Politics

Esquire Politics

Devin Nunes’s Family Farm Is Hiding a Politically Explosive Secret

Devin Nunes is amongst President Trump’s most enthusiastic cheerleaders in Congress, so his family running a large scale dairy in Iowa employing undocumented workers would be politically inconvenient. The investigative aspect of the story is gripping – featuring uncomfortable interactions with Nunes family members, chance meetings in the local cafe, sit downs with the mayor and the priest, and being followed around town by mysterious white SUVs. Of even greater value perhaps are the nuanced portraits of Iowans carefully balancing politics, faith, immigration, the global economy, personal finances, and human relationships.

Politics The Guardian

This guy doesn’t know anything: the inside story of Trump’s shambolic transition team

Michael Lewis (Moneyball, Flash Boys, The Big Short) on Trump’s transition is exactly what you’d expect – a tragicomedy. In amongst the tales of alarming incompetence, the piece features such glorious anecdotes as Trump declaring his enjoyment of The Bangles’ “Walk Like an Egyptian” to Egypt’s President, the first head of state to congratulate him on his election victory.

Politics The Atlantic

A Warning From Europe: The Worst Is Yet to Come

A story about political polarisation in Poland and the warning signs for liberal democracy everywhere. The author of the piece, Ann Applebaum, is in a unique position to write the story, with Polish and American nationality, a celebrated career writing about the former Soviet Union, and a husband who was formerly Poland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Politics The Intercept

Erik Prince In The Hotseat

Fans of the recent arms dealing escapades of Hugh Laurie in The Night Manager may enjoy this profile covering the latest shenanigans of Eric Prince, a man who is described in his Wikipedia as a philanthropist, but elsewhere has been called a neo-colonialist mercenary.

Politics The London Review of Books

Big Man Walking

“Not many people change the world. Fewer still are thanked for it.” – Neal Ascherson reviews a biography of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, who joined that small group when he helped to bring about its end.

Politics The Financial Times

Lunch with the FT: Nigel Farage

Nigel Farage manages to consume over 17 units of alcohol in a single lunch over the course of this interview. The encounter takes on an increasingly surreal character, punctuated as it is with outlandish pronouncements – “This is what they tell me – these people who come in and want jobs. I should feminise.”

Politics The New York Times

Kidnapped Royalty Become Pawns in Iran’s Deadly Plot

This piece kicks off with an evocative depiction of the scene typically found at the V.I.P. terminal of Baghdad International Airport. It was there where in April 2017 a group of Qataris were held on arrival when their luggage was found to contain $360 million in cash. Their presence was linked to a royal hunting trip turned kidnapping that would significantly affect the Middle East’s geopolitics.