Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Elmira Bayrasli @elmirab.bsky.social · 23h

"Istanbul isn't simply a city—it's a tapestry of empires, religions and civilizations..." @elcinpoyrazlar.bsky.social on Ottoman cuisine. on.ft.com/48SeGew via @financialtimes

Tastes of history: the best of Istanbul’s Ottoman palace restaurants

Centuries-old dishes once served to the sultans are reimagined for contemporary palates in these charming and grand cultural institutions

on.ft.com

1 3

Elmira Bayrasli @elmirab.bsky.social · 5d

The men (and a few women) of the old order are recycling tired scripts to cling to power. Gen Z is in the streets saying: enough. It includes analysis on the Israel-Gaza peace proposal, a look at Japan’s leadership election, and the Gen Z protests….
open.substack.com/pub/interrup...

Lace-Up

From Trump's peace proposal to Japan's leadership fight: the old guard clings to the status quo, while Gen Z is out on the streets.

open.substack.com

Elmira Bayrasli @elmirab.bsky.social · 10d

The “tradwife” trend is hot - and a fantasy, which @ranaforoohar.bsky.social unmasks in this excellent piece on.ft.com/4nWeorv

The ‘tradwife’ fantasy

Economic stress is one reason traditional gender roles have a political and emotional allure

on.ft.com

1 2

Elmira Bayrasli @elmirab.bsky.social · 20d

This week, I look at next week's "high level" talks at the UN, which is, at 80, bloated and broke. Also a roundup of analysis from this week's headlines, including the UN report on Israel, US striking another Venezuelan boat and Trump's trip to the UK

open.substack.com/pub/interrup...

Bloated & Broke: The UN at 80

The quick guide to "high level" week at the UN General Assembly.

open.substack.com

Elmira Bayrasli @elmirab.bsky.social · 26d

Violence only begets violence in the absence and narrowing of civil society... Let's put Charlie Kirk's murder into perspective: In the Towers' Shadow open.substack.com/pub/interrup...

In the Towers' Shadow

On Charlie Kirk's murder: How we went from 9/11 to the politics of violence.

open.substack.com

Elmira Bayrasli @elmirab.bsky.social · Sep 3

So craven..... and such a reflection of how the elites control the system

Trump Advisers Have Discussed a Job for Adams if He Quits Mayor’s Race www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/n...

Trump Advisers Have Discussed a Job for Adams to Quit Mayor’s Race

www.nytimes.com

Elmira Bayrasli @elmirab.bsky.social · Aug 29

Trump Administration Live Updates: Rubio Bars Palestinian Officials From Attending U.N. General Assembly www.nytimes.com/live/2025/08...

Trump Administration Live Updates: Rubio Bars Palestinian Officials From Attending U.N. General Assembly

www.nytimes.com

Elmira Bayrasli @elmirab.bsky.social · Aug 29

Authoritarianism doesn't just happen at the hands of one person.

Audio Recording Reveals United Group and Telekom Srbija CEOs Discussing Undermining Serbian Broadcaster occrp.org/en/news/audi... via
@occrp.org

www.occrp.org/en/news/audi...

Audio Recording Reveals United Group and Telekom Srbija CEOs Discussing Undermining Serbian Broadcaster

The CEOs discussed removing the chief executive of a United Group subsidiary that owns N1, a Serbian TV channel that has documented nine months of anti-government protests.

www.occrp.org

Reposted by Elmira Bayrasli

Stacey Vanek Smith @svaneksmith.bsky.social · Aug 29

What is Federal Reserve Independence and why is it so important?

#FederalReserve #lisacook #jeromepowell #Inflation #InterestRates

1 6 20

Elmira Bayrasli @elmirab.bsky.social · Aug 29

Trump wants to control the Fed. He tried to fire Jerome Powell but failed. He's turned to Lisa Cook, a Black woman doing two things at once: diverting attention from his authoritarian grab and turning it into a culture war. For @interruptrr.bsky.social this week:

open.substack.com/pub/interrup...

Two for One: Lisa Cook & the Fed

Trump has long sought to control the Fed. He tried and failed to fire its Chair, Jerome Powell. He has now set his sights on Lisa Cook, a Black woman

open.substack.com

Reposted by Elmira Bayrasli

Lina Srivastava @linasrivastava.bsky.social · Jul 11

"With Ukraine, Sudan, and Gaza in the background, the 30th anniversary of Srebrenica can’t be just another wreath-laying ritual." Read this from @elmirab.bsky.social on the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre.

open.substack.com/pub/interrup...

Blueprint for Brutality: Srebrenica's Lesson

30 years ago, 8000 Muslim men and boys were killed in eastern Bosnia. Those deaths were entirely predictable—and preventable.

open.substack.com

1 2

Elmira Bayrasli @elmirab.bsky.social · Jun 27

Very important question for @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social - Mets or Yankees?

