Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, says criticism of his tattoos is anti-Christian bigotry. But a look at the history of the Christian symbols he has chosen tells a very different story, writes @lsmwilson.bsky.social in @newlinesmag.bsky.social. newlinesmag.com/essays/pete-...

NEW: What does it mean to turn a far-right activist into a national martyr? The memorialization of Charlie Kirk has made him far bigger in death than he was in life, Joe Lowndes argues in @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/spotlight/th...

NEW: Published in secret, the underground newspaper Enab Baladi kept Syrians informed throughout war and exile. Now it has returned to Damascus. Aubin Eymard reports for @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/reportage/af...

What makes the relationship between the U.S. and Israel unique? It’s as if the two were a single entity — “AmericaIsrael” — which functions like a political religion, argues Elizabeth Shakman Hurd for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

From Jakarta to Hong Kong and Santiago, anime heroes like Luffy and Pikachu are taking to the streets. Tim Brinkhof reports for @newlinesmag.bsky.social on how Japanese pop culture and anime became a global language of protest.

“Is anti-Americanism a fad that erupts from time to time, or is it a core element of Canadian politics and identity?” @jakeadampitre.bsky.social explores Canada’s long, colorful history of anti-American fervor, for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

“I apologize to every Syrian I killed or wounded. Even if I was not the one pressing the trigger, I was part of this machine of death. Forgive me.” A colonel in Bashar al-Assad’s air force recounts his role in the campaigns that devastated his country.

1.🧵Week in Review: A youth uprising in Nepal; political violence as spectacle; anti-Americanism in Canada, plus anime’s global protest symbols. mailchi.mp/newlinesmag/...

With Western security guarantees uncertain, Kyiv is turning to its elite, battle-hardened units as the core of a remodeled military, report @michaeldweiss.bsky.social and James Rushton for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

NEW: One word can curdle a room. At this year’s Emmys, that word was Palestine. From Vanessa Redgrave to Hannah Einbinder, Hollywood has shown that it rewards voices of conscience, but only when it’s convenient, writes Adam Makary for @newlinesmag.bsky.social. newlinesmag.com/spotlight/at...

NEW: Trump’s tariffs & threats to make Canada “the 51st state” have sparked boycotts of U.S. products & may have even swung Canada’s April election. But anti-American fervor has a long, colorful history in Canada, writes @jakeadampitre.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/essays/anti-...

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth says criticism of his tattoos is anti-Christian bigotry. But a look at the history of the Christian symbols he has chosen tells a very different story, writes @lsmwilson.bsky.social in @newlinesmag.bsky.social

For @newlinesmag.bsky.social, music journalist Ayelet Yagil explains why the Eurovision song contest is so important to Israelis. "Eurovision has become a showcase for how it wants to be seen by the world"

“International media initially reported the protest as typical Gen Z anger over Oli’s social media crackdown, only to quickly realize the dissent went much deeper," Vandana Menon writes for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

From Jakarta to Hong Kong and Santiago, anime heroes like Luffy and Pikachu are taking to the streets. Tim Brinkhof reports for @newlinesmag.bsky.social on how Japanese pop culture and anime became a global language of protest.

“U.S. borders become ambiguous when it comes to Israel: Where does the U.S. end and Israel begin? Where is the border? Is there one?” U.S. support for Israel functions like a political religion, argues Elizabeth Shakman Hurd for @newlinesmag.bsky.social.

NEW: On an empty stretch of road in Syria’s al-Ghab Plain, a young woman’s walk home turned into a crime that now tests the country’s fragile new order. Kamal Shahin reports for @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/spotlight/a-...

NEW: Nepal’s youth-led uprising follows similar events in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, signaling a push for greater accountability and a break from the past across South Asia, writes Vandana Menon for @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/argument/nep...

What message does Trump’s “Chipocalypse Now” meme send, with its declaration of war on an American city and its profession of love for “the smell of deportations in the morning”? @JoeLowndes.bsky.social dives in for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

“A music teacher and oud player by day, Bilal spent the past several years traveling between Akkar’s rural villages, recording the nasheed music of their local Sufi orders for a master’s thesis in musicology." Madeline Edwards reports from Akkar, Lebanon.

“During the war, Stamu had morphed from a modest helicopter pad into a launch site for numerous choppers loaded with barrel bombs. It wasn’t the only one. Such bases, from Latakia to Daraa and from Damascus to rural Aleppo, underwent the same grim transformation.”

“The U.S. is defined, on one hand, by a ferocious defense of its own territorial borders and, on the other, by border defiance: that is, a willingness to defy and redraw borders in the name of something greater, something bigger, something better.”

“With such clear messages writ so large and indelibly on his body, Hegseth’s politics are clear, denials notwithstanding.” @lsmwilson.bsky.social explores the symbols and medieval history surrounding Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s tattoos. newlinesmag.com/essays/pete-...

NEW: The highly public assassination of Charlie Kirk reveals a terrifying new reality of political violence as spectacle, threatening to desensitize us all to its horror, writes Alec D’Angelo in @newlinesmag.bsky.social. newlinesmag.com/spotlight/ch...

NEW: A Syrian air force colonel who once dropped barrel bombs across the country now hides in Baghdad with multiple fake IDs. In a confessional profile, he recalls missions, bribery and betrayals. Kamal Shahin reports for @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/reportage/co...

