Andrew Varsanyi

This week – Articles for the Week of 2025-05-20

Each week I share the articles and essays that I found most interesting, annoying, challenging, or important. Hope that you check them out too.

• A somewhat frustrating take, but one I generally agree with. Rural voters have good reasons to feel screwed by the existing order, particularly on trade.[Trump’s rural voters know what they’re doing. Sneering only widens the divide] by [Nicholas F. Jacobs] in [UnHerd] at [https://unherd.com/2025/05/trumps-rural-voters-know-what-theyre-doing/]
• [Opinion | The Enduring Fantasy of Porn’s Harmlessness – The New York Times] by [Christine Emba] in [New York Times] at [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/opinion/pornography-harm-society.html]
• One of the most over-hyped storylines right now in my view. The idea that all technocrats are automatically anti-populists misses a lot. [The Techno-Populist Convergence] by [Alex Hochuli] in [compactmag.com] at [https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-techno-populist-convergence/]
• Democrats fucked up. We get it. [Book Review: ‘Original Sin,’ by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson] by [Jennifer Szalai] in [New York Times] at [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/books/review/originial-sin-jake-tapper-alex-thompson.html]
• The focus of Democrats has to be stories like this. Trump’s not a populist, his policies are screwing the people who support him most. [Angry Trump Kills “Woke” Program—and Accidentally Screws MAGA Voters] by [Greg Sargent] in [The New Republic] at [https://newrepublic.com/article/195097/angry-trump-kills-woke-program-and-accidentally-screws-maga-voters]
• [Incoherent Heroism] by [Michael Kazin] in [Dissent Magazine] at [https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/incoherent-heroism/]
• [Astroturfing MAGA] by [Park MacDougald] in [Tablet Magazine] at [https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/astroturfing-maga]
• This article and the next one are important. Kurds deserve autonomy and a proper homeland, relations with Syria and Turkey are key to making that happen. [Kurdish P.K.K. Says It Will End Conflict with Turkish State – The New York Times] by [Ben Hubbard] in [New York Times] at [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/world/europe/kurdish-pkk-turkey.html]
• [After a Century, the Question of the Kurds’ Place in Syria Remains Unresolved] by [Sami Moubayed] in [New Lines Magazine] at [https://newlinesmag.com/essays/after-a-century-the-question-of-the-kurds-place-in-syria-remains-unresolved/]
• [Bret Baier on How He Interviews Donald Trump] by [Dasha Burns] in [POLITICO] at [https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/05/11/bret-baier-donald-trump-media-00339882]
• [What Is This Nation?] by [Boston Review] in [Boston Review] at [https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/what-is-this-nation/]