Donald Trump’s presidency is well underway, but many observers are still trying to understand how he won the office in the first place. Plenty of explanations are circulating, from Hillary Clinton’s weaknesses as a candidate to pervasive sexism and class disenfranchisement in the Rust Belt. But whatever the truth, those who worked tirelessly on behalf […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
How an ancient Egyptian god spurred the rise of Trump
From travel bans to alternative facts: the dangerous descent into irrationality
Donald Trump has signed a new executive order preventing citizens of six Muslim-majority countries from entering the US for the next 90 days. The decree covers Syria, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen, but it will not apply to visa holders or dual citizens. Refugees will be denied entry to the country for a period […] … learn more→
Africa has a long history of fake news after years of living with non-truth
US President Donald Trump’s election and his disdain for the mainstream media has been seen by some as the triumph of post-truth politics. Post-truth politics is a culture in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief. Not only is Trump deliberately picking wars with America’s […] … learn more→
Kurt Gödel: from loopholes and dictators to the incompleteness theorems
The recent events surrounding Donald Trump’s first few weeks in the White House have left many wondering how a political outsider can become president of the United States. Does Trump’s rapid rise to the presidency mark a change in how election campaigns will be conducted? Is it possible to have a president who does not […] … learn more→
India has been a post-truth society for years (and maybe the West has too)
Major social change does not happen within the space of a year. Yet, to a large number of observers around the world, the “post-truth” phenomenon seemed to emerge from nowhere in 2016. Two key events of 2016 shaped our understanding of the post-truth world: one was in June, when Britain voted in favour of leaving […] … learn more→
Trumpus Andronicus? What the Byzantine Empire can tell us about the rise of populist leaders
The approaching Donald Trump presidency has taken quite a battering from historians. Comparisons have abounded with the 20th century’s greatest villains, including Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, even if some have questioned how useful such parallels are. But there is an era that lends itself rather closer to comparison than the tired fascist comparison. And […] … learn more→
