The 2024 U.S. presidential election was one of the most disheartening nights of the last year. It was also the first time I heard about Polymarket. This was not a coincidence, of course. As a group of friends and I were crammed in a claustrophobic dorm room watching a map of states flipping red or […]
Author: Will Baker
Your Party, Their Problems
Only two months after its founding, MP Zarah Sultana was already calling the UK’s newest political party a “sexist boys’ club.” Her antagonism was surprising given that, along with the well-known socialist Jeremy Corbyn, she was one of its founders. Their endeavor, currently known as “Your Party,” was founded earlier this year as a left-wing […]
Uncivil Unrest from Nepal to the United States
With their Parliament building still warm from the blaze of the day before, tens of thousands of Nepalis gathered for an impromptu election. The burning of Parliament was only one part of a fiery two-day protest in Nepal’s capital, which toppled the former system, setting up an interim government in less than a week. In […]
The Aesthetic of Authoritarianism: AI and the Trump Government
Donald Trump’s government hasn’t been shy about embracing generative AI. No later than his second day in office, the President announced the $500 billion Stargate project: a joint private venture aimed at constructing 20 AI datacenters in the US. Standing beside Trump when he made the announcement were the leaders of OpenAI, Oracle, and Softbank […]
Playing Defense: Why Transgender Athletes Have a Place in Women’s Sports
For once, Gavin Newsom and Donald Trump agree on something: transgender athletes. In the inaugural episode of his podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom,” the California Governor called the debate over transgender athletes “an issue of fairness.” That should sound familiar: President Trump’s February 5th executive order refers to banning trans athletes from competing in women’s […]