Marcus Johnson

Marcus Johnson

Political commentator and political science Ph.D. candidate at American University. Research focused on the impact of political institutions on the racial wealth gap.

Marcus Johnson
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Is simulation theory just another form of religion?

Simulation theorists argue whether we can make our own decisions or are controlled by the hyper-intelligence that created the universe. Sounds familiar.

Marcus Johnson
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How is climate anxiety impacting young people?

A landmark survey suggests that climate anxiety—a chronic fear of environmental doom—is taking an outsized psychological toll on the young.

Marcus Johnson
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Study: How most of the 5 billion would die in a US/Russia nuclear exchange

Reading Time: 2 minutes A new study found that a nuclear war between the US and Russia could be the worst catastrophe in world history. But most people wouldn’t die from the exchange itself; 5 billion would perish from the hunger that follows. The study, published in Nature, found that the soot prod

Marcus Johnson
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Between massacres: a uniquely American horror show in seven acts

Reading Time: 7 minutes A shooter enters a building in an American city and takes innocent lives. The name of the shooter is insignificant, while their race and gender are both significant and mostly predictable. The city is Buffalo, or Uvalde, or East Lansing, or Monterey Park, or a hundred others.

Marcus Johnson
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Could there ever be a Black Trump?

Reading Time: 3 minutes We’re living through a period of rising authoritarianism in US politics. The January 6th Capitol riot was not an isolated incident but a culmination of conservative extremism. Former President Donald Trump regularly flouted political norms and pushed his base toward what were

Marcus Johnson
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Will Red and Blue America have an amicable divorce?

Reading Time: 4 minutes During the Civil War, Union General William Sherman and Confederate General John Bell Hood exchanged letters. In their correspondence, Bell expressed disgust at his belief that the Union was fighting to give political rights to former slaves. Hood writes: You came into our co