Digital revolution, analog chaos
A social-media ban topples Nepal in 120 hours. Israel strikes Hamas leadership inside Qatar. + Fall is in the air, and The Signal is migrating.
Speaking of WWII …
Operation Midway Blitz hits Chicago. Jeffrey Epstein’s estate sends a drawing. + Inside Iran after the strikes.
The enemy of my enemy is still my enemy
How’s Iran’s standoff with Israel and the West affecting everyday Iranians’ feelings about the regime? Trita Parsi on why nationalism is surging while Islamic Republic’s popularity continues to tank.
Under the blood-red moon
Thaksin Shinawatra flees Thailand. A full lunar eclipse over four continents. + Stepping back from the screen.
Blind spots
A dictators’ parade as personal betrayal for the U.S. president. Open corruption topples a strongman. &c. | The member’s despatch, Week XXXVI.
Checks and balances
A long day for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Rest in peace, Giorgio Armani. + Why is Russia jamming GPS navigation on flights across Europe?
Who controls the past …
A new January 6 probe in Washington. A conspiracy in Beijing. + What’s Afrobeat?
The gathering
Dictators unite for a Beijing military spectacle. A U.S. judge blocks the Trump administration’s domestic troop deployment. + Late summer’s remarkable tech-stock tank.
Fault lines
Disaster and diplomatic isolation in Afghanistan. The planets are aligning. + A word on what’s ahead.
Interpretation codes
Competing interests in Gaza spin competing evidence of famine into competing narratives about the war there—with vastly different stakes. … Ghislaine Maxwell’s jailhouse testimony clearing Trump raises tougher questions than whether she’s telling the truth.
