FAKE NEWS | Jussie Smollett to Receive Emmy for Staged Hate Crime Acting
“A lesser actor might have felt some sense of guilt at lying to the entire country – and allowed this to affect their performance. Not Jussie.”
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December 2021
FAKE NEWS | Switching Tack, China Now Asks: Who Is Peng Shuai?
“Who is this ‘Peng Shuai’ of whom you speak? What proof do you have that there is such a person?”
In Praise of Cold Weather
Why winter, snow, and rain are better than summer and sun.
American Monsters
Navy SEALs are often romanticized as American heroes. In reality, though, they are unaccountable, barbaric, and often homicidal.
With AUKUS, Australia is Finally Coming Into Its Own
AUKUS largely helps Australia achieve its strategic goals and is a sign that the young Western nation is maturing.
What Big Business Won’t Say
Many corporations today are basically amoral, and will do business with any regime, no matter how repressive, for the right price. So why won’t they say it?
Who the Hell Wants to Be an “Ally?”
Being an “ally” to a historically-disadvantaged group is a terrible deal. Don’t get suckered into it.
November 2021
FAKE NEWS | Peng Shuai to Check Into Exclusive Xinjiang Retreat
“I would like some privacy and some time to re-center myself, so don’t be surprised if you don’t hear from me for the next five years or so. Goodbye, everyone!”
This Was a Good Movie, but There Weren’t Enough People of Color in It, so It’s a Bad Movie
“Jodie Comer gave a powerful performance in The Last Duel, but the best acting in the world could not make up for her overwhelming whiteness.”
In Defense of “Sissy” Chinese Men
China’s government regards “sissy” Chinese men as a liability and is trying to get them to imitate the exaggerated machismo of the West. But the more effeminate version of masculinity has enriched China’s culture for millennia and will help it thrive in the 21st century.
What Happens to the Chip Supply if China Invades Taiwan?
The world is hugely dependent on Taiwan’s foundries for semiconductors, which makes the question of who controls them – and how they use this power – of paramount importance.
The Solomon Islands Torn Between China and Taiwan
The sudden riots in this sleepy Pacific archipelago shows it’s not so easy for China to buy love.
Who’s Afraid of Peng Shuai?
How Beijing turned a non-issue into an international crisis.
How Seoul Engineered the Korean Wave
Korean pop culture didn’t get this popular by itself – it’s the deliberate result of a plan by the South Korean government to boost its entertainment industry and its soft power.
October 2021
In Detention, the Ghosts Are the Least of the Horrors
Ghosts and ghouls lurk in the popular Taiwanese videogame, Detention. But it’s the dictatorship, and the ordinary humans who aid and abet it, that really chill the blood.
The Black Magic Is Working
In India, people fear black magic curses from their enemies…and their “friends.”
The Taming of the Bunyip
Metamorphosizing from a fearsome monster to a bogeyman to a cute cartoon character to a conservation mascot, the Australian bunyip is a metaphor for our changing relationship with nature.
FICTION | The Feud
When an ordinary man criticizes a famous rapper’s latest album, the rapper sics his fans on him. Things escalate from there.
The National Woke Awards
The most prestigious intellectual awards in America are now ridiculously fixated on race. We should be worried.
Running Amok
A spate of mass killings in Southeast Asia baffled anthropologists for centuries. Can it shed light on mass shootings today?
The Signal in the Noise
Randonautica, a random number generator app, shows us how humans manufacture meaning.
September 2021
FICTION | Hogwarts Is a Trade School!
I realized that Hogwarts is actually a trade school – a polytechnic! All we ever learned there was how to cast spells and brew potions.
Who Will Inherit the Earth? Who Cares?
I feel no obligation to have kids, and neither should you.
Once You Go Fat, They Never Let You Go Back
Many fat activists have gone beyond body acceptance and are actively discouraging obese people against losing weight, with no regard for the science or their health.
FICTION | Rapture of the Deep
My father warned me that the sea was beguiling, dangerous. The deeper you descend, the more the sea wants to pull you down and keep you.
Goodbye Merkel, and Good Riddance
Angela Merkel postured as a stateswoman on the world stage, but constantly shunted unpleasant work and unpleasant decisions to others, and shirked her responsibilities as a major European leader.
