Wen Stephenson

What Just Happened in Nepal? Nepali Times ईspecial 6 - 12 March 2026 #1301

Always read Kunda Dixit's wickedly ironic weekly newsletter for Nepali Times.

"We will miss covering all that horse-trading... where MPs were bought and sold... Journalism will be boring because there will be no wrong-doing to investigate and expose."

nepalitimes.substack.com/p/what-just-...

And on the Maoist "People's War" (1996-2006), Aditya Adhikari's "The Bullet and the Ballot Box."

If you want to delve into Nepal's contemporary political history - past 35 years since democratic revolution of 1990 & Maoist war - you can't do better than @manjushreethapa.bsky.social books "Forget Kathmandu" and "The Lives We Have Lost," along with Prashant Jha's "Battles of the New Republic."

Rastriya Swatantra Party surges towards landslide victory Observers say voters punished old parties for their failure to deliver, abuse of power, and widespread corruption.

"In a damning indictment of the established political parties, the 3-year-old Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is giving them a run for their money.... candidates of the Congress, UML and NCP were being trounced, with the RSP on course to win a thumping majority."
kathmandupost.com/politics/202...

It’s an era of trickster politics. It’s not useful to be naive. But Nepal’s trajectory in our lifetime has been steadily—and every now and then, extremely unsteadily—towards more and more democracy. I sincerely hope the country continues along this path after March 5. 🙏🏼

Maybe the best thing about #NepalElection2026 thus far is how peaceful it's been. Very few incidents reported across the country.

The magic 138

Nepali Times' Sonia Awale has the score:

Five possible scenarios for election outcome, and what they could mean for new government and Nepal’s future.

#NepalElection2026

nepalitimes.com/editorial/th...

I visited the makeshift memorial shrine for the slain GenZ protesters outside the burned-out Parliament. A survivor, 27-year-old grad student, showed me where a bullet grazed his neck that day.

Army and National Police (shown) on the streets seem to have made an impression.

I'm glad to be back in Kathmandu, covering #NepalElection2026, called by interim govt after the GenZ uprising of Sept 8-9. Polls have closed here on this Election Day, turnout reported to be large, voting overwhelmingly peaceful.

Here's Singha Durbar yesterday, armored vehicle inside the gate.

An El Niño is brewing And with it the next, pivotal, chapter of the climate fight.

One thing that may dramatically shake up our political life on this planet is the advent of a strong new El Niño. (Also our, you know, life life)

billmckibben.substack.com/p/an-el-nino...

An El Niño is brewing And with it the next, pivotal, chapter of the climate fight.

An El Niño is brewing.
And with it the next, pivotal, chapter of the climate fight. @billmckibben.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/billmcki...

‘Daunting but doable’: Europe urged to prepare for 3C of global heating Advisory board member says Europe already paying price for lack of preparation but adapting is ‘not rocket science’ Keeping Europe safe from extreme weather “is not rocket science”, a top researcher has said, as the EU’s climate advisory board urges countries to prepare for a catastrophic 3C of global heating. Maarten van Aalst, a member of the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change (ESABCC), said the continent was already “paying a price” for its lack of preparation but that adapting to a hotter future was in part “common sense and low-hanging fruit”. Continue reading...

‘Daunting but doable’: Europe urged to prepare for 3C of global heating

Haymarket Presents: Thea Riofrancos on Extraction In conversation with Gabriel Winant Feb 16th, 6:30 PM CT Haymarket House, 800 W. Buena Ave Chicago, IL

Chicago!

Haymarket Presents: @triofrancos.bsky.social in conversation with @gabrielwinant.bsky.social.

Monday, February 16th at 6:30 PM CT
Live from @haymarkethouse.bsky.social with @pilsencommbooks.bsky.social

RSVP to attend (in-person and virtual)
events.haymarketbooks.org/events/hayma...

A Day for Gaza Today, The Nation is turning over its website exclusively to stories from Gaza and its people. This is why.

Today, as Gaza continues to be stuck in a bloody limbo, we are turning our website over to Gaza and its people in an initiative we are calling “A Day for Gaza.” There will be no pieces published on our website today that do not come directly from Gaza.

How to Build a Real General Strike Against ICE Minnesota shows what’s possible—here’s how we turn that spark into the kind of disruptive power that can actually stop ICE

General strikes are workers’ most powerful weapon. But it takes more than hashtags to make them real.

