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Articles by Ben Jacobs
The tiny islands that could change the world
Global power is in flux. Your daily guide to what comes next. By BEN JACOBS Supporters and members of the British Indian Ocean territory Chagos Archipelago hold placards and the territory’s flag outside the Houses of Parliament in London on Jan. 7, 2026, to protest against a proposed plan by the British government to hand over the islands to Mauritius.
The best, worst, and just plain dumb of American politics in 2022
In 2022, the world population crossed 8 billion people — and we felt the scale of this monumental milestone in hundreds of ways. After over two years of lockdowns and quarantines, people eagerly restarted their lives, but there were certainly growing pains. Weddings and travel skyrocketed, but so did lost luggage and global inflation rates. Taylor Swift broke Ticketmaster. Cryptocurrency was headed toward a great year until it really, really wasn’t.
Can we predict MS?
COI: Ben is a researcher working on the ADAMS study - https://app.mantal.co.uk/adams - a genetics study aiming to understand how genes influence MS risk across different ancestral backgrounds. Preventing Multiple Sclerosis is the long-term goal for our research group and for many other researchers worldwide. It is also a key research priority for many people with MS.
Making MS genetics more representative
Although no one understands exactly why some people get MS, it is clear that both your genetics and your environment play a role. There is no such thing as a single gene that causes MS - if this existed, this large study from 2005 would have probably found it. Instead, changes in hundreds or maybe even thousands of genes are likely to incrementally affect your susceptibility to MS, each by an individually-small amount.
Bonus 19: Samson on Trial
A layman's guide to a 150 years of research into the history presented in the Bible. I explore the religion of ancient Israel, the beginnings of Christianity, then finally the evolution of the heirs of Abraham to the year 200. I discuss every single book in every Bible (there are more than you think!). Lightly garnished with a dash of drollery, a soupcon of scrutiny, and not one ounce of objectivity. Not one ounce!
Ethnicity and multiple sclerosis - moving beyond preconceptions
Abstract Historically, Multiple Sclerosis (MS) was thought to be substantially more common in individuals from European ancestral backgrounds. Recent studies have challenged this preconception, with a concerning increase in incidence among Black British and African American individuals.
The Neanderthal Controversy Signals the Return of Derp
The flap over Biden comparing governors to Neanderthals takes us back to an earlier era of stupidity in American politics President Joe Biden speaks during a virtual call in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images Out of the foggy mists of time, Neanderthals emerged this week. With them came the dim outlines of a world far distant from the present: the world of 2012. Suddenly, it is the era of derp again.
All Your Most Paranoid Impeachment Questions, Answered. Again.
Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images The second impeachment trial of Donald Trump presents a series of unusual constitutional questions. There is little argument about the facts of the case: Donald Trump repeatedly tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election and then, on January 6, 2021, egged on a crowd that would later storm the Capitol, terrorize lawmakers, damage historic property, and kill a policeman. Instead, the debate and Trump’s likely defense have pivoted on questions of law.
Donald Trump Is Now the Only President Impeached Twice
Donald Trump returns to the White House residence on January 12, 2021 in Washington, D.C. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images Donald Trump on Wednesday became the first person in American history to be impeached twice. By a vote of 232 to 197, Trump was once again branded with the political mark of Cain by the House of Representatives. Unlike the 2020 impeachment, the 2021 vote did not divide neatly on party lines.
Breaking Down 16 Hours of Total Chaos in Washington, D.C.
The day started with a rally. It ended with death, destruction, and the agonizing certification of the 2020 election. The longest, ugliest presidential election in modern American history reached its formal conclusion with a joint session to formally certify the presidential election on January 6. It didn’t end until 3:39 a.m.on January 7, after a mob invaded the Capitol building and delayed proceedings for hours.
Brand Trump Is Officially Dead
The thing about an attempted coup is, it tends to make people not want to do business with you.
