At the Bargaining Table with Dark Brandon

Frustrated exhaustion is an unfortunate mental state to be in while trying to make decisions as a voter. One candidate has promised to “improve” upon his previous four-year disaster by becoming a dictator, so it seems like this November will be yet another exercise in harm prevention that feels antithetical to what meaningful political involvement […]

The Politics of Time

If you traveled back in time to August 14, 1935, and told someone that in our era, Social Security is one of the most important government programs and protecting it is a priority for both political parties, they probably would have been shocked and not believed you. Even though President Franklin D. Roosevelt had just […]

The Nursery

Kudzu is a fast-growing, invasive species of vine predominantly from the South. It’s known for overtaking buildings, forests, and fields, and is notoriously impossible to kill.  In the breadbasket Cradle, The Kudzu grows like any other crop. A fruit of nature’s labor—-mining long past, Here to lay in a bed of vine; “Come,” beckons the […]

A Tribute to Cairo, Illinois History

Cairo, Illinois, has gained widespread media attention for being an abandoned ghost town at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers—and perhaps more startlingly, it is known as the city whose intense racial violence killed it. Featured in Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, Cairo has a less-than-stellar history […]

The Far-Right’s Secret Weapon: Conservative Policy Group

There is an inherently skeptical view of American politics and the American government that it’s all just a big ploy. That they’re pulling one over on us. That stern-looking old men sitting around a table in the back of some DC cigar club and talking in low voices make the real decisions in this country. […]

The Effects of Media on Young Voters

The term “doom scroll” has become a buzzword among our generation. Merriam Webster defines it as “spending excessive time online scrolling through new or other content that makes one feel sad, anxious, angry, etc.” This usually takes place on platforms like TikTok or Instagram where memes, reviews, and rants fuel our hours of mindless scrolling. […]

Project 2025: The Right’s Religious Revival

It’s Sunday morning. The church bells ring loudly, and people flock to their seats. Pews of congregants eagerly listen to the sermon. They know the drill: they’re here every single week. But where is everyone else? With unfilled seats and generations of Americans skipping religious services, religious attendance is at an all-time low.   Religion in […]