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Dissident Spotlight: Kudakwashe Bwititi
Kudakwashe Bwititi wrote the script for a movie about a clash between religious fundamentalists. He and three co-workers were arrested for it.
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Christopher Gerlacher
How to Tell Which Forecasters to Take Serously
Forecasting is a tricky business, and there are a few ways to tell which people are worth paying attention to and which are noisy pundits.
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Christopher Gerlacher
Dissident Spotlight: Étienne Fakaba Sissoko
Étienne Sissoko was sentenced to two years in prison for writing a book that described Mali’s military junta’s use of propaganda.
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Christopher Gerlacher
How to Productively Challenge What Others Think
Christopher Hitchens imparted a lot of wisdom in how to be a contrarian without falling for any conspiracy you cross paths with.
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Christopher Gerlacher
Dissident Spotlight: Ngo Oanh Phuong
Ngo Phuong criticized one of Vietnam's largest companies and has faced ongoing arrests and harassment for it.
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Christopher Gerlacher
How to Predict Unpredictable Events
Expanding your view of what could go wrong will prepare you for new emergencies, but trying to guess the next specific disaster is a fool’s errand.
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Christopher Gerlacher

April 2025

Dissident Spotlight: Anabel Hernández
Anabel Hernández has drawn the ire of Mexico's president over reporting on the ruling political party's ties to the cartels.
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Christopher Gerlacher
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How the South Reinstated Slavery After the Civil War
Slavery didn't end when the Union won the Civil War. It ended when federal law was clarified and enforced in the early to mid-1900s.
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Christopher Gerlacher
Dissident Spotlight: Mohamed Tadjadit
Mohamed Tadjadit is a poet who was sentenced to five years in prison for his outspoken opposition to Algeria's oppressive regime.
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Christopher Gerlacher
How to Tell Real Skepticism from Lunacy
Skeptics make sure their beliefs are well-supported. That means embracing doubt instead of claiming to be without out.
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Christopher Gerlacher
Dissident Spotlight: Alaa Abd El-Fattah
Alaa Abd El-Fattah is an Egyptian dissident who has been imprisoned by multiple government regimes.
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Christopher Gerlacher
An Exploration of Hope, Death, and Sanity
Dostoyevsky's The Idiot brings some of the most interesting existential conversations to life.
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Christopher Gerlacher
Dissident Spotlight: Chow Hang-tung
Chow Hang-tung is a lawyer who has represented herself in court against the Hong Kong government, which China's oppressive regime has taken over.
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Christopher Gerlacher
What Makes Even Experts Make Poor Judgments
Noise is the kind of information that diverts people from making their best decisions. It can also be harder to fix than bias.
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Christopher Gerlacher
Dissident Spotlight: Lolagul Kallykhanova
Lolagul Kallykhanova is a journalist from Uzbekistan who disappeared after covering the government's attempt to prevent an independence referendum.
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Christopher Gerlacher

March 2025

Here are Some Concrete Ways to Think More Clearly
Philosopher Daniel Dennett has practical and concrete examples for thinking more clearly and catching bad arguments in real time.
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Christopher Gerlacher
Dissident Spotlight: Myo Tayzar Maung
Myo Tayzar Maung spent two years in prison for posting content on his Facebook page that “is likely to cause fear or alarm in the public.”
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Christopher Gerlacher
How Women Quietly Power the White Nationalist Movement
Women play a crucial role in the white nationalist movement. One journalist embedded with them to learn how they were recruited and how one woman…
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Christopher Gerlacher
Dissident Spotlight: Ahmed Mansoor
Ahmed Mansoor has been in and out of prison in the UAE since 2011, when he was first arrested for a blog critical of the country's human rights…
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Christopher Gerlacher
Are You a Bittersweet Person? How to Know If You See the World This Way
Susan Cain's book, Bittersweet, explores a sensitive personality type that finds great beauty in deep sadness.
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Christopher Gerlacher
Dissident Spotlight: Jose Bello
Jose Bello was re-arrested by ICE after reciting a poem criticizing the agency. Bello sued ICE and an appeals court sided with his right to bring the…
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Christopher Gerlacher
America Isn't Headed Towards a Civil War. Here's How That Could Change.
It takes more than political polarization to spark a civil war. Barbara Walter explains what makes a civil wars likely across cultures.
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Christopher Gerlacher
Dissident Spotlight: Christopher Alfaro
Christopher Alfaro wrote a book describing how a politician illegally made his fortune. Alfaro was sentenced to two years in prison for publishing it.
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Christopher Gerlacher
What the Story of Bitcoin Tells us About Politicians Today
Even after moving into the mainstream, some of the same politics behind Bitcoin's founding motivate its supporters today.
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Christopher Gerlacher
© 2025 Christopher Gerlacher
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