What Saudi Arabia’s Vibrant Art Scene Says About Its Internal Struggles

Artists Are Using Ambiguity to Probe the Fault Line Between Modernity and Conservative Islam

When I first saw Ajlan Gharem’s video, “Paradise Has Many Gates,” at an art studio in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, I was amazed.

It opens with a small single-story structure made of chain-link fence standing alone in a flat expanse of sand, crowned by a small dome and a gold crescent moon. A minaret rises above one corner of the building, while a semicircular niche in one wall marks the direction of Mecca. When the call to prayer sounds, a group of men and boys enter. They kneel to pray; then …

By Loring Danforth | January 24, 2018

Imagining California Without Oil Refineries

Not Being Gasoline Consumers Has Become Part of Residents' Identity

By Lisa Margonelli | November 12, 2015

On the morning of May 31, Robert Hubina hurt his foot, so he skipped surfing to walk on the beach in Ventura, where he saw a dolphin with black tar …

There’s No Such Thing as a Spill-Proof Way to Transport Oil

Even the World’s First Long-Distance Pipeline that Crossed the Alleghenies in 1879 Was Prone to Accidents and Sabotage

by Christopher F. Jones | June 11, 2015

To a historian of pipelines, last month’s Santa Barbara oil spill is a reminder that the more things change, the more they remain the same. Since their first introduction in …

At Minus 40 Degrees, It’s Hard to Argue for More Wilderness

Why the Fight Over the Arctic Wildlife Refuge Is as Bitter as Our Alaskan Winters

by David van den Berg | February 5, 2015

The value of virgin land on the frontier is based on what it can yield in economic terms. Alaska’s conservationists knew this and wanted to preserve entire landscapes for their …

Vladimir’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Year

Plummeting Oil Prices and Political Overreach Will Put a Premature End to the Putin Era

by Mike Bradshaw | December 22, 2014

A year ago, Vladimir Putin had every reason to look forward to a victory lap. As he presided over final preparations for the Winter Olympics, he felt emboldened by his …

Give the Oscar to Kern County

A New Film Shot in the Oil Town of Taft Offers Some Unexpected Insights into the Golden State

by Joe Mathews | December 4, 2014

Sure, California has everything. But where would you find a murderous, Farsi-speaking, chador-wearing vampire riding her skateboard around an oil city with the slow swagger of Clint Eastwood?

Kern County, of …

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