The First Frame

Reconstructing a week in October.

The Rooms

I don’t speak Arabic to my son, and can't fully defend the choice.

What Peace Asks of Us

A reflection on The Future is Peace: A Shared Journey Across the Holy Land by Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon.

Three Houses on Oakdale Street

How one street—built across three eras—reveals the mechanics of inequality and climate adaptation.

The Politics of Interpretation

I felt pride when Mamdani won. I disagree with most of his policies. Why?

Reading the Future in Someone Else's Past

Reflections on Returning: A Search for Home Across Three Centuries by Nicholas Lemann.

The Weapon That Doesn’t Stop

Cluster munitions don't discriminate by design. The states that matter most still use them.

Who Counts as Innocent

I dismissed the claim that some don’t see Israelis as civilians. I was wrong.

Who Gets to Be Egyptian?

A personal and historical essay on how Egyptian identity was built, narrowed, and enforced.

Dual Disappointment

Why the same war produces incompatible meanings.

That Texani Piece was AI

Do I use AI to write? Yes. Here’s how.

Theatre and the Muslim Imagination

I've been sitting in the same theatre for years, never hearing “Salam.” So I went looking.