” and “Deporting Christians to Iraq is genocide.”
Photo by Lolita Brayman
Commentary: How Trump's immigration plan could help those he wants to deport
Reuters, December 8, 2016
Even though Trump has said he’ll enact a hiring freeze on all federal positions, he would have to make an exception for immigration judges if he wants to follow through with one of his most polarizing promises. In doing so, he might inadvertently take steps to clean up the broken immigration system that the United States currently has in place.
Photo by Lolita Brayman
Azerbaijan: Mountain Jews See Government as Protectors
Eurasianet.org, August 24, 2016
The Mountain Jews’ comfort with President Ilham Aliyev’s administration might have something to do with the national narrative Azerbaijan’s government wants to publicize – an inclusive and cosmopolitan society that is secular and non-threatening to Western values.
Photo by Ali Lapetina
Ramadan, Reshaped: Syrians Abroad Find New Ways to Celebrate
National Geographic, June 30, 2016
Detroit-area residents welcome Syrian immigrants at an interfaith Iftar to celebrate the end of a fast during the holy month of Ramadan.
Why haven't Flint residents fled, as Syrians have?
The Washington Post, February 22, 2016
Syrians are risking their lives to escape their country. In Flint, by contrast, many people feel trapped or are opting to wait and see, hoping state and federal officials will fix the mess.
How Ukraine Is Forgetting Its Most Desperate Citizens
Foreign Policy, October 23, 2015
Life was already hard enough for internally displaced Ukrainians fleeing war in the East. But now they're even being deprived of the right to vote.
Photo by Lolita Brayman
International Law Solutions Fall Short for Israelis, Palestinians in Gaza Conflict
World Politics Review, July 25, 2014
As the death toll is Gaza rises to over 730 Palestinians and 32 Israeli soldiers, legal definitions of what is permissible in war have been bitterly contested.
Russia Launched a Propaganda War Against Ukrainians -- And They're Fighting Back
PolicyMic, April 3, 2014
Prior to the annexation of Crimea, Kremlin-funded TV channels used a pretext of fascism and evoked a humanitarian crisis in order to legitimize Russia's actions in the region.