In a moment of quiet, unbridled irreverence, Justin Bieber once confessed, “I should be chillin’ with my folks I know, but I’mma be under the mistletoe.” A peculiar sentiment, considering it followed another statement of his: “It’s the most beautiful time of the year, lights fill the streets spreading so much cheer…” Sadly, the quotes […]
Archives for December 2016
Revisiting Will Smith in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
What makes a TV show protagonist so special? Think of the most compelling show you know and imagine the protagonist. Yes, just like Alex Trebek, very good. Compelling protagonists are essential for attracting viewers to a TV show, and more importantly, bringing you back for more. They have to make you obsessed. They’re like the […]
France, America, and the Politics of Character
Just after the third presidential debate, I called my grandfather, curious about his reaction to President-elect Donald Trump’s victory. As I typed Paris’s area code into my phone, my grandfather’s voice echoed in my head. I pictured the ultra-conservative 72-year-old yelling “crooked Hillary!” in his thick French accent as though he coined the saying. I […]
Criminal Justice Under a Trump Presidency
Writer’s note: This piece is the first in a multi-part series on criminal justice reform. The series will examine variation in criminal justice policies between states and evaluate the effectiveness of local reforms that have aimed to reduce mass incarceration and improve treatment of ex-offenders. Six months ago, the prospects of criminal justice reform were […]
The Moral Limits of Alliance
The United States’s relationship with Saudi Arabia is now more enigmatic than ever. Since 9/11, in which fifteen of the nineteen al-Qaeda hijackers were citizens of Saudi Arabia, the U.S. has held a heightened skepticism of Saudi military pursuits. Recent developments such as the conflicts in Syria and Yemen and the Justice Against Sponsors of […]