Notes from the World

Leon Botstein Must Go The Bard College President's Extensive Relationship with the Sexual Predator Jeffrey Epstein - And More - Makes His Position Untenable

Leon Botstein Must Go: The Bard College President's Extensive Relationship with the Sexual Predator Jeffrey Epstein - And More - Makes His Position Untenable michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/leon-botst...

The Massacre in Haiti You’ve Never Heard Of Why the Ghosts of La Scierie Should Still Haunt Us Today

Today is the 22nd anniversary of a terrible massacre that took place in and around the La Scierie neighborhood in the central Haitian city of Saint-Marc in February 2004. Many of its perpetrators still walk free in Haiti today. Please read about I here. michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/the-massac...

DtMF en el Super Bowl Bad Bunny’s Halftime Show was a celebration and a history lesson at the same time.

In which @michaeldeibert.bsky.social shares some thoughts on the historical signifiers littered throughout Bad Bunny's wonderful Super Bowl halftime show last night. michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/dtmf-en-el...

Haiti: Towards 7 February What should be a joyful democratic anniversary in the Caribbean nation has often been anything but.

Haiti: Towards 7 February - What should be a joyful democratic anniversary in the Caribbean nation has often been anything but. michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/haiti-towa...

Murder in Minneapolis The masked agents of a tyrannical regime murder yet another American.

Thoughts on the regime's latest atrocity. michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/murder-in-...

Sunshine State The sun was hanging low behind the trees by the time we crossed the state line.

"The sun was hanging low behind the trees by the time we crossed the state line. "

michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/sunshine-s...

Cover reveal: My new book, With the Pen In One Hand and the Sword in the Other: Haiti and the United States in the Nineteenth Century, coming later this year from @ugapress.bsky.social, an account of Haiti's tumultuous first century and its complex relationship with its neighbor to the north.

“Venezuela is a country that everybody wants to use as a rhetorical tool in the United States but not a country that a lot of people are interested in actually knowing.” A Conversation About Venezuela with Juan Luis Rodríguez and Germania Rodriguez Poleo.

For today's episode, we speak with Venezuelan anthropologist
@jlrodriguez10.bsky.social & Venezuelan-American journalist Germania Rodriguez Poleo about the situation following the seizure of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces last weekend. michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/venezuela-...

Hope Dies Last A meditation on the struggles and wonders of 2025.

My year end message to you all: Hope Dies Last: A meditation on the struggles and wonders of 2025 michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/hope-dies-...

Books in 2025: A Personal Selection A list of books that made an impression on me in the previous 12 months.

Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Kwame Nkrumah, Charles George Gordon, revolution in Ukraine, and literature from the Antilles are a few of the subjects and genres that made an impression on me during my reading in 2025. michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/books-in-2...

"If You Don’t Tell Your Own Story, Somebody Else Is Going to Tell It for You." A Conversation with Michaël Brun

For our last episode in 2025, we spoke to Haitian DJ and record producer Michaël Brun about his music, Haiti and its culture. Ayiti pap peri. michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/if-you-don...

Marseille: "We're all losers, so we're all winners in a way." A Conversation with Philippe Pujol

Marseille: "We're all losers, so we're all winners in a way."
A Conversation with journalist Philippe Pujol michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/marseille-...

No, Chomsky The revelations about the linguist’s relationship with the predator Jeffrey Epstein are a fitting epitaph to a disgraceful career.

No, Chomsky: The revelations about the linguist’s relationship with the predator Jeffrey Epstein are a fitting epitaph to a disgraceful career michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/no-chomsky

The DSA's Cuba Problem The Democratic Socialists of America Travel to Cuba and Happily Meet With the Island’s Jailers.

The DSA's Cuba Problem: The Democratic Socialists of America Travel to Cuba and Happily Meet With the Island’s Jailers michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/the-dsas-c...

The DSA's Cuba Problem The Democratic Socialists of America Travel to Cuba and Happily Meet With the Island’s Jailers.

The DSA's Cuba Problem: The Democratic Socialists of America Travel to Cuba and Happily Meet With the Island’s Jailers michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/the-dsas-c...

Inside the Maelstrom: Jihadists, Juntas & Russian mercenaries in the Sahel Since 2020, the Sahel region of Africa has been buffeted by a series of coups that upended the democratically-elected governments of the region and replaced them with military rulers.

On today's episode, @michaeldeibert.bsky.social & his guests examine jihadists, juntas & Russian mercenaries in Africa's Sahel region. michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/inside-the...

The Trump Cartel With each passing week, the nature of the regime we live under becomes more clear.

The Trump Cartel: With each passing week, the nature of the regime we live under becomes more clear michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/the-trump-...

Paris, Je T'aime Ten years on, the city is still standing.

Yesterday, today and forever: Paris, je t'aime michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/paris-je-t...

The Hateful Eight Less than a week after electoral victory, a handful of Democrats vote to empower Trump’s cruelty and lawlessness.

Thoughts on the Senate vote last night.
michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/the-hatefu...

The Fall of El Fasher As Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces Telegraphed Their Intentions to Commit Mass Murder, the World Did Nothing

As Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces telegraphed their intentions to commit mass murder in Darfur's El Fasher, the world did nothing. Please listen to the voices on this special episode of Notes from the World as they detail what transpired. michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/the-fall-o...

"I think H. P. Lovecraft's time in New York shaped him as the writer that he became." A Conversation with David J. Goodwin

For this special Halloween broadcast, we're joined by David J. Goodwin to discuss the years the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft spent in New York City and how they influenced both him and his work. michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/i-think-h-...

"We have never figured out how to value Africa at its true worth." A Conversation with Howard W. French

It was a real pleasure to speak at length with the author and journalist Howard French about his new book The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide. michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/we-have-ne...

What if It Was Your Country? Those criticizing the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuela’s María Corina Machado might take a moment to meditate on what the nation has lived through over the last 20 years.

Thoughts on Venezuela’s María Corina Machado and the Nobel Peace Prize. michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/what-if-it...

"Ukraine is literally defending us" A Conversation with Lithuania's Linas Kojala

Linas Koyala is CEO of the Geopolitics and Security Studies Center in Vilnius, Lithuania and he joined us to discuss the current situation in the Baltics, the war in Ukraine and its possible implications for wider Europe. michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/ukraine-is...

The Mask of Evil Trump is trying to take the country on a ride it won't come back from.

Please read my essay on this past week's events here in the United States. Summary: You are right to be alarmed. michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/the-mask-o...

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The Mask of Evil Trump is trying to take the country on a ride it won't come back from.

Please read my essay on this past week's events here in the United States. Summary: You are right to be alarmed. michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/the-mask-o...

The Guns of September Thoughts on the killing of Charlie Kirk.

The Guns of September: Thoughts on the killing of Charlie Kirk michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/the-guns-o...

"This is the face of totalitarianism." A Conversation with Adam Hochschild

On this week's episode, we speak with Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold's Ghost, A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa, about his body of work & his thoughts about the current political climate in the United States. michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/this-is-th...

"Promise me that you will all continue to pray, continue to resist and continue to love." Kilmar Ábrego García returns to custody and Baltimore bears witness.

My account of Kilmar Ábrego García in Baltimore yesterday. michaeldeibert.substack.com/p/promise-me...