John Zada’s new book about how the news skews our perceptions and disorients society.
The Life and Work of Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldun, a 14th century Arab historian, wrote that most understanding of politics and history is a result of bias, whereas more permanent and accurate laws lie beyond that.
Coronavirus, War, Or…?
Many are wondering whether the global COVID-19 crisis is the harbinger of greater global cooperation or a confirmation of our more ‘selfish selves.’
Black Box Thinking
The great British economist John Maynard Keynes is reputed to have once quipped to someone, “When my information changes, I alter my conclusions. What do you do, sir?” In his …
The People vs. Tech
POWER cuts can have their advantages. Recently, when the electricity to my house failed for a few hours, I had a respite from being ‘plugged in’ to the digital world. …
Sir John Glubb and the Fate of Empires
Sir John Bagot Glubb was a soldier, a white guy, and – in some ways, having created the Arab Legion in Jordan – a colonialist. These days, that’s three strikes …
The Righteous Mind
We are without doubt living in an era of polarised thinking, marked by much bickering across social and political lines. Although the tendency for humans to sort themselves along ideological …
Jihadi Culture
THIS book is a collection of studies about the cultural practices of jihadis and poses the important question of why these fighters spend so much time on rituals, music, films, …
The Great Attention Heist
The Los Angeles Review of Books (LARB) is running a piece co-written by CG founders John Zada & John Bell on Tim Wu’s book The Attention Merchants. To give and receive …
Beyond Culture
If one is working on a project with Israelis and Palestinians, and an email is sent to ten colleagues from each side, nine out of 10 Israelis will rapidly answer, …