A government in name only. A protracted conflict with a hard-line Islamist group. A severe drought and famine, and thousands of people on the move. Ben Rawlence has written a penetrating report about the tumultuous situation in Somalia, and the toll it's taken on civilians. Also, the celebrated solo performer Anna Deavere Smith talks about her new show.

Too many wars in the twentieth century, and in this one. Nelson Maldonado-Torres draws upon thinkers like Frantz Fanon and Aime Cesaire to argue for a project of decolonization, one that directly confronts the Western paradigm of racist war. In his book Against War, Maldonado-Torres also analyzes the work of Emmanuel Levinas and Enrique Dussel. (Encore presentation.)

Pakistan may be the linchpin of the US's so-called war on terror, but it is also, as Tariq Ali notes, a wrecked country. Pakistan's neighbor Afghanistan is also devastated; the continuing war there makes meaningful recovery impossible. In a recent talk, Ali addressed key developments in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq, often dictated by US geopolitical interests.

Leo Tolstoy was much more than a novelist. He also spoke out against state authority, war, laws, patriotism, and economic exploitation. Many of Tolstoy's anarcho-pacifist views were informed by his mid-life conversion to Christianity. Alexandre Christoyannopoulos discusses Tolstoy's Christian anarchism.

Are the logics of war and neoliberalism compatible with the empowerment of women and the pursuit of feminist goals? Mary Hawkesworth describes what happens to women, social attitudes, and political structures both during war and after demobilization. She also cites processes of feminization that affect labor, patterns of poverty, and even men. (Encore presentation.)

Too many wars in the twentieth century, and in this one. Nelson Maldonado-Torres draws upon thinkers like Frantz Fanon and Aime Cesaire to argue for a project of decolonization, one that directly confronts the Western paradigm of racist war. In his book Against War, Maldonado-Torres also analyzes the work of Emmanuel Levinas and Enrique Dussel.