Atlantic Magazine
Contributing editor to the Atlantic Magazine and The New Republic; Edward R. Murrow Press Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations
PROFILE
Graeme Wood
Guest
FROM Graeme Wood
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Dabiq Magazine and the ISIS Propaganda Machine The latest issue of Dabiq hit magazine stands this week. Well, not all magazine stands, because Dabiq is published by ISIS. The glossy, English-language quarterly features some typical magazine fare, but with a Jihadi slant. For instance, there’s an advice column for widows of fighters who died for the ISIS cause. Then there’s the more troubling stuff – like an article that praises the San Bernardino attackers, and a fawning obituary for the British man known as Jihadi John, who’s responsible for multiple executions of Westerners. How does this publication fit into the terrorist group’s propaganda machine?
Which Way, L.A.?
Gangs an Unlikely Source of Order at Pelican Bay Pelican Bay is California’s maximum-security prison on the coast near the Oregon border—recently famous for hunger strikes and allegations of torture. It’s as dangerous as any place of its kind, full of inmates serving life sentences, but it’s prison gangs—not the guards—who keep order. That’s according to Graeme Wood, one of the few outsiders who have been there. He wrote about it for the Atlantic magazine, where he’s a contributing editor.
To the Point
The Allure of Extremism We’ve just heard what world leaders are discussing in terms of how to deal with the growing threat from ISIL, but here’s the question that lies behind everything that’s happening now: What draws someone to join an extremist group? Terrorist organizations throughout the Middle East are not lacking for recruits—whether it’s fighters from within the continent, or foreign fighters from Western nations joining the effort against their own countries. There are tens of thousands of them, and their ranks are said to be growing with each passing day. Today, a conversation about what these recruits are looking for in their lives, what conditions make them ripe for recruitment, and put simply: What is the allure to join up in violent jihad?
To the Point
The Soaring Costs of College Tuition If you are a student or a parent of a student headed for college, the numbers are daunting: $240,000 for a private four year college. Even some state Universities can now cost upwards of $80,000. Half of all student federal loans are now in arrears. It all adds up to one question: Is college worth it? And if not, what’s being done to help students struggling with debt, and what alternatives are out there for kids questioning the value of liberal arts education at such a high price? We’ll look at alternative models to the traditional four year college, and question what the value is of a liberal arts education in dollars and cents.
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Left, Right & Center
President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
To the Point
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
To the Point
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.
To the Point
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?