In Manipur, looted armories, illegal arms smuggled from across the borders in Myanmar and Bangladesh as well as locally assembled explosives have transformed civilian groups into heavily armed militias. newlinesmag.com/reportage/th...

“The archaeology at Stelida introduces another dimension to the picture: that Neanderthals were, in fact, driven by something a lot more human,” Sophie Holloway writes for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

“...in an age when authoritarianism is on the rise and civil liberties are retreating, global franchises like ‘One Piece’ represent spaces of resistance beyond government control,” Tim Brinkhof writes for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

Eurovision organizers have reportedly advised Israel to withdraw or perform without its flag amid protests over its genocide in Gaza. Last year, Ayelet Yagil explained how Israel has long used Eurovision to shape its international image:

In Akkar, northern Lebanon, Sufism thrives while it fades elsewhere. Villages keep centuries-old “zikr” prayer ceremonies alive, blending mysticism & joy. Madeline Edwards reports from the celebrations of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

NEW: Both the Iranian regime and those who resist it use myths and ideas about divinity to cultivate support. Saeid Golkar explores the tales and doctrines that shape political culture in the Islamic Republic, for @newlinesmag.bsky.social. newlinesmag.com/argument/the...

NEW: From Jakarta to Hong Kong and Santiago, anime heroes like Luffy and Pikachu are taking to the streets. Tim Brinkhof reports for @newlinesmag.bsky.social on how Japanese pop culture and anime became a global language of protest. newlinesmag.com/spotlight/ho...

India's Prime Minister Modi made his first visit to Manipur in two years, since ethnic and insurgent violence erupted in the state. Tanushree Pandey recently explored how civilians are caught in the crossfire and the lines between combatants and noncombatants blur:

U.S. support for Israel isn’t just foreign policy, it’s a political religion. Rooted in Manifest Destiny and American exceptionalism, it blurs borders until America and Israel are imagined as one, argues Elizabeth Shakman Hurd for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

After crossing dangerous terrain to seek asylum in America, a Chinese family arrived to find a changed country — but remains determined to build a better life, writes Huiyee Chiew for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

“ It is possible to stand outside the prevailing rhetoric, to escape the rip current that merges Zionism and Americanism. The alternative is easy to find: It is with the heretics and dissidents.” | Elizabeth Shakman Hurd

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently visited Manipur for the first time since the 2023 ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities. Makepeace Sitlhou explains the roots of the conflict & how indigenous politics fueled it:

1.🧵 On this week’s @newlinesmag.bsky.social podcast, Lyse Doucet tells @faisalalyafai.bsky.social about her new book on Afghanistan, “The Finest Hotel in Kabul,” the personal challenges of life as a breaking news reporter, and the hardest stories she’s ever reported newlinesmag.com/podcast/lyse...

NEW: What makes the relationship between the U.S. & Israel unique, one that can’t be captured by ordinary frameworks? It’s as if the two were a single entity - “AmericaIsrael” - which functions like a political religion, argues @bethhurd.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/argument/ame...

1.🧵We are thrilled to announce New Lines has won the Online News Award in the topical reporting on climate change category for our collaboration with @thegeckoproject.org. “Dust Money,” looks at Indonesia's green transition and labor abuses around nickel mining awards.journalists.org/winners/2025/

Chicago! Join @newlinesmag.bsky.social and Nighthawk tomorrow at 3pm for a conversation with @emanabdelhadi.bsky.social and @brant-rosen.bsky.social about the ongoing catastrophe in Gaza. The event is free & open to the public, just register here to secure a spot www.eventbrite.com/e/the-gaza-c...

1 🧵Week in Review: From Putin’s musings on immortality to Ukraine’s fight for defense independence, this week’s stories also covered trans sterilization in Europe, Lebanon’s Sufi traditions and Gaza’s firewood crisis: mailchi.mp/newlinesmag/...

1. 🧵Last night, our video production team attended the 2025 Future of Media Awards, where @newlinesmag.bsky.social received an honorable mention for our short video "A Palestinian in the Jewish Museum of Berlin on October 7 – With @danaelkurd.bsky.social

NEW: The driving force behind transhumanism — the idea that technology will help make man immortal — may be Silicon Valley, but its genesis lies in 19th-century Russia, writes @erinclarebrown.bsky.social in @newlinesmag.bsky.social. newlinesmag.com/essays/the-r...

NEW: What message does Trump’s “Chipocalypse Now” meme send, with its declaration of war on an American city? @joelowndes.bsky.social dives into the ideological heart of darkness for @newlinesmag.bsky.social. newlinesmag.com/spotlight/tr...

Beirut was once the beating heart of Arab publishing. Now, amid bookshops shuttering and self-censorship, readers and booksellers fight to keep the city’s literary spirit alive, reports Amelia Dhuga for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

For over 100 years, immigrants from China have thrived and perished within and around Mexico’s border with the U.S. Nina Wang recounts their forgotten story for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

“Li sometimes says that Livia is the only American in the family. But to her parents, she, like Jimmy, is much more than that: Both are their hope, their dream and their motivation.” Huiyee Chiew writes for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

U.S. tolerance of Morocco’s annexation of Western Sahara and Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights undermines the case against territorial concessions that would reward Russia's conquests in Ukraine, argues @szunes.bsky.social for @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/argument/put...

NEW: In Akkar, northern Lebanon, Sufism thrives. Villages keep centuries-old “zikr” prayer ceremonies alive, blending mysticism & joy. Madeline Edwards reports from the celebrations of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday for @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/spotlight/su...