Elmira Bayrasli @elmirab.bsky.social · Jun 25

Including the @nytimes.com

4

Elmira Bayrasli @elmirab.bsky.social · Jun 25

In NYC, ranked choice voting #RCV made a difference. I've seen a few naysayers who push back that it makes no difference (they are on the right). It motivates people to come out and vote and that is what made a difference in NYC. That will be different in Nov when Mamdani runs against Adams w/ot it.

1 1

Elmira Bayrasli @elmirab.bsky.social · Jun 25

No mo Cuomo!

2

Reposted by Elmira Bayrasli

Lina Srivastava @linasrivastava.bsky.social · Jun 24

The NYC Mayoral race isn’t just a local election — its ripple effects will be felt far and wide beyond the city and perhaps even the country. This is a good read from my friend @elmirab.bsky.social of Interruptr.

interruptrr.substack.com/p/nyc-votes?...

NYC Votes

This primary is more than just a battle for who will be on the Democratic ticket in November. It is about what the Democratic Party is doing.

interruptrr.substack.com

1 1

Elmira Bayrasli @elmirab.bsky.social · Jun 24

How this primary has unfolded has revealed the blindness of the moneyed-haves and the extent they will go to control power: open.substack.com/pub/interrup...

NYC Votes

This primary is more than just a battle for who will be on the Democratic ticket in November. It is about what the Democratic Party is doing.

open.substack.com

Elmira Bayrasli @elmirab.bsky.social · Jun 23

From mullahs to military men:
"The outside world has often assumed that Iran’s regime exhibits reckless risk-taking and belligerence because it has been run by religious men. The danger is the military men are worse."
www.economist.com/middle-east-...

Fierce hardliners are grabbing power in Iran

The regime launches symbolic attacks on American bases in Qatar

www.economist.com

1

Reposted by Elmira Bayrasli

Lina Srivastava @linasrivastava.bsky.social · Jun 23

Oh my god. This is truly terrifying.

SCOTUS just ruled the US federal government can pick up any person and send them to a concentration camp in a third country -- and there is no process to prevent this.

And of course this will be applied unevenly against Black and brown people.

Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · Jun 23

BREAKING: SCOTUS over liberals' dissent, blocks district court order requiring process before carrying out third country removals. SCOTUS's order allows Trump admin to carry out third country removals without the protections required—notice and opportunity to raise a challenge. No reason is given.

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
No. 24A1153
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, ET AL. U.
D.V.D., ET AL.
ON APPLICATION FOR STAY
[June 23, 2025]
The application for stay presented to JUSTICE JACKSON and by her referred to the Court is granted. The April 18, 2025, preliminary injunction of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, case No. 25-cv-10676, is stayed pending the disposition of the appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari, if such writ is timely sought. Should certiorari be denied, this stay shall terminate automatically. In the event certiorari is granted, the stay shall terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of the Court.
JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR, with whom JUSTICE KAGAN and
JUSTICE JACKSON join, dissenting.

1 8 23

Elmira Bayrasli @elmirab.bsky.social · Jun 20

You have lost me Jim Clyburn....

Clyburn Endorses Cuomo, Helping Him Broaden His Appeal to Black Voters www.nytimes.com/2025/06/20/n...

Clyburn Endorses Cuomo, Helping Him Broaden His Appeal to Black Voters

www.nytimes.com

1

Elmira Bayrasli @elmirab.bsky.social · Jun 4

Ayse Seitmuratova passed away earlier this week. She was a Crimean Tatar activist who tirelessly fought on behalf of Crimean Tatars who have endured persecution for centuries and are slowly being ethnicaly cleansed as Russia continues to illegally occupy Crimea. mezha.net/eng/bukvy/ay...

Ayşe Seitmuratova, Crimean Tatar Activist, Dies at 88 | Ukraine news - #Mezha

Ayşe Seitmuratova, a prominent Crimean Tatar activist and journalist, passed away at 88. A dissident and political prisoner, she fought for Crimean Tatar rights and continued her work despite Soviet r...

mezha.net

Elmira Bayrasli @elmirab.bsky.social · May 16

The Dealmaker & the Dynasties
open.substack.com/pub/interrup...

The Dealmaker & the Dynasties

The rich Gulf monarchies showered Trump with investments and awards on his trip this week. Can they move the Middle East towards stability—and the Palestinians towards a state?

open.substack.com

Elmira Bayrasli @elmirab.bsky.social · May 8

Caption this:

Elmira Bayrasli @elmirab.bsky.social · May 5

How did trading hjmans become popular again?

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/w...

Rwanda in Early Talks With U.S. to Take Expelled Migrants

Discussions with the Central African country come as the Trump administration looks for more countries willing to accept deportees as part of a sweeping crackdown.

www.nytimes.com

Elmira Bayrasli @elmirab.bsky.social · May 3

It can happen here. From my student who went from Smolny in Russia to Columbia. She was able to nurture her brilliance. I think about all the other students trapped in not just authoritarian but hostile and dangerous regimes who will never reach their potential.

www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

Autocracy Crushed My Alma Mater. Then I Got to Columbia.

Smolny College is a warning.

www.theatlantic.com

10 17