Fact: Ryan Gosling is an actor. Fact: Ryan Gosling is famous. Fact: Ryan Gosling is successful. Question: Does Ryan Gosling deserve this success? Is he as talented as his astronomical stardom suggests? This is actually a pretty hot topic in online forums. These conversations can go like this: Person A says, “He sucks.” Person B […]
Archives for February 2017
The Delusions of Sophisticated Ink
“So, what’s the story?” she asked me, with a tone between bemusement and condescension. I was floating somewhere off the coast of Dakar when a fellow American in my study abroad program began her questioning. She was, of course, waiting to hear my prepared meaningful justification for the large tattoo on my hip. At the […]
The New Bear Flag Rebellion
On the evening of November 8, millions of Californians watched their country elect Donald Trump to the presidency. Their disbelief and frustration quickly manifested into one cry that echoed across social and news media with fervor: secession. Disheartened Californian college students and San Francisco liberals shared “Yes California!” on Facebook with excitement, and Silicon Valley […]
Oscar Predictions Preview: Preview Edition
Ahhh, the Oscars. For many of us, Hollywood’s grandest awards show offers us a time to believe—if only for a moment—that our understanding of film may align with that of the experts. Unfortunately, most of us aren’t blessed with the luxury of being able to blow hundreds of dollars on movie tickets (and buckets of […]
Maine Under Ranked-Choice: Revisiting 2014
On November 8, Maine voted to switch to a ranked-choice voting system. Though overshadowed by other results of that election, the switch will create a dramatic change in the underlying structure of the state’s political institutions. Under ranked-choice voting, voters receive ballots which offer them three slots to rank candidates in any order that they […]
Light Years Behind: The History Lesson Edition
Welcome to the third installment of Light Years Behind, a (hopefully) weekly look into the National Basketball Association. Editor’s Note: if you come here expecting the in-depth analysis offered elsewhere at the Bowdoin Globalist, then PROCEED NO FURTHER. What follows is an exercise in whimsical nonsense. Mo Williams Transactions: An Oral History After opting into […]
What Syria Needs Now
On September 10, 2016, the U.S. State Department announced that it had struck a breakthrough ceasefire agreement with Russia in Syria, the site of a conflict that has in recent months rekindled Cold War tensions long-thought to be extinguished. The much-lauded deal promised a stop to all hostilities between Syrian rebels and the Assad regime, […]
Race and Inconsistent Drug Policies
This piece, which will focus on the dynamic of race in drug systems, is the second of three articles dedicated to the social and political aspects of the opioid epidemic. Many politicians and officials have proclaimed that opioid drug addiction is “non-discriminatory,” in that it affects people of all demographics. But before the epidemic became […]
Aging Inmates, Little Release
Note: This is the third piece in a series examining criminal justice in America. Read the introduction here and the second piece here. American prisoners are getting old. Harsh sentencing laws from the 1980s and 1990s mean that more inmates are reaching retirement age behind bars. These aging inmates are forcing some prisons to provide […]
Light Years Behind: All-Star Edition
Welcome to the first installment of Light Years Behind, a (hopefully) weekly look into the National Basketball Association. Editor’s Note: if you come here expecting the in-depth analysis offered elsewhere at the Bowdoin Globalist, then PROCEED NO FURTHER. What follows is an exercise in whimsical nonsense. Which NBA Players Embarrass Themselves the Most? A Completely […]