And that’s probably a good thing — “Netflix tells employees to get on board with ideological diversity or get out.” When I first saw this headline on Facebook, it was attracting a lot of hate. …

They’re certainly not going to rest on their laurels — It has been a busy week in America’s war over legal abortion. On Wednesday, Democrats lost a vote in the Senate to legalize abortion nationally, by 51 votes to 49 (with West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin voting with the 50 Republican senators). …

I used to sneer at this question — but not anymore — Nearly every long-term traveler will get asked some variant of this question eventually: “What are you running away from?” Sometimes it’s well-intentioned, asked by confused family and friends who wonder why their support isn’t enough to keep their loved one at home.

Wages being low doesn’t necessarily mean prices will be — I spend a lot of my time in fairly underdeveloped countries. Most of my friends and family seem to think I live a life of decadent luxury in cities where 5-star hotels cost $10/night. If…

A lot of women don’t see abortion as a women’s rights issue — The recent revelation that the US Supreme Court plans to overturn the pro-choice Roe vs Wade judgment has attracted a firestorm of fury. Proclamations that “Men shouldn’t be making laws about women’s bodies” have abounded, and those sentiments are very understandable. But let’s set aside the moral dispute for a…

Reflections on one of the world’s quirkiest nationalities — The internet has plenty of articles containing crazy facts about Brazil — most of which are actually full of well-known generic info like the Amazon rainforest being big, or the national football team being quite good. I used to live in Brazil, and often…

The truth, albeit an uncomfortable one — Last year I flew on 19 separate days; without exception, the experience was miserable. The flights themselves were not really the issue, especially since corona ensured that most of them were half-empty. The real issue was the long, abrasive process of airport security. Even on a flight as short as…

But it might prove that we’re sexist — The Ukrainian refugee crisis has become Europe’s largest since World War II. Over 5.6 million have fled the country since Russia stepped up its invasion a few months ago, most of whom are being resettled in Europe. 3 million have crossed over the Polish border alone. They’ve been welcomed warmly…

Business and romance work quite well together — but only in a few countries — If you say the word “motel” to a native English speaker, they’d probably think of a slightly dodgy spot along a highway that truckers stay at to break up long journeys.