A smart and granular analysis of Syria’s new People's Assembly, based on close study of the members’ backgrounds. By Abdullah Ghadawi, who shows it’s an assembly of “networks” that’ll close ranks on certain issues & split on others. newlinesmag.com/spotlight/sy...

Syria’s New Parliament of Networks

The biographies of those sitting in the People’s Assembly show that it is neither monolithic nor strictly factional, but simply the revolution's memory, given a political afterlife

newlinesmag.com

The U.S. bicentennial in 1976 was an international affair, celebrated in diverse ways by countries around the world in a turning point for American soft power. Such a fun and illuminating read by historian @michaeljkramer.bsky.social at @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/essays/how-t...

How the World Celebrated America’s 200th Birthday

Countries around the world participated in the 1976 bicentennial, in a turning point for US soft power

newlinesmag.com

WATCH: Deforestation and climate change are stripping butterflies of their vibrant colors. @olasalem.bsky.social explores how environmental shifts are altering their appearance. www.youtube.com/shorts/GrfjE...

The Slow Death of Color

YouTube video by New Lines Magazine

youtube.com

In one of our current top reads, @hhassan.bsky.social and Kamran Bokhari argue that the “Third Gulf War” points to a deeper rupture ahead: Shifting alliances and a thinning U.S. security umbrella are pushing the Gulf toward a far more uncertain regional order.

The ‘Third Gulf War’ And Its Aftermath

Tehran built a doctrine of resistance designed for export, not for local consumption, but then Washington broke a quarter-century taboo about striking Iran

shorturl.at

Editor’s Pick: Iran fought its wars abroad for 40 years so it would never fight them at home. Then the end of American restraint set off a cascade that led to the Third Gulf War, write @hhassan.bsky.social  and Kamran Bokhari. 

The ‘Third Gulf War’ And Its Aftermath

Tehran built a doctrine of resistance designed for export, not for local consumption, but then Washington broke a quarter-century taboo about striking Iran

newlinesmag.com

Iran exported its wars for 25 years, but then Washington changed the rules. @hhassan.bsky.social  and Kamran Bokhari on the 'Third Gulf War' and the threshold it crossed.

The ‘Third Gulf War’ And Its Aftermath

Tehran built a doctrine of resistance designed for export, not for local consumption, but then Washington broke a quarter-century taboo about striking Iran

newlinesmag.com

The end of American restraint broke a quarter-century taboo & shattered Iran's doctrine of exporting its wars. Once that happened, any US policy shifts stopped being the determining factor of where the Third Gulf War takes the region. With Kamran Bokhari in New Lines newlinesmag.com/essays/the-t...

NEW: Iran stoked conflict abroad for 40 years to avoid ever fighting at home. But the end of American restraint set off a cascade that led to the ‘Third Gulf War’ and the likely hollowing out of the regime, write @hhassan.bsky.social and Kamran Bokhari . newlinesmag.com/essays/the-t...

New investigation from the Iran war by Nilo Tabrizy and Chris Osieck for New Lines: Satellite imagery and open-source evidence show a March 5 airstrike destroyed an Iranian emergency medical base in a Shiraz park, while a military site 200 meters away was untouched newlinesmag.com/spotlight/ai...

Airstrike Hit Iranian Emergency Medical Base in Shiraz, Killing 20

Open-source evidence and satellite imagery show that the March 5 strike destroyed a first responders’ outpost in Zibashahr Park, leaving an identified military site 200 meters away untouched

newlinesmag.com

What might Syria’s anticipated government shakeup reveal about the regime’s efforts to diffuse presidential authority and broaden minority inclusion? In this Running Notes piece, @hhassan.bsky.social  parses the political calculus behind the expected reforms.

Syrian Government Shakeup Expected To Diffuse Presidential Power and Integrate Minorities

In Syria, a significant government reshuffle is anticipated in the coming weeks, primarily aimed at integrating minority groups and distributing the myriad roles currently held by President Ahmad al-Sharaa. The reshuffle is poised to be narrow in scope, affecting only a handful of key portfolios, be...

shorturl.at

Brilliant piece by the Iran scholar Mehrzad Boroujerdi on the unresolved contradictions that Khamenei leaves behind, his intellectual journey and ideological battles—did you know he translated Kahlil Gibran and Sayyid Qutb into Persian?—and what's at stake in the impending succession. A must read! ⤵️

New Lines Magazine@newlinesmag.bsky.social · 5mo ago

NEW: With the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Iranians are left to reckon with the political order he shaped and the unresolved contradictions he leaves behind, writes Mehrzad Boroujerdi for @newlinesmag.bsky.social . newlinesmag.com/argument/the...

