SOCIAL
MOVEMENTS
The Rebels of Lago Maggiore: Ticino, Switzerland
What is it about Lago Maggiore—this lake, these mountains, this air, this space between the Germanic and Latin worlds—that attracts rebels? In 1868, Carlo Cafiero, Italian leader of the International Workingmen's Association and comrade of Friedrich Engels, first met...
May Day in Milan. Bella Ciao!
Milan has long been the center of finance, fashion, and Ferraris. It is also both the birthplace of Italian fascism and a center of anti-fascist resistance. On April 29, 2026, 107 years after Mussolini formed his fascist party in Milan and anti-fascist...
Punta Arenas, Chile: Hope Lies in the Long View
From the Río Bravo to the Straits of Magellan, the Great Cemi, riding high astride a condor, has scattered the seeds of the new América across the romantic nations of the continent and the suffering islands of the sea! José Martí, Nuestra América The Straits of...
Seeing Peru through Prisms, in the Winter of ’26
It is our duty not to ignore our national reality, but we also have a duty not to ignore the global reality. José Mariátegui In Lima, the temperature in January is a delightful mid-70s—yet I felt woozy by midday, and drenched in sweat. It rarely rains, yet...
Is Colombia Safe? The Ethical Traveler Expands the Question
Is Colombia safe? Safety is the most common question on travel sites for Colombia. People exchange information about carrying phones, using taxis, riding the metro, traveling on this country road, or vacationing on that Caribbean beach. Men discuss how to...
Beauties and Beasts: A Month in the United States, 2025.
After two years of global travel, we now know how beautiful the world is. As bicycle travelers, we knew the land we call the United States is as stunning as the rest. We forgot just how lovely the US Northland is in the fall. I do not remember a year when red...
To the Accra Palace: An unexpected trip to Transnational London.
I have a different idea of a universal. It is a universal rich with all that is particular. Aime Cesaire, Discourse on Colonialism While it's obviously true that aristocratic privilege and whiteness are among the basic assumptions of British ruling class...
Surprises in Belgrade, Serbia
Our plane from Rome to Belgrade, Serbia,, was three hours late. The Serbian government had shut down its airport to rehearse for its upcoming military parade. Despite the ominous delay, I enjoyed the flight. It was a cloudless day. We saw the contours of both Italian...
Bosnia and Herzegovina: “The Power Lies with the People.”
Multicultural Sarajevo A melodic chant drowned the raucous sounds of Old Town in Sarajevo. We sat in black wooden chairs facing the chancel in the Serbian Orthodox Museum. A couple crossed themselves in front of holy images. Two women—young, English-speaking,...
Sister Strangers: Japan
Our place in Ibaraki, Japan, was dark, cluttered, cheap—and three blocks away from the Sōjiji Temple. There are 80,000 Buddhist Temples in Japan. Sojiji must be the prettiest, kindest, most sanguine, and welcoming. We made it ours, coming every morning to...