When Everything Looks Fake, Nothing Feels Real
AI is everywhere right now. Videos, images, voices. Things that look real but aren’t, and most of the time the reaction is the same: “That’s not real.” We say it quickly now, almost automatically. And…
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Tommy Tuberville Warns of Jihad Threats—What It Looks Like in Alabama
Tommy Tuberville has been sounding the alarm about jihadist threats in America. He’s warning about enemies inside the gates. He’s calling it an urgent national security issue. And on that point, he’s right. Radical Islamist…
How Title IX Became a Legal Ping-Pong Match in American Schools
If you have been reading An Americanist for any length of time, you have probably noticed a category called The XX Files. That is where I tend to file stories about women’s sports, women’s spaces,…
The Iran Strike Videos Look Like a Video Game. But War Has Always Been Packaged.
Why the “Video Game War” Debate Is Happening The internet has been arguing over a series of stylized videos about the recent strikes on Iran. The clips look more like animated presentations than traditional military…
An Americanist Side-Eye: From Mueller Footnotes to White House Gold Bars
Another week, another batch of headlines that make you stop mid-scroll and mutter, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” From corrections to the infamous Mueller report footnotes, to New York City spending billions on hotel…
If Drones Target California, They Target the United States
Warnings about potential drone threats against California may only be precautionary, but they remind Americans of something important: even a state whose politics drive the rest of the country crazy is still part of the…
Male Inmates in Women’s Prisons: Why Female Prisoners Are Being Put at Risk
A convicted child sex offender who identifies as a woman is currently serving a 40-year sentence inside a women’s prison in Maine, a situation that highlights a policy many Americans have been warning about for…
RFK Jr. Advisers Back Off a Fight Over COVID Vaccines
When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took over at Health and Human Services, many people expected fireworks around COVID vaccine policy. Kennedy built much of his reputation questioning how the government handled vaccines during the pandemic.…
Kristi Noem Out at DHS. Markwayne Mullin Is Not an Upgrade
When Donald Trump picked Kristi Noem to run the Department of Homeland Security, I will admit I had my doubts. DHS is not a ceremonial post. It is one of the largest and most complicated…
Does America’s Leadership Depend on Everyone Liking Us?
I recently read a column in The Hill arguing that America is losing its global influence because other countries supposedly don’t like us anymore. The argument leaned heavily on phrases like soft power, moral authority,…