One of the most interesting profiles I've read on Ali Khamenei, tracing his intellectual/ideological journey while untangling the succession dilemmas he leaves behind. By scholar of Iranian intellectual history Mehrzad Boroujerdi for @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/argument/the...

The Unresolved Contradictions Ali Khamenei Leaves Behind

Iranians are left to reckon with the political order the supreme leader shaped, while the impending succession places the Islamic republic’s future in question

newlinesmag.com

"Washington has the resources in place to keep up the heat on the Iranian regime, to drain its resources and cause it lasting damage." @hhassan.bsky.social on regime change in Iran

Iran Strikes Back at the Gulf as the US Pursues a Regime Change It Cannot Force

The new round of attacks on Iran by the United States embodies a paradox. It is the highest-stakes campaign at least since Israel’s targeting of high-level Iranian and Hezbollah officials in early 2024. The current operation, involving B-2 bombers and naval strikes, dwarfs the June 2025 strikes on Fordow and Natanz, which already set Iran’s […]

newlinesmag.com

🧵The strikes on Iran will wound the leadership of the Islamic republic, but regime change requires a counterforce that the U.S. and Israel simply do not have | @hhassan.bsky.social

Iran Strikes Back at the Gulf as the US Pursues a Regime Change It Cannot Force

The new round of attacks on Iran by the United States embodies a paradox. It is the highest-stakes campaign at least since Israel’s targeting of high-level Iranian and Hezbollah officials in early 2024. The current operation, involving B-2 bombers and naval strikes, dwarfs the June 2025 strikes on Fordow and Natanz, which already set Iran’s […]

newlinesmag.com

NEW: The strikes on Iran will wound the leadership of the Islamic republic, but regime change requires a counterforce that the U.S. and Israel simply do not have, writes @hhassan.bsky.social . newlinesmag.com/running-note...

Iran Strikes Back at the Gulf as the US Pursues a Regime Change It Cannot Force

The new round of attacks on Iran by the United States embodies a paradox. It is the highest-stakes campaign at least since Israel’s targeting of high-level Iranian and Hezbollah officials in early 202...

newlinesmag.com

Syria’s president is poised to cede authority over a handful of government portfolios, reinstating the previously abolished prime minister position and integrating minority figures into key Cabinet roles, reports @hhassan.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/running-note... .

We’re expanding at New Lines magazine. Today we're rolling out a new section focused on short, timely news analysis & reporting. This is to bridge a gap between our award-winning longform essays and daily headlines. Check out our 5 inaugural pieces of "Running Notes": newlinesmag.com/running-notes/

Please read this wonderful article on the historical lessons of the French Resistance @diane2v.bsky.social

New Lines Magazine@newlinesmag.bsky.social · 6mo ago

"From Paris, it is tempting to read the events unfolding in Minneapolis as history repeating itself. That temptation should be resisted. This is not occupied France. ... But history does not need to repeat itself to remain instructive."

"Protests against ICE raids have spread far beyond Minnesota, with demonstrations reported in hundreds of towns and cities. These actions might not stop deportations in Minneapolis, but they do something else that historians recognize as vital: tell those resisting on the ground that they are seen."

Diane de Vignemont@diane2v.bsky.social · 6mo ago

In Minneapolis, the sounds of ICE Watch whistles echo the church bells that guided Resistance in occupied France. In my latest for @newlinesmag.bsky.social, I spoke to Minnesotans & WWII historians to explore the lessons of such parallels for the Minneapolis uprising newlinesmag.com/essays/minne...

What cities around the world have really interesting, dynamic intellectual “scenes”? Want to tell the story/paint a portrait of such a “scene” — especially in the Global South — for @newlinesmag.bsky.social’s Global Thought series? Pitch me: dpostel@newlinesmag.com newlinesmag.com/topic/global...

