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picture alliance / Photoshot

Democracy and society

The quiet power of protest songs

When a song keeps us awake at night or forces us to question our own comfort, that is already a form of political work

By Georgiana Banita

picture alliance / empics | Christopher Katsarov

Work and digitalisation

Laughter as an antidote to despair

The brutal reality of ICE spurs political resistance in the US — including online. Memes like #iceonice have become a form of empowerment

By Hanna Kirchberger

picture alliance / Jonathan Banks/Microsoft/Cover Images

Work and digitalisation

The big tech playbook

By framing digital sovereignty around regulation and political autonomy, big tech has deflected attention from deeper critiques of its systemic power

By Leevi Saari

picture alliance / NurPhoto | Neil Constantine

Democracy and society

New York’s new mayor is changing the game

The Democratic Party has a brand problem. But Mamdani brings back a spark of hope that there is still time until next year’s midterms to message-test

By Marlies Murray

picture alliance / Sipa USA | Paul Weaver

Democracy and society

Are MAGA voters rational?

In Trump’s America, voting isn’t always about economic self-interest. Culture and ideology often outweigh dollars and cents

By Jeffrey Frankel

picture alliance / Reuters | Kylie Cooper

Democracy and society

Reflections of a movement, not the nation

Zohran Mamdani’s rise in the New York City mayoral race has sparked rare anti-Muslim rhetoric in mainstream politics

By Kourosh Ziabari

picture alliance / Reuters | Ken Cedeno

Democracy and society

Democracy at auction

When governments start selling rights and privileges, democracy ceases to be a contract among citizens and becomes a marketplace for power

By Katharina Pistor

picture alliance / REUTERS | Kevin Lamarque

Interviews

'Trump seems visibly overwhelmed'

Reinhard Krumm, from the US, on Trump’s Russia ultimatum, his supposed closeness to Putin, and the response from the Republican camp

picture alliance / AP | Mariam Zuhaib

Economy and ecology

Trump has wrecked the US economy

Less than six months into his second term, a good economy that Donald Trump turned bad is about to get much worse

By Laura Tyson, Lenny Mendonca

picture-alliance/ dpa | Justin_Lane

Future of social democracy

Restoring lost livelihoods is essential for saving democracy

Trump owes his electoral success to workers without college degrees who feel betrayed by the system. The onset of AI will make this problem much larger

By Mordecai Kurz