US soldiers in a field of poppy flowers in Afghanistan.

A History of Violence

Chronicling the history of drug trafficking in the U.S. Special Forces.
A group of Asian men standing with towels around their necks

“Endless Bad Infinity”

A conversation with the creators of a podcast series on the feedback loop of American empire.
Montage of photographs from Operation Desert Storm.

How to Kill a Country

The 2003 invasion of Iraq was no turning point. It was a slow-burning tale of how Britain and the US armed a nation, and then betrayed it.
Lee Harvey Oswald in Police Custody

Decades Later, The JFK Assassination Still Keeps Some Secrets

A helpful way to think about the JFK assassination, and political assassinations more generally, is to be more Dragnet about it than discursive.
JFK and Jacqueline in the convertible limousine in Dallas.

A Weekend in Dallas

Revisiting political assassinations.
Robert S. McNamara at a news conference in April 1966

Robert McNamara’s Son Reckons With a Legacy of Destruction

Craig McNamara’s family did not talk about the Vietnam War. He spent his life asking questions about it.
Two men watch a bank of televisions showing Colin Powell testifying before the UN

Invisible General: How Colin Powell Conned America

From My Lai to Desert Storm to WMDs.
An American propaganda leaflet dropped ahead of Curtis LeMay’s firebomb campaign over Japan.

Narrative Napalm

Malcolm Gladwell’s apologia for American butchery.