The West Doesn’t Own Whiteness
In much of East Asia, the preference for whiter skin stems not from any desire to imitate Westerners, but from traditional culture.
The Risk of Accidental War Is Highly Exaggerated
An excessive and irrational fear of accidental war based on a misunderstanding of historical events is dangerous, especially when it paralyzes people and prevents them from standing up for themselves and for what’s right.
How Can We Know What’s a Conspiracy Theory and What’s Not?
The Wuhan lab leak hypothesis was initially dismissed as a conspiracy theory before the mainstream started taking it seriously. What lessons can we learn from this about what to believe?
August 2021
World’s Worst GoFundMe Campaigns
There are tons of GoFundMe campaigns out there. Here are some of the most unworthy.
FAKE NEWS | Local Inventor Creates Reverse Car Horn
“How many times have you been driving and some motherfucker honks you from behind for, like, no reason, but you can’t honk him back because your horn only goes forward?”
US Withdrawal From Middle East Could Leave China as the Biggest Target
As the US withdraws from the region, China may come to be seen as the chief foreign interloper.
Will the West Fight for Anything Anymore?
Today, Westerners admire violent heroism more than ever, so long as it’s in the distant past or in movies. Is the great heroism of the West now gone to dust and song?
Common People Are Not Stupid
Elites habitually underestimate the working-class, assuming that we’re not interested in highbrow things. But we’re smarter than they think.
For the Record
Years from now, it’s likely people will make all sorts of false claims about the War in Afghanistan. Perhaps it’s worth setting a few things down, for the record.
July 2021
First World Problems
We often receive letters from readers seeking advice on problems. Here are some of the most insufferable.
Marica Hase on Sex, Culture, and Surviving Breast Cancer
Japanese porn star Marica Hase is a strange mixture of pliability and determination, of softness and hardness. That’s probably why she’s so good at her job.
Night Has Taken the City
The supernatural world bleeds into modern-day Manila in the spectacular new Netflix series, Trese.
Can the West Flip Cambodia?
Though it often behaves like a vassal to China, Cambodia is growing increasingly uncomfortable with its overreliance on Beijing – and that may present the West with an opening.
The CCP Faces Its Greatest Challenge Yet: Apathetic Youths
Many young Chinese are eschewing the rat race in favor of “lying flat,” and the Party is worried.
A Tale of Three Countries
As India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh mark significant milestones since independence, what can they learn from each other’s successes and mistakes?
Orville Schell on the Long View on China
In a world deluged with information on China, the sinologist Orville Schell gives us that rarest of things: perspective.
June 2021
FAKE NEWS | China Unveils Ancient Map Claiming Entire World
All your base are belong to us.
The World Is Learning to Say “No” to China
China is the ultimate crybully – a country that bullies others yet invokes historical suffering to try to portray itself as a perpetual victim – and other countries are getting sick of its routine.
No One Says “No” to Chindian Food
No matter how bad relations get with China, even Indian nationalists won’t give up their Chinese food.
Can France Help Check China in the Asia-Pacific?
France is an Asia-Pacific power, and will be instrumental in countering Chinese aggression in the region.
Lessons on Negotiation from Hong Kong Shop Aunties
Some of the best negotiators can be found in the most unassuming locations – in street stalls and humble stores selling cheap goods. What can we learn from them?
Teaching Critical Race Theory…Uncritically
There’s nothing wrong with teaching Critical Race Theory. The problem is that it’s being taught as gospel.
May 2021
The Church of the Woke
“Ye bearest the original sin of white supremacy, inherited from thine fathers, and their fathers before them.”
FAKE NEWS | We Didn’t Know This Would Happen, Say People Who Should Have Known This Would Happen
“The government had no way of knowing that seeing new infection numbers rise every day and doing virtually nothing about it meant they’d keep rising.”
Modi and His Supporters Face a COVID Reckoning
Even Modi’s most affluent and committed followers are feeling the pain from the second wave – and are blaming him for it.
The Second Life of Vintage Japanese Singers
The old songs of iconic 1970s Japanese singers are enjoying an uncanny second life on YouTube.
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict is Playing Out…In Malaysia
Many Malays have taken to copying Arabs, not just in their views and practices, but in their friends and enemies too.