Here’s how we can build a real general strike to stop ICE in the US

www.laborpolitics.com/p/how-to-org...

Very glad Chris wrote this, so now I can stop thinking about writing something along the same lines, which wouldn't be as good.

MLK was only 39 when he was killed. Growing up, I thought that was old. But I’m 43 now and I’m stunned by the burden he shouldered at such a young age. I’m also a lot more aware of how hard it is, at any age, to carry the hopes and dreams of an oppressed people on your shoulders, as so many do.

There’s No Quitting the Climate Fight This is the worst-ever year for climate politics—but the struggle is far from over.

“The strategic imperative,” he argued, “must be clear: nothing less than the total defeat of the organized political interests of oil, gas, and coal producers is necessary to make any other climate justice goals even a remote possibility.” @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social (via @learning2live.bsky.social)

What Justice on a Burning Planet? Andreas Malm and Thea Riofrancos joined The Nation’s Wen Stephenson in an urgent conversation about the left and the climate emergency.

"I think that the task of building a climate movement is part and parcel of the task of building left political power and social power and organized working-class power more broadly."

Compelling words from @triofrancos.bsky.social in @thenation.com with @learning2live.bsky.social and Andreas Malm

Has the Left Given Up on Climate Justice? Excerpts from the live event with Andreas Malm and Thea Riofrancos on the left and the climate emergency.

My new post on this:

Has the Left Given Up on Climate Justice?

Yes, it's a provocation. But serious. Both Malm and @triofrancos.bsky.social see a left in denial.

wenstephenson.substack.com/p/has-the-le...

What Justice on a Burning Planet? Andreas Malm and Thea Riofrancos joined The Nation’s Wen Stephenson in an urgent conversation about the left and the climate emergency.

New at @thenation.com: excerpts from my conversation with Andreas Malm & @triofrancos.bsky.social, co-sponsored by @haymarketbooks.org & @versobooks.bsky.social

It's 2026. This is the kind of discussion the left needs to be having about climate catastrophe.
www.thenation.com/article/envi...

Today - Dec. 19 at Noon ET

What Justice on a Burning Planet?
The Left and the Climate Emergency

w/ Andreas Malm & Thea Riofrancos @triofrancos.bsky.social

@haymarketbooks.org @versobooks.bsky.social

events.haymarketbooks.org/events/hayma...

🚨 Friday Dec 19 @ 12 pm ET @haymarketbooks.org @versobooks.bsky.social

Read Bill's latest. And not only for the withering takedown of "center-right pundit Matt Yglesias" whose latest NYT op-ed advocating oil & gas is "a woebegone recycling of decades-old bad-faith arguments from a person who has insisted repeatedly that climate change is not an existential risk."

Tomorrow at high noon (US Eastern time)... we're going to raise a question that too often gets buried, even on the left.
events.haymarketbooks.org/events/hayma...

Looking forward to this talk with @thirdactactionslab.bsky.social by @learning2live.bsky.social Join us! @thirdactupstateny.bsky.social @thirdactmd.bsky.social @thirdactnyc.bsky.social @thirdactorg.bsky.social

What Justice on a Burning Planet? The Left and the Climate Emergency

What Justice on a Burning Planet?

Join Andreas Malm, Wim Carton, @triofrancos.bsky.social, and
@learning2live.bsky.social for an urgent conversation on climate catastrophe and the left. With @versobooks.bsky.social.

Friday, Dec 19th at 12PM ET

RSVP:
events.haymarketbooks.org/events/hayma...

Learning to Live in the Dark, Wen Stephenson Book Talk Learning to Live in the Dark, book talk by Wen Stephenson At our December general meeting, we will hear from Nation writer and veteran activist Wen Stephenson about his new...

Tues, 12/16 @ 6pm ET, I'll be speaking to @thirdactorg.bsky.social @thirdactactionslab.bsky.social December meeting, which is open to all.

What does a serious climate politics look like at this hour? Is it time to change how we think about the climate fight?

Register: thirdact.org/actions-lab/...

On Fri. 12/19 I'll join Andreas Malm and Wim Carton to discuss our new books, the deadly combination of accelerating global warming and stalling political action, and what is to be done from a left perspective. Moderated by @learning2live.bsky.social via @haymarketbooks.org & @versobooks.bsky.social