Portside

In Burning Country, journalist Robin Yassin-Kassab and human rights activist Leila Al-Shami make plain that no matter how long the Syrian war rages or how distant a political settlement may appear, the world owes it to the Syrian people to hear their stories and support their cause. The book portrays the opposition as a movement of protest against Bashar al-Assad's brutal regime, something missed abroad amid the factionalism and power politics driving the conflict.

The Noise of Time, the new novel by Julian Barnes, is a fictionalized portrait of Dmitri Shostakovich, perhaps the most famous Russian composer of the Soviet era. Leslie Rieder, in this review, gives us a peek into the "utterly fascinating" tale Barnes has woven.

The LDF, which comprises the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Communist Party of India and nine other allied parties, gained over 20 extra seats over the 2011 election results in Kerala defeating the Congress Party and the ultra-right BJP. This was a victory to celebrate even though the Left Front continued to lose ground in West Bengal.

It’s been five years since self-styled education reformer Michelle Rhee left her job as head of the District of Columbia Public Schools under a cloud of bitterness and controversy, but she is still throwing shade over the Washington city school system.

A Sanders win in California would turbocharge the mounting Democratic unease about her viability.

The term “race riot” does not adequately describe the events of May 31—June 1, 1921 in Greenwood, a black neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. On the 96th anniversary, it is worth remembering the legacy of Tulsa.

Columnists and magazines that a month ago were saying #NeverTrump are now vibrating with the frisson of his audacity.

It's easy to find stories about politicians and pundits who want Bernie Sanders to drop out of the Democratic presidential race. One place that the pressure is not coming from: Democratic voters. By huge margins, they want him to stay in.

It begins with a short sequence in Sri Lanka: the civil war is over, the Liberation Tigers are burning their dead comrades’ bodies and swapping fatigues for civilian clothes to try and melt into the general population. In a refugee camp, a young woman is looking for unaccompanied children to be part of a hastily thrown together fake family, to help one such fighter get clear of the battle zone and into Europe.

Bye 339 Lafayette; Willmore transgresses; Family Values clash with justice; Neoliberalism devours higher ed; Korean gem at Cannes