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Author: The Editors

From the First Gay Kiss to “Woke Garbage” – the Department of Defense’s Censorship of Queerness in Film

by Laura Herges May 16, 1929, would go down in history as the birthday of the world’s most prestigious awards ceremony. Nearly 100 years ago, the first Academy Awards took place inside the Blossom Ballroom at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. 270 people had bought a ticket for 5$ (92$ adjusted…

From “Free and Fair Trade” to MAGA: US-Trade Unilateralism in Perspective

by Martin Utsch Since the return of Donald Trump to the White House, trade tariffs have been a recurring theme in the news. Tariff-proclamations have been issued at a frantic rate, each week bringing new changes since the initial sweeping tariffs on April 2, 2025, so-called “Liberation Day”. The United…

When Bureaucracy Fails Victims: EEOC, Political Will, and the Trump Administration

 by Nicole Colaianni  “Sexual assault allegations seem to be a badge of honor in Trump’s America” proclaimed journalist Carter Sherman  in an article published by The Guardian on March 30, 2025. This statement reflects a growing concern among commentators and news outlets regarding President Trump’s recent appointments to high-ranking government…

Manifest Destiny or Science Fiction? Elon Musk’s Mars Colonization Plans and the New Nexus of Religion

by Peggy Reeder   “We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars,” President Donald Trump stated in his inauguration speech on the 20th of January 2025 (FOX 13 Seattle 2025). Specifically, Trump aims to facilitate tech entrepreneur Elon Musk’s Mars colonization plans during his presidency and invokes the historical concept of a…

The Power of Humor: How Political Comedy Can Make or Break a Presidential Campaign

By Dr. Caroline Leicht Image 1. Humor can be a very powerful tool in political campaigning. Kamala Harris (pictured) seems to be keenly aware of that in the 2024 election. Almost seven in ten Americans attribute the quote “I can see Russia from my house” to Sarah Palin (Cacciatore et…

The Power of Humor: How Political Comedy Can Make or Break a Presidential Campaign

By Dr. Caroline Leicht Image 1. Humor can be a very powerful tool in political campaigning. Kamala Harris (pictured) seems to be keenly aware of that in the 2024 election. Almost seven in ten Americans attribute the quote “I can see Russia from my house” to Sarah Palin (Cacciatore et…

The US and climate change – on track to fulfill its international obligation?

by Dr. Simon Schaub Climate change represents one of the most polarized issues in the United States (Smith et al. 2024) and the upcoming presidential elections in November will probably be decisive for future climate action in the US. For long, the US has been a laggard on climate change.…

The Most Important Announcement since Christ: The ‘No Breakfast Plan’ Between Science and Religion

By Layla Koch Edward Hooker Dewey (1837-1904) In 1895, the physician Edward Hooker Dewey published The True Science of Living, in which he argued that the secret to a healthy life for the American citizen was quite simple: abstain from breakfast. Bolstered by an introduction by theologian George Frederick Pentecost,…

The Skeleton Key, Historical Erasure, and Cultural Appropriation

By Max Schiersner Caodaglio Figure 1: Hampton Plantation, Charleston County, South Carolina Horror is an easily recognizable literary genre due to its frequent exploration of what torments our minds and anxieties. Supernatural happenings and paranormal implications are part of such stories, from books to Hollywood movies. Ghosts, cults, séances, rituals,…

Feminist Foreign Policy and the United States: Is it a match?

by Eva Rieger American Exceptionalism entails the belief in the United States’ outstanding characteristics and is rooted in classical liberal values and their propagation. Consequently, U.S. foreign policy behavior has often been justified with the promotion of freedom, human rights and democracy. According to most contemporary liberal interpretations – starting…

“Creating Connections between People that Don’t Let Go:” The Intricate Network of Catholic Peacemaking

by Virginia Zentgraf A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a Twitter post by aspiring theologian Mason Mennenga featuring a wish for Christians to be more like 20th-century activists instead of contemporary right-wing evangelicals. pic.twitter.com/1lx9nNBbfl— Mason Mennenga (@masonmennenga) October 25, 2023 The shared image shows three stoic-looking people – Catholic…

On the Treasures of Deep Research

By Drew M. Ross One of the pleasures of deep research is the unexpected find that ties together threads that you have been following. Sometimes, that gem comes too late to be included in the final draft of your work. In the case of my article, “White Supremacy on Parade”, …

Shaken Awake: The Nighttime Earthquake of 1783

By Katrin Kleemann Earthquakes in the United States? California is probably the first state that comes to mind. The largest earthquake with an estimated 8.7-9.2 magnitude in the contiguous US was a megathrust earthquake off the coast of Washington state on 26 January 1700. Ever since Conevery Bolton Valencius’ book…

Women Strike for Peace – and Equality

By Lara Track Poster announcing the Women’s Strike for Equality and its three key demands. Rights held by Library of Congress. On August 26, 1970, 50 years to the day after the 19th Amendment gave American women the right to vote in national elections, a new generation of women’s rights…

Allen Ginsberg, Religious Experience and the Anxiety of ‘Othering’

by Jonas Faust Throughout his five-decade career, Beat-poet-turned-countercultural-icon Allen Ginsberg [1] presented himself in- and outside of his poetic work as a literary prophet of Cold War America, thereby situating himself at the forefront of the literary avant-garde. His poetry and political activism rebelled against the then-dominant conformist, conservative and…

“It is no Desert.” White Pages, Black Ink, and Green Poems in Stephen Crane’s The Black Riders and Other Lines

by Philipp Leonhardt Even a cursory look at titles like The Red Badge of Courage, “The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky” or “The Blue Hotel” reveals that the works of Stephen Crane keep on changing colors. Ever since he entered the literary scene in the 1890s, readers have been puzzled…