Jay Sophalkalyan

1 month ago | thedispatch.com | Jonah Goldberg |Jeremiah Johnson |Kevin Williamson |Jay Sophalkalyan

The two-doll problem. Published May 7, 2025 Two maudlin and romantic dolls (Jonah Goldberg and Chris Stirewalt) come together to discuss the revival of Alcatraz, the future of the MAGA movement without Trump, and the skewed self-perception of American voters.

Aug 25, 2024 | quillette.com | Dave Thompson |Brian Stewart |Jay Sophalkalyan |Nick Enfield

As Elvis Costello enters his eighth decade on 25 August, it is sobering to reflect that he has now been a part of our musical furniture for almost half a century. He always looked older than he was, even at the beginning. Between the suit, the Buddy Holly spectacles, and the short hair in those first months of punk-whipped ’77, he more closely resembled a bank clerk than a rock star, and it was only when he opened his mouth to sing that it became apparent just how misleading the image was.

Aug 24, 2024 | quillette.com | Brian Stewart |Jay Sophalkalyan |Nick Enfield |Leon Hadar

Know when to fight and when not to fight: avoid what is strong and strike at what is weak. ~Sun Tzu, The Art of War By following ancient martial wisdom and sweeping across the Russian frontier, Ukrainian forces have seized the battlefield initiative. After months of gruelling trench warfare, on 6 August, Ukraine launched a lightning invasion of Russia’s Kursk Oblast that may yet deliver a major strategic reversal for Russian forces and alter the course of the war.

Aug 22, 2024 | quillette.com | Jay Sophalkalyan |Nick Enfield |Leon Hadar |Oscar Clarke

As the 2024 US presidential election approaches, immigration continues to be one of the most divisive topics in the national conversation. Amid this debate, one disparity is frequently overlooked: the contrasting treatment of international students who have graduated from US universities versus undocumented immigrants.

Aug 22, 2024 | quillette.com | Obaid Omer |Jay Sophalkalyan |Nick Enfield |Leon Hadar

I first heard the word “Islamism” in a video of a 2010 debate between Maajid Nawaz, Zeba Khan, Douglas Murray, and Ayan Hirsi Ali. Nawaz explained that he used the term “Islamism” to denote an ideology that advocates establishing Islamic supremacy and “Islamist” to describe anyone who wants to further that aim. This terminology allowed him, he argued, to distinguish between moderate and fundamentalist Muslims. But it is telling that we do not make this distinction with regard to any other religion.