A Further Inquiry

04/07/2026

“I don’t remember the moment I realized I was his boy. I only remember the feeling, a quiet, confident warmth that came from being included in a world of men long before I understood the weight of that inheritance.”
By Mathew Giagnorio

There are men who raise you by intention, men who raise you by accident, and then there are the rare few who raise you simply by being themselves.

03/27/2026

Sharmiin (also spelled Sharmin) Meymandinejad is an Iranian human rights defender, writer, and theatre artist who founded the Imam Ali’s Popular Student Relief Society (IAPSRS) in 1999 to combat poverty and support vulnerable children and families. Iranian authorities arrested him in 2020 and charged him with “insulting” Iran’s leaders amid a broader crackdown on independent civil society; he was held for months, including time in solitary confinement, and reportedly denied medical care. After sustained pressure, IAPSRS was ordered dissolved. Now in exile, Meymandinejad speaks on repression, public executions, social trust, and civilian harm from sanctions and war, through grassroots work.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen interviews Sharmiin Meymandinejad on the moral, social, and political stakes of child poverty, civil society, and repression in Iran. Meymandinejad reflects on moving from theatre into direct service, arguing that witnessing suffering creates an ethical duty to act. He describes poverty as an assault on dignity, identity, and hope, especially for children subjected to humiliation and exclusion. The conversation examines the structural roots of deprivation, the role of independent civic organizations, and the methods authoritarian systems use to isolate dissidents, destroy trust, and suppress grassroots initiatives that reveal uncomfortable social realities and demand conscience-driven solidarity from everyone.

How does Sharmiin Meymandinejad explain the links between child poverty, human dignity, civil society, and authoritarian repression in Iran?

03/26/2026

Always a pleasure joining Stephen LeDrew in conversation about the critical issues in Canada impacting Canadians, specifically role of narrative over truth in media and civic life.

03/23/2026

“There is a disease at work in the Western world, and I will name it, because being coy about it is its own form of cowardice. Call it wokeism, progressive orthodoxy, identitarian politics, these are surface symptoms of something deeper: the systematic demoralization of the West from within. Not by external enemies, though they have been happy to accelerate the process, but by a class of intellectuals and institutional managers who have made a religion of self-reproach and built careers on dismantling confidence in the civilization they inhabit.”
- Mathew Giagnorio

Jimmy Lai is 78 years old.

03/23/2026

Irina Tsukerman is a human rights and national security attorney based in New York and Connecticut. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in National and Intercultural Studies and Middle East Studies from Fordham University in 2006, followed by a Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law in 2009. She operates a boutique national security law practice. She serves as President of Scarab Rising, Inc., a media and security strategic advisory firm. Additionally, she is the Editor-in-Chief of The Washington Outsider, which focuses on foreign policy, geopolitics, security, and human rights. She is actively involved in several professional organizations, including the American Bar Association’s Energy, Environment, and Science and Technology Sections, where she serves as Program Vice Chair in the Oil and Gas Committee. She is also a member of the New York City Bar Association. She serves on the Middle East and North Africa Affairs Committee and affiliates with the Foreign and Comparative Law Committee.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen examines proposals for middle-power blocs, Canada’s exposure to global energy shocks, and shifting cultural trends such as rising cannabis use and declining alcohol consumption. Tsukerman argues that middle powers cannot replace superpowers due to limited cohesion and competing interests, while consensus-based democratic systems risk paralysis from internal veto players. She emphasizes Canada’s vulnerability to global energy price shocks despite domestic production and highlights tensions between energy security and climate policy. On substance use, she notes declining alcohol consumption, increasing cannabis normalization, and emerging health concerns, suggesting current trends reflect delayed public awareness and evolving regulatory and cultural dynamics.

Can middle power alliances reshape global geopolitics, and how do energy shocks and shifting substance use trends reflect deeper societal changes in Canada?

03/23/2026

“In reality, the most consequential moments of a life do not arrive labelled. They arrive as interruptions, unwelcome, disorienting, and often humiliating. What we later call an “opportunity” usually enters our lives wearing the disguise of an obstacle. And what we curse as an obstacle is often the only opportunity we were ever going to get to become something sturdier than we were.”
- Mathew Giagnorio

How adversity clarifies agency, and why comfort so often erodes it

03/20/2026

Mykhailo Yurov is a Ukrainian commentator and civil society observer whose work explores questions of identity, history, and LGBT rights in contemporary Ukraine. Drawing on historical context and lived experience, he discusses the legacy of Soviet-era repression, the uneven development of legal protections for q***r communities, and the cultural dynamics shaping modern Ukrainian society. Yurov frequently addresses the intersection of wartime realities, national identity, and human rights, emphasizing how social change occurs unevenly in periods of conflict. His commentary also highlights the role of artists, activists, and public figures in expanding visibility for LGBT Ukrainians while navigating political pressures, evolving legislation, and broader regional tensions in Eastern Europe today.

In this interview, Scott Douglas Jacobsen and Mykhailo Yurov examine LGBT rights, historical memory, and wartime identity in Ukraine. They discuss international legal equality rankings, Soviet-era repression of homosexuality, and the ongoing bureaucratic barriers facing transgender Ukrainians. The conversation explores cultural figures, contemporary q***r visibility, and hate-crime reporting in Ukraine, alongside broader geopolitical tensions between Ukraine and Russia following the 2022 invasion. Yurov reflects on language politics, national identity, and the legacy of Kyivan Rus’, while Jacobsen contextualizes the discussion within international law and global datasets on equality and media freedom. Together they analyze how war, culture, and civil society shape evolving LGBT rights.

How have Soviet-era repression, contemporary wartime conditions, and evolving cultural influences shaped the visibility, legal status, and social experiences of LGBT people in modern Ukraine?

03/16/2026

03/15/2026

“When the historical record is examined carefully, rather than filtered through the moral certainties of modern activist politics, the case against Dundas begins to crumble. The narrative used to justify his erasure is not just incomplete.
It is profoundly misleading.”
Mathew Giagnorio

How activist history turned an abolitionist into a public villain

03/15/2026

“For Beijing, Iran was useful, a discounted energy node, a Belt and Road foothold in the Middle East, a diplomatic pawn, and a chronic source of pressure on the United States.”
- Mathew Giagnorio

Operation Epic Fury and the Larger War with China Behind the War with Iran

03/12/2026

Alex Craiu is a Romanian war correspondent based in Ukraine, reporting from the frontline and rear areas for international audiences. Trained in documentary and cinematography production, he studied in the United Kingdom and in California, United States. He works as an independent, freelance journalist and has produced short-form video reporting for social platforms as well as written analysis. In 2017, he completed an internship with the BBC in London, then expanded his field reporting during Russia’s full-scale invasion. Craiu has contributed to outlets including Veridica and In-Sight Publishing, focusing on civilian life, information warfare, battlefield realities, and humanitarian consequences under fire.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen speaks with Alex Craiu, a Romanian freelance war correspondent in Ukraine, about press freedom and survival journalism. Using RSF’s index, they note that Ukraine rose from 106th (2022) to 62nd (2025), while Russia fell from 155th to 171st. Craiu describes martial-law constraints, bureaucratic barriers such as denied entry to Sumy, and the practical threat of losing accreditation. He contrasts this with Russia’s harsher repression, including imprisonment and torture. They discuss targeted hotel strikes, why “PRESS” markings can invite attacks, and how anti-corruption reporting can trigger surveillance. Digitalization, including Diia services, is framed as a transparency strategy during wartime.

How do press freedom constraints and battlefield risks shape independent reporting in wartime Ukraine compared with Russia?