Global Thought Archives

newlinesmag.com

Lots of interesting and wholesome developments in this thread.

Hassan Hassan@hhassan.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Important, granular reporting on the underground world of abortion care in the US - by Sabrina Das, an obstetrician, gynecologist & abortion surgeon in London, and a fellow at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health in New York. Tidbits in the next posts. newlinesmag.com/reportage/in...

@hhassan.bsky.social This is an excellent article, and gives just a bit of hope which is even better.

Hassan Hassan@hhassan.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Important, granular reporting on the underground world of abortion care in the US - by Sabrina Das, an obstetrician, gynecologist & abortion surgeon in London, and a fellow at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health in New York. Tidbits in the next posts. newlinesmag.com/reportage/in...

Important, granular reporting on the underground world of abortion care in the US - by Sabrina Das, an obstetrician, gynecologist & abortion surgeon in London, and a fellow at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health in New York. Tidbits in the next posts. newlinesmag.com/reportage/in...

In Post-Roe America, Abortion Care Is Being Reborn From the Ground Up

A British doctor finds fear and legal chaos being transformed into a new, decentralized model of reproductive freedom

newlinesmag.com

exemplary reporting here by @lisang.bsky.social, deeply informed and informative — a really fascinating read, looking at the injustices of Palestinian life and Israeli economics from very different angles than we usually see them newlinesmag.com/reportage/wh...

While Israel’s Construction Industry Falters, Apartments Are Springing up Around Ramallah

Revoking the permits of 160,000 Palestinian workers has meant chaos for building projects and has all but destroyed the economy of the West Bank — though for some, it is a desirable place to own prope...

newlinesmag.com

"This was not the first time I’d interviewed a displaced, dispossessed person who was tacitly asking me to recognize their humanity. It never got easier." from @lisang.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/reportage/wh...

While Israel’s Construction Industry Falters, Apartments Are Springing up Around Ramallah

Revoking the permits of 160,000 Palestinian workers has meant chaos for building projects and has all but destroyed the economy of the West Bank — though for some, it is a desirable place to own prope...

newlinesmag.com

Sweden was a paradise of social equality and liberal values for a long time, but the contemporary reality is quite different. Now, far right politics & oligarchs dominate the discourse and the "centrist" gov't wants to pay migrants to leave. newlinesmag.com/reportage/th...

“If the older versions of a crisis among men were stoked by fears that they were growing soft, today’s debate is supercharged by anxieties that they are not just falling behind but disappearing.” Wonderfully nuanced, thoughtful review-essay on recent books and series about the plight of young men ⤵️

New Lines Magazine@newlinesmag.bsky.social · 7mo ago

NEW: From “Adolescence” to Scott Galloway’s “Notes on Being a Man,” it’s clear that something is up with boys and young men. But we’re not sure precisely whose fault it is — or why it’s even happening, writes @paulzak.bsky.social for @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/argument/the...

“The anger and grief that had sustained the rebellion did not vanish with the fall of city after city.” The energy of past revolts against the Assads now shapes the new Syrian regime’s resilience and paranoia, writes @hhassan.bsky.social in @newlinesmag.bsky.social

Syria’s New Order Is Not As Fragile As It Seems

The country’s new leaders are heirs to an insurgent energy that goes back decades, making them both resilient and paranoid

newlinesmag.com

Elon Musk's chainsaw-wielding on stage was performative, but DOGE left very real destruction in its wake. @sashaabramsky.bsky.social has a new book on that destruction and its aftermath. I look forward to discussing it with him in Chicago on February 7. Join us! www.eventbrite.com/e/american-c...

“This is where revolutionary anxiety comes in. For the people who see themselves as having finally won after 14 years of war and decades of humiliation before that, the victory is not just political, it is existential.” Insightful essay by my @newlinesmag.bsky.social colleague @hhassan.bsky.social ⤵️

New Lines Magazine@newlinesmag.bsky.social · 8mo ago

“The anger and grief that had sustained the rebellion did not vanish with the fall of city after city.” The energy of previous revolts against the Assads now shapes the new regime’s resilience and paranoia, writes @hhassan.bsky.social in @newlinesmag.bsky.social