The World at First Light: A New History of the RenaissanceBernd Roeck Tom Verde Historians typically trace the birth of the Renaissance to fourteenth-century Florence. Then, after three centuries, that brilliant era of artistry eventually gave way to the Reformation, with its shift away from humanism, and the Enlightenment, which picked up (and ran) where… Read More Why the West?
Gautam Bhatia The author has won the Ran Hirschl Prize for the Best Article in Constitutional Studies This essay argues that the relationship between constitutionalism and economic inequality must be understood in the context of the relationship between constitutionalism and political economy. In particular, the concept of the separation of the economic and the political—which… Read More Economic Inequality & Separation of the Economic & the Political in Modern Constitutionalism
Adam Tooze April 17, 2026 In March in Beijing I had the privilege of meeting and talking with Professor Wang Hui of Tsinghua. This edited transcript is published in cooperation with Equator Magazine (many thanks to the editorial team there) with an introduction by my friend Kaiser Kuo. Introduction by Kaiser Kuo To sit in Beijing in… Read More The Two-Faced Present – A conversation about the “short twentieth century” – and the paradoxical twenty-first with Wang Hui
An interview with Magdi el Gizouli Adam Benjamin Sudan’s ongoing war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has killed thousands and displaced millions. The current crisis follows years of political upheaval across the country. In late 2018 and 2019, mass protests calling for democratic rule led to the collapse of the… Read More Marketing War (2023)
Tim Barker, Dylan Saba Martin Luther King once called the United States government “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world.” That formulation may be controversial, but no one denies that the US is by far the world’s biggest arms dealer, with a 42 percent share of the global arms export market. Since the Cold War, Congress… Read More Selling American Bombs
NB: The real toffee in the visit to Rome… (comment and link from Jairus Banaji on FB) Adani Ports and Marseille Fos have formalised cooperation to anchor the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) in Europe. For cargo owners, carriers and terminal operators, the pact signals closer digital and operational alignment along a proposed 6,000 km trade spine. Adani… Read More Adani Ports and Marseille Fos back India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor
Greenpeace calculates that wealthiest contribute nearly $1tn of damage a year with ownership-based emissions Fiona Harvey Ultra-wealthy people zooming across the world on their private jets, lounging on yachts and conspicuous by their Instagrammable consumption are among the most easily identified individual culprits when it comes to the climate crisis – but new research argues… Read More Super-rich’s assets cause outsized amount of climate harm
Global report provides an alternative to climate breakdown, political extremism and economic tensions Thomas Piketty, Lucas Chancel, Cornelia Mohren, Rowaida Moshrif, Moritz Odersky and Anmol Somanchi Imagine a future in which everyone enjoys high levels of wellbeing; where 90% of the world’s population doubles their income but works half the hours we work today. A world in which the bottom half… Read More A good life for the 99% isn’t a pipe dream: it can be done / ‘An equal and habitable world is possible’: academics’ sweeping vision for planetary survival
The operation began at 9am Moscow time, but took place across all of Russia’s 11 time zones. Almost simultaneously, agents of the federal security service (FSB) raided the homes and workplaces of 17 Indigenous rights activists. Damien Gayle Environment correspondent Officers carried out searches, confiscated laptops and phones, and arrested and interrogated activists about participation in… Read More Russian authorities are cracking down on rights activists fighting for Indigenous people / Over 2 Lakh People Petition Against Great Nicobar Projects
Source: Adam Tooze, Chartbook Source: Krishn Kaushik and Chris Kay in Mumbai and William Sandlund in Hong Kong from FT +++++++++++++++
After the truth-shower 