(The names of key individuals in this essay have been removed for the sake of anonymity.) I survived. I felt the pain of an unsolicited knife and fought back. I gave myself credit for my resilience. Throughout hardship comes strength so I can achieve happiness and I can love and care for myself in the […]
Deep Dive
Jared Foxhall recounts moments thrifting for clothes during his year abroad in Kunming, China. In China, everything’s on sale. It’s become a weekly event now, the second-hand store. It’s the only place where we can spend money on clothes and not feel absolutely awful about our bank statements afterward. You can’t even find prices this […]
Media Without Borders
The phrase ‘media without borders’ describes the environment of the web as a place with poor distinctions between media, entertainment, and thought-provoking work, a situation which produces personal and societal downsides. This is not by accident. To quote author and scholar Shoshana Zuboff’s book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: “Google is a shape-shifter, but each […]
Lions on the Horizon: Venture Capital and African Tech
We already know the big names. With the advent of the global tech economy in the past two decades, two powerhouses have come to dominate the world of startup innovation: the US and, in its footsteps, China. Africa, however, is often left out of this conversation. Here’s what people don’t talk about: Africa is a […]
The Bones of a Nation: Understanding Health and Society in China
I will never forget the feeling of anxiety that filled the waiting room of the hospital in Kunming, China. I remember the air smelling thick with cramped breath, cigarette smoke and iodoform. Families, friend groups, husbands and wives were all anxiously crammed together waiting to hear a word from one of the maybe five doctors […]
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Or, The Most Expensive Thing You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
It’s September of 2013 and President Xi Jinping, China’s most powerful leader since Mao, is in Kazakhstan announcing his plans for his ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Six months later, Xi Jinping is in Pakistan promoting the BRI as the new ”maritime Silk Road for the 20th Century” and selling this vision as being […]