Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

The right to privacy in the wake of Dobbs

Opinion

Abortion rights protest

Supporters of abortion rights protest outside the Supreme Court on June 24, 2023.

Sha Hanting/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images

In the latest episode of The Afakasi Podcast, host KJ Mauwong delves into a crucial topic: the right to privacy and its implications in the wake of recent developments in the Supreme Court.

Mauwong and his guests talked about Roe v. Wade and the Dobbs decision that reversed it. The discussion revolved around the broader context of personal rights, autonomy and the shadow of the law known as "penumbra." The podcast explores the Supreme Court's role, potential judicial overreach, and the constant evolution of interpretations.


The conversation takes a contemporary turn as the trio delves into the impact of technology on privacy rights, considering the intrusion of companies into personal lives, data collection, and the challenges posed by the democratization of information. The conversation prompts listeners to think about the complexities of privacy, especially in the digital age.

As the dialogue unfolds, the participants touch on historical cases, from Dred Scott to present-day challenges, emphasizing the ongoing struggle to define and protect privacy rights. The discussion evolves into a call for civic engagement, urging listeners to be informed voters, to scrutinize their elected officials, and to actively participate in the democratic process.

In the closing remarks, Mauwong emphasized the importance of education and encouraged listeners to be proactive in shaping their democracy. This episode serves as a reminder that democracy is a living entity, requiring constant care and engagement from its citizens.

Remember to check out The Democracy Group Podcast Fellowship, where passionate individuals, especially college and high school students, can learn to launch their podcasts. Apply at democracygroup.org/fellowship. The fellowship is sponsored by the Bridge Alliance, which operates The Fulcrum.


Read More

Classsroom
empty classroom with desks and chalkboard
Photo by Ivan Aleksic on Unsplash

Who Gets a Seat?: Florida’s New Bans on Undocumented Students in Public Higher Education

Each year, roughly 8,000 undocumented students graduate from Florida high schools. In 2026, Florida became the newest state to pass a regulation prohibiting this population from enrolling in state public colleges and selective universities. In June 2026, Florida State Board of Education passed Rule 6A-10.0240, which requires all 28 Florida College System institutions to certify admitted students as citizens of the United States or have lawful presence. In September 2026, a separate state board extended a similar ban to Florida’s most selective public universities.

Throughout the United States, there are three states that have historically upheld similar barring policies: Alabama and South Carolina ban undocumented students from all public colleges and universities, while Georgia bars them only from its most selective public universities. Florida’s restrictions are administrative rules and regulations, not state laws passed by the Legislature. Similar bills died in committee during Florida’s 2026 legislative session.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tattered American flag

Trump's "Restoring Truth and Sanity" order targets how museums and parks present slavery and racism. Why one writer says Americans should push back.

Nisian Hughes/Getty Images

Trump's Mendacious, Deceitful Rewriting of American History

History is made of two parts. One is indisputable facts and the other is the interpretation of those facts. The history of history is filled with varying interpretations of the basic facts, usually tinted by the perspective of the historian or commentator. That perspective can be the writer's political leanings, his philosophy, or any number of personal biases.

All historians, however, whether conservative or liberal, regardless of philosophy generally agree on the basic facts. For example, while there are fringe groups and individuals who deny that the Holocaust happened—that 6 millions Jews were killed by the Nazis—no reputable historian disputes that fact.

Keep ReadingShow less
​Paintings of Stalin

Paintings of Stalin on sale to tourists in Tbilisi's old quarter, Georgia

Getty Images

The Stalinization of America

In the mid-1930s in the Soviet Union, under Joseph Stalin's leadership, the NKVD (the predecessor of the KGB) drove around Moscow and other cities in trucks with the word ХЛЕБ on the side. This translates into English as “Bread,” leaving the appearance that these were bakery trucks distributing fresh bread throughout the city. The stories are well told by some of the great dissident Soviet writers of the time, like the poet Osip Mandelstam, his wife Nadezhda, and several others. Osip Mandelstam was first arrested in part for his satirical poem about Joseph Stalin entitled The Stalin Epigram.

Recently, one is drawn to recognize the parallels between the NKVD bread trucks and black SUVs filled with ICE officers, who mask their faces and offer no identification as they snatch children and adults off the street because they have melanin in their skin or speak with an accent. Like the NKVD, ICE officers shoot people without substantive explanation, detain more than 66,000 people, many without criminal records, including occasional citizens, and ship them off to undisclosed detention centers. They have also deported hundreds of thousands of people, often without notice or due process.

Keep ReadingShow less
A woman timing another women in the military as she does push ups.

A female Marine completes an abdominal plank as part of her physical fitness test in 2022.

Lance Cpl. Elijah Hurtado/U.S. Marine Corps

Hegseth Made the Fitness Test Harder for Women in Combat Roles. Most Female Marines Are Passing.

When Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summoned hundreds of generals and admirals from around the world to Quantico, Virginia, last September, he delivered a blunt message: Things were changing fast in the newly renamed Department of War.

“No more division, distraction, or gender delusions,” he said. “We are done with that shit.”

Keep ReadingShow less