Our Royals
Once the rulers of the British people, the royals are now their pets. Here’s how this happened.
Do Things Ever Get Better?
Could hundreds of years’ worth of slavery and systemic discrimination really just have gone away? Yes.
How to Lose a Cold War
Cold Wars are lost, rather than won. How might the US lose the new Cold War? How might China?
April 2021
On Encountering a Mosquito in My Room at Night
I keep expecting to hear its plaintive eeeeeeeee in my ear. It’s clear I’ll know no peace until it’s dead.
FAKE NEWS | Activists Take Aim At “Racist” Game of Pool
“Pool involves using a white ball to hit balls of color.”
When to Be Amoral
Should we recognize a terrible person for his talents and achievements?
It’s Time to Bury Black Lives Matter
Though it began with good intentions, Black Lives Matter has degenerated into a toxic cult.
How Australia’s Economy Became Addicted to China
As Canberra stands up to Beijing, it will have to contend with many Australians who have profited from keeping China happy.
Britain’s House Divided on China
The UK’s politicians are torn on how to handle Beijing.
Why Sanctions Don’t Work on Burma
Burma’s generals with their illicit revenues are largely immune to sanctions.
Whose Epic Is It Anyway?
The great Indian epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata used to belong to everyone. Now, they’ve been claimed as the exclusive property of the Hindu right wing.
March 2021
FAKE NEWS | Black Community Center Hit by Racist Lightning Bolt
“This was the work of the White Devil. As always, white people are to blame.”
Here Be Dragons
Raya and the Last Dragon is the first Disney movie set in Southeast Asia. And it’s actually good.
ART | Hollywood Movies, With Chinese Characteristics
Mulan Pacifies Tibet, Fast and Furious 11: 1 Belt 1 Road, and many more!
Is There a Case for Endless War?
“Endless war” is one of the most maligned ideas today. But is it really that bad?
Lithuania Sees a Kindred Spirit in Taiwan
Lithuania is drawing closer to Taiwan – and it doesn’t care if China doesn’t like it.
What We Know – and Don’t – About the Atlanta Shooter
The suspect seems less a racist than a religious nut.
February 2021
We Need an AI Limitation Treaty. Now.
Artificial intelligence presents an existential threat to humanity. As with other existential threats, like global warming and weapons of mass destruction, we need a treaty to manage its risks, and soon.
The Future of the EU
As a cold war between China and the US looms, the EU must decide where it stands.
China’s Loose Canon
Many are familiar with the Western canon – those core works of literature, history, and philosophy that are considered essential to the study of the subject. How about the Chinese canon?
Confucius: More Individualistic Than You Think
Both Asian and Western authorities often portray Confucius as the patron saint of Asian autocrats. They’re all wrong.
The Best Cure for Fake News is Fake News
Why misinformation can only be defeated with misinformation.
Australia’s Dumb News Media Bill Backfires
If the Australian government values the news industry so much, it should subsidize it itself, instead of expecting foreign private companies to do so.
America’s Dumb Immigration Debate
The US debate on immigration has become so stupid, so deeply, unbelievably stupid, and it’s stupid in a way that’s unique to America.
January 2021
FAKE NEWS | Hollywood Denies Pandering to Chinese Market
Disney is planning a series of sequels to its 2020 Mulan live action remake, including Mulan and the South China Sea, Mulan and the 14th Five-Year Plan, and Mulan Pacifies Tibet.
Honest COVID Wedding Invitation
Please find enclosed a full itinerary of the day’s events, along with a waiver absolving us of liability should you happen to contract COVID-19 there.
FAKE NEWS | Jesus Booed at Trump Rally
“How do we know you’re REALLY the son of God? Can we see a birth certificate?”
Donald Trump: American God
Trump is no longer president, but his cult remains. How will America reckon with it?
In Defense of Materialism
How placing more importance on material possessions can improve our lives.
South Korea’s Sunshine Policy Keeps North Koreans in the Dark
South Korea’s efforts to appease Kim Jong-un make it complicit in his crimes.
Sleeper Agents
Female spies from Asia are every bit as dangerous – and as seductive – as their Western counterparts.
The Ethics of Portraying Famous People Onscreen
Films disproportionately shape how the public views controversial figures. What responsibilities do they have?