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Portside aims to provide material of interest to people on the left that will help them to interpret the world and to change it.

Sunday Science: How Microbes Got Their Crawl

Carl Zimmer The New York Times
In the oceans and on land, scientists are discovering rare, transitional organisms that bridge the gap between Earth’s simplest cells and today’s complex ones.

Trump’s Intervention in Iran Will Be a Disaster

Vivek Chibber, Melissa Naschek Convergence
Iranians have been trying to complete their democratic revolution for over a century. Every time the US gets involved, it sets that project back by decades.

Philanthropy for Radicals

Claire Dunning Dissent Magazine
The Garland Fund was not a typical foundation, but its history shows the potential role philanthropy can play in moments of rising authoritarianism—and the tensions inherent in that role.

Kent Wong: Educator, Organizer, Visionary 1956–2025

Gregory Mantsios New Labor Forum
Kent Wong’s life and work constitute a legacy of vision and integrity. He built bridges—between labor and the academy, immigrant and native-born workers, nations long divided by ideology. He challenged labor to live up to its ideals of solidarity.

A Coup Is Coming. Only the Socialist Left Can Stop It.

Sam Lewis Convergence
MAGA is clear about its intent to attempt a coup, centrist forces at the heart of the Democratic Party will be unable to resist it. We need a movement led by the socialist left and a presidential candidate like AOC to resist the coup.

How To Organize Safely in the Age of Surveillance

Andy Greenberg, Lily Hay Newman Wired
From threat modeling to encrypted collaboration apps, we’ve collected experts’ tips and tools for safely and effectively building a group—even while being targeted and tracked by the powerful.
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