Academic Dialogue Against the Background of War

There are currently no conversation partners for Western academics within the Russian academy

A recent issue of Aeon featured an article entitled “The Missing Conversation,” with the subtitle “To the detriment of the public, scientists and historians don’t engage with one another. They must begin a new dialogue.” The article amounts to a conversation between the famous scientists and historians of science, professors Lorraine Daston and ...
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Academic Dialogue Against the Background of War

When Political Institutions Fail, Boycott and Street Protests Can Succeed

In the face of a corrupt election, opposition parties refuse to participate in governing the Republic of Georgia, forcing an intervention from the European Union

_____ Once a frontrunner in democracy in the region, Georgia now faces a crisis of democracy. What was supposed to be the country’s first predominantly proportional parliamentary elections that would strengthen representation and bring in a diverse, pluralistic parliament resulted in the opposite. Georgia’s 2020 parliamentary elections became known as “the ...
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When Political Institutions Fail, Boycott and Street Protests Can Succeed

Taking on the Coors Brewing Company—and the Conservative Family Behind It

Consumer activists taking on the companies that support former President Donald Trump can learn from the boycott that never ended

_____ Well into the 1990s, the energetic, septuagenarian gay organizer Morris Kight vehemently opposed any suggestion that the Coors beer boycott, first launched in the late 1950s by unionized brewery workers and later taken up by Chicano, Black, and LGBT activists, was over. For nearly four decades, Kight and other activists ...
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Taking on the Coors Brewing Company—and the Conservative Family Behind It

The US Olympic Team with No Results

A boycott ended hundreds of gold medal dreams in 1980—to what purpose?

_____ Boycotts have many virtues. They impose financial and social penalties for official behavior that cannot otherwise be changed. Boycotts can not only be successful, they can be turning points in history. Without a doubt, the most important American boycott of the 20th century was initiated by Mrs. Rosa Parks, who, ...
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The US Olympic Team with No Results

On Hate and Boycotts

How We Choose What We Believe

It took me about six months to start interacting with people I perceived as "white." It took me a lot longer to reflect on how I could so readily use the word hate. With time I realized it was because, where I came from, hating white people -- which mostly meant ...
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Twins, the Equinox Boycott, and “The Hunt”

Past Present Episode 193

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Some of the most popular social media content features identical twins. Natalia referred to this Smithsonian article on twin research, and to Yunte Huang’s book Inseparable.When Stephen Ross, CEO of Related Properties, held a lavish fundraiser for President Trump, members of portfolio properties Equinox and SoulCycle were enraged. Natalia referred ...
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