Amid Chants of “Murder The Media”, These Photographers Rushed In
Let’s take a moment to celebrate the photojournalists who risked their lives to document the Capitol breach Photo by Cameron Smith on Unsplash Yesterday’s events — the breach of the United States Capitol by a mob of armed insurgents — really pissed me off. For one thing, I love America.
Tyrants often turn on their own people: it’s time to remove Trump from office
Photo by Steve Halama on Unsplash Tyrants very rarely leave power voluntarily. In almost every case they’ve committed so many crimes in the process of acquiring and holding power, and exploiting that power to enrich themselves, their friends and allies, that they know if they step down they will be facing, at the very least, a long stretch in prison. This is why it’s so vital that Donald Trump be removed from power immediately.
What’s Happening in America
Like most people, I don’t have a lot of power, although I do have a good job and the good health care that comes with it, necessities denied to so many of my fellow Americans. I’m a writer, though not an especially good one, and when things get bad I either curl up in a ball and cry or open up a laptop and start typing, because I often don’t know what else to do. Yesterday, we watched on our phones and TVs while a pack of Nazis and enabled fools stormed the Capitol.
Is It Time to Invoke the 25th Amendment Against Trump?
The invasion of the U.S. Capitol has revived the question, and from some unexpected sources Donald Trump speaks at the “Stop The Steal” rally on January 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C. Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images So this is what it takes to make all the resistance fantasies come true. With 14 days left in his term there are starting to be real rumblings about the 25th Amendment being invoked to remove Trump from office.
All Your Paranoid Questions About the Electoral College Certification, Answered
By Ben Jacobs January 6 is going to be unprecedented, but Biden will still become president. Vice President Mike Pence attends a rally in support of Sen. David Perdue and Sen. Kelly Loeffler. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images Donald Trump's refusal to concede defeat in the presidential election has made the ceremonial counting of electoral votes by Congress...
Your Most Paranoid Questions About Trump’s Pardons, Answered
YOUR PARANOID QUESTIONS Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in 2016. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images With weeks to go before Joe Biden enters the Oval Office, speculation is running rampant around whom President Trump will decide to pardon. Trump has several family members and allies under investigation, and the list of names ranges from Jared Kushner to Rudy Giuliani to the president himself.
The Rise of the Class-Conscious Cinderella
With ‘The Crown’ we have a story about a young woman battling depraved aristocrats — and a chance to investigate our relation to power in the Trump era “The Crown.” Photo: Des Willie/Netflix There’s a scene, early in The Crown’s wildly popular fourth season, where Princess Diana meets her royal in-laws. She’s barely out of her teens, and suffers from profound insecurity and anxiety; until she met Prince Charles, she was working as a part-time kindergarten teacher.
The Gaslighting of American Women
Jessica Valenti We still have no word to describe what happens to women living in a country that hates them Photo: Vasilina Popova/Getty After Donald Trump mocked Dr. Christine Blasey Ford at a rally in Mississippi this week — a new low for the president of lows — I couldn’t muster the energy to be outraged. Even as the crowd chanted “lock her up,” now a catchall for any woman who defies Trump, I felt that I had simply run out of anger.
Twitter will transfer the POTUS handle to Joe Biden on January 20, no matter what.
Find out more about the U.S. election results here. Twitter will transfer the POTUS handle to Joe Biden on January 20, no matter what. President Trump never used the handle, which is archived by the Library of Congress and has 32.8 million followers, as his main account. He has continued to tweet unhinged rants from his personal account, which has 88.9 million followers, and POTUS retweets the most cogent of these missives.
Joe Biden is 78 years old today. He will be the oldest president ever when he takes office in January. But is 78 actually that old? Will Leitch has some thoughts on how it’s not as old as it used to… - GEN
Joe Biden is 78 years old today. He will be the oldest president ever when he takes office in January. But is 78 actually that old? Will Leitch has some thoughts on how it’s not as old as it used to be — and offers an array of vital septuagenarians to prove his point.
