Author: Megan Burrows

The first thing that strikes me as odd about Sixth Street during the day is how tiny it appears. It’s difficult to reconcile the silence with what happened only hours before at nine in the morning, when the neon signs have been turned off, and the sidewalks have been cleaned. There was still a slight metallic odor in the air outside Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden. The majority of passersby might have been attempting to avoid thinking about it. However, it was hard to turn away from the police tape fluttering against street signs. Authorities say a 53-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen…

Even when investors wish they would, the screens on the trading floor are honest. The price of NVO shares as of this week is about $38, which is close to its 52-week low of $38.36. That figure has psychological significance. Novo Nordisk was riding the GLP-1 obesity wave like a biotech darling with unstoppable momentum, flirting with $90 not long ago. Even cautious, the stock feels bruised now. It’s difficult to ignore how quickly the reversal is happening. The price of NVO shares has dropped over 50% in the last year, slipping through what once appeared to be strong support…

A chyron blares across the studio screen as a television producer updates a ratings dashboard in a Midtown newsroom on a weekday afternoon: “Crisis?” The question mark is doing heavy lifting. A school policy dispute in a town that most viewers couldn’t locate on a map is the subject of the segment. However, the social media team is already cutting clips for maximum friction, the guests are braced for conflict, and the graphics pulse red. The speed at which identity is woven into the narrative is difficult to ignore. Parents are “patriots” or “activists,” and they are discussing more than…

A proposed change to the ninth-grade history curriculum was the topic of a Tuesday morning discussion among parents in a fluorescent-lit gymnasium in a suburban school district. Half of the folding chairs were occupied. There was a slight disinfectant odor in the air. Clips from the meeting, taken out of context and presented as evidence of ideological capture, began to circulate online within hours. It was no longer a curriculum discussion by sunset. It was a conflict of cultures. It now occurs in this manner. Not slowly. Immediately. James Davison Hunter coined the phrase “culture war” in 1991 to describe…

On a weekday morning outside London’s Broadcasting House, BBC producers dash between glass doors, coffees in hand, and phones ringing with notifications. Editors debate wording inside, using terms like “misleading,” “false,” “inaccurate,” or “baseless.” It’s a detailed, almost fussy debate. However, it is important. Because the battle over reality itself has evolved into Britain’s most bizarre political spectacle, straddling the left and right. You can watch a parliamentary debate in real time by scrolling through social media during that time. “Fact-checkers” is the new moniker for party accounts. Statistics are quoted without context in viral graphics. After being edited and…

A museum café in Brighton is bustling on a soggy Saturday afternoon as children tug at their parents’ coats and elderly people order tea. The conversation, which was overheard in between Victoria sponge bites, has nothing to do with pronouns, statues, or “wokeness.” It concerns train delays, heating costs, and whether the waterfront will ever be adequately restored. However, survey after survey claims that Britain is engaged in a culture war. The figures are startling. According to a study conducted by Ipsos and the Policy Institute at King’s College London, 84% of Britons now feel that the nation is divided.…

The Thames River passes Parliament indifferently on a dreary February morning outside Westminster. Visitors still congregate to take pictures of Big Ben. Schoolchildren shuffle past security barriers wearing bright blazers. However, there is a silent understanding that something more profound than a news cycle is broken within the Palace of Westminster. By all accounts, public trust in British politics is at an all-time low. According to recent surveys, up to 76% of English citizens do not believe that Members of Parliament can make their lives better. That number is hard to ignore and more difficult to remove from the air,…

A young aspirant once gave an explanation of his decision not to run for parliament on a muggy afternoon in Lagos. He had the energy, the education, and the local support. The money was what he lacked. When he added up the expenses of campaign posters, nomination forms, transportation, and the “informal expectations” that accompany politics, the sum surpassed his yearly salary. As he said it, he laughed. It wasn’t funny, though. Seldom does a ballot paper include the cost of voting. It manifests itself in less obvious ways, such as the time lost waiting in line, the money lost…

Red gains, blue losses, and dramatic swings were the usual subjects of the cameras on the July 2024 election night. However, the most significant number of the night might have been the quietest one. Attendance: 59.9%. The lowest since 2001. Only about four out of ten eligible voters cast ballots in Manchester Rusholme. With volunteers seated behind folding tables and looking at clocks in between the sporadic shuffle of footsteps, the polling stations there seemed to be almost resonating. Even in Richmond Park, where attendance was considerably healthier, it fell short of what was once thought to be normal levels.…

Last summer, tourists continued to take pictures outside the marble steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, but the atmosphere was different. Holding handcrafted signs that questioned the legitimacy of the Court, protesters lined the sidewalks. Between them and the columns were police officers, calm but on guard. It was well-organized. It was in line with the constitution. Nevertheless, there was a buzz of anxiety in the air. One of the defining conflicts of contemporary politics is the conflict between distrust of and faith in democratic institutions. Mistrust versus democracy. Who ultimately prevails? According to the data, trust is eroding. Less…