When people think about media, Africa is rarely the first thing that comes to mind. And when it does come up, it is often portrayed through a very narrow lens—poverty, conflict, or outdated stereotypes.

But African media is so much more than that. It is powerful, growing, and deeply influential across music, film, fashion, and even digital innovation. That is why it is important that we start paying attention.  read more »

The Mediterranean Sea region plays a key role in global connectivity infrastructure, this is the message of a new report by DC Byte. Indeed, several knowledge intensive hubs of Europe exist in the Mediterranean region, and are increasingly interconnected as subsea cable networks are expanded. The growing IT-infrastructure will further regional integration, including the regions on the Western coast of North Africa.  read more »

The breakdown in relations between the US’s top teacher’s union, the National Education Association (NEA), and the Anti-Defamation League, a civil rights group focused on tackling anti-Semitism, reflects a deeper and dangerous takeover of education by determined activists.  read more »

In answer to critics of his proposal for free bus transit, New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani posted  read more »

For much of America’s history, the South has been a laggard, a poor region weighed down by intense racism and reactionary politics, lacking both  read more »

For years, urbanists and pundits have insisted that young Americans are rejecting the suburbs. Supposedly, Millennials and Gen Z crave walkable cities, apartment living, and dense cores filled with transit options and 24-hour vibrancy. The story goes: the white picket fence is passé, the cul-de-sac is dead, and no one under 40 dreams of mowing a lawn.

But the data—like much conventional wisdom these days—tells a different story.  read more »

Endless jeremiads from the mainstream media, academia and a large chunk of the political class warn that Americans are on the precipice of a fascist hell  read more »

The federal government owns about 640 million acres of land — some 28 percent of the land area of the United States  read more »

In the annals of stupid and poorly run schemes, the California High-Speed Rail project ranks among the worst. Its future, even a dramatically scaled down one, has become ever more precarious  read more »

(Note: this is a post modified and updated from one written ten years ago on the 20th anniversary of the 1995 Chicago heat wave. I included some new reflections and context on that time. More than anything, however, I want to make clear that segregation and inequality benefits some people but also exacts deadly costs on others. Please take a look. -Pete)  read more »