Did the Asian American vote make a difference in Joe Biden’s win?
Find out more about the U.S. election results here. Did the Asian American vote make a difference in Joe Biden’s win?When we say “suburban voters” abandoned Donald Trump this election, many tend to assume we’re talking about white, middle-class, or upper-middle-class families. But as Tim Wu notes, a growing Asian American population now lives in the suburbs, particularly around the major metropolitan areas in key swing states, like Georgia and Nevada.
Thank God for ‘Minecraft’
Column Everything I’ve been taught about video games as a parent is a lie Photo: Georg Wendt/picture alliance/Getty Images As a parent, I’m going to say something I never thought I would: Thank fucking god for video games. I cannot imagine the last few months without them. Covid hit New York just a few days before my then-9 year old’s two-week Spring break. There was no school — remote or otherwise, a trip to visit her grandparents in California was canceled, and we were on city-wide lockdown.
‘The Worst Year for Far-Right Domestic Terrorism’
Data from 2019 showed a sharp increase in hate crimes, and 2020 could prove worse In an October interview, extremism expert Brian Levin predicted to GEN that when the Federal Bureau of Investigations released data for 2019, it would turn out to be “the worst year for far-right domestic terrorism that we’ve seen this century.” This week, his prediction proved correct.
The Magic of Perfect Covid Pants
One everyday pair of black jeans makes quarantine more tolerable While many of us were getting very comfortable (maybe too comfortable) in sweatpants and yoga pants this year, writer Alexander Chee was rediscovering a past sartorial love: black jeans.
Bitcoin price (BTC) cracks US $ 18,000 mark: 3 reasons for the Bitcoin rally
The bulls continue to draw on the full and gradually guide the Bitcoin price to the all-time high. The market update. Check out our new platform 🚀 https://thecapital.io/ Not much was missing: in the early hours of the morning, the Bitcoin exchange rate (BTC) climbed to over 18,300 US dollars and has therefore already stretched its feelers towards the all-time high. At the time of going to press, the key cryptocurrency is trading at 17,805 US dollars and is up 6.6 percent on a daily basis.
Here’s what it’s like to watch your dad get publicly fired by Donald Trump. Writer Sean Kernan delves into the backstory behind the abrupt decision by his father, Joseph Kernan, to leave his post as… - GEN
Find out more about the U.S. election results here. Here’s what it’s like to watch your dad get publicly fired by Donald Trump.Writer Sean Kernan delves into the backstory behind the abrupt decision by his father, Joseph Kernan, to leave his post as undersecretary of defense for intelligence in the Defense Department. The senior Kernan was one of several top Pentagon officials to either leave or get pushed out last week; all were replaced by Trump loyalists.
How exactly does a Covid vaccine get distributed again?
I was doing a periodic panic rewatch of Contagion last night and was struck by the method used by the government to distribute the vaccine: a Powerball lottery of birthdates, not unlike how the United States drafted civilians for the Vietnam War — a random array of distribution designed to lead to herd immunity. Screenshot: ‘Contagion’ (2011) Is this where we’re headed? Not exactly.
The future will be battery powered-and it’s closer than you think. Introducing The Mobilist, a new blog from GEN and Marker contributor Steve LeVine that goes deep into the world of superbatteries… - GEN
The future will be battery powered—and it’s closer than you think. Introducing The Mobilist, a new blog from GEN and Marker contributor Steve LeVine that goes deep into the world of superbatteries and electric vehicles. The electric vehicle was in reach more than a hundred years ago, when Thomas Edison went up against Henry Ford’s gas-powered car.
The pleasures of getting dressed for the office have been lost in a pandemic year.
The pleasures of getting dressed for the office have been lost in a pandemic year. The Only Black Guy In the Office loved getting dressed for work: “The idea of planning a work outfit is something I high-key long for. Waking up in the morning, having my breakfast, and thinking, Hmm, what will I wear to stunt on my colleagues as I make a fashionably late arrival to work?” Without this daily joy, it’s made self-expression a lot harder in the workplace.
Your Most Paranoid Questions About Trump’s Refusal to Concede, Answered
YOUR PARANOID QUESTIONS Donald Trump leaves after placing a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Veterans Day. Photo: Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images Donald Trump’s refusal to concede and accept the results of the presidential election has sparked anxiety from many about the state of American politics in 2020.
The Death and Life of the Greatest American City
Photo sources: Artur Debat/Moment/Getty Images, Nico de Pasquale Photography/Stone/Getty Images Welcome to New York City’s #NoFilter era A running joke on social media among New Yorkers who stayed put for the pandemic roller coaster ridethese last seven months is to match evidence of joyful city life that has exploded everywhere against proclamations of the city’s death.
What Happens If Donald Trump Refuses to Accept the Results of the Election?
YOUR PARANOID QUESTIONS Can Donald Trump continue as president even if he loses the election in November? Trump’s refusal to say that he would accept the results of the election during an interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News comes as the president continues to fearmonger about the use of vote by mail in the 2020 election and raise questions about its legitimacy. This rhetoric is not new from Trump.
The Day White Rural Racism Reared Its Head in a Small Ohio Town
A Black Lives Matter confrontation pitted neighbor against neighbor — and displayed the raw power of a social media flash mob Steven “The Worldwalker” Newman found himself in some unnerving situations while circumnavigating the globe on foot as a young vagabond and writer.
Meet the Man Judging the Hell Out of TV Pundits’ and Politicians’ Homes
Room Rater is the latest and maybe best piece of flamethrowing from an anti-Trump Twitter provocateur Photo illustration A former travel photographer and White House staffer under Bill Clinton, Claude Taylor is now best known as one of Twitter’s foremost Trump antagonists. Taylor regularly rails against the president, relying on a patchwork network of unconventional (and sometimes faulty) sources to deliver scathing anti-Trump rants.
Can Joe Biden Successfully Run a Campaign Out of His Delaware Basement?
Photo illustration. Sources: Universal History Archive/Getty Images, Sean Rayford/Getty Images In 1896, William McKinley won the presidency while sitting on his front porch smoking cigars. Over a century later, former Vice President Joe Biden may need to do the 21st-century version of the same thing.
Your Most Paranoid Pandemic Election Questions, Answered
By Ben Jacobs If the 2020 election is canceled, a Vermont senator (no, not that one) could become president A voter casts his ballot during early voting in Washington state. Photo: John Moore/Getty Images T he coronavirus pandemic has disrupted life across the United States, forcing more than 297 million people into obeying stay-at-home orders. As the...
Michael Bloomberg’s North Carolina Game Is Seriously Unlike Anything Else
The Super Tuesday state is the former New York mayor’s best shot at primary delegates — and he knows it Ben Jacobs · Follow Published in GEN · 14 min read · Feb 28, 2020 -- Photo illustration; Source: Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images Seeing the Bloomberg presidential campaign up close, there is no easy way to describe it. The campaign is simultaneously a sophisticated, well-funded effort to win the presidency and a bizarre grift that allows staffers to enjoy catered meals and six-figure incomes.
How White People Handle Diversity Training in the Workplace
Confronted with their own shortcomings, white employees often shut down the dialogue—or frame themselves as victims Photo by Beau Lark/Corbis/VCG via Getty As a former professor and current facilitator and consultant, I am in a position to give white people feedback on how their unintentional racism is manifesting itself. In this position, I have observed countless enactments of white fragility.
The Debt Ceiling Serves No Real Purpose
It doesn’t actually constrain the deficit — and the drama surrounding it carries negative consequences for American taxpayers U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have been in tense negotiations over the last few days to discuss raising the debt ceiling and reaching a budget deal — the latter of which Speaker Pelosi insists is necessary if Democrats are to vote for a debt ceiling hike.
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