Our Top 10 Stories of 2019

It’s almost 2020! You did see the last full moon of the decade, right?

… yeah, we didn’t either.

But what’s more fun than taking a look back at the year we’re just about to leave behind.

2019 was a year of growth for Inkstick. We launched our second season of Things That Go Boom. We created Critical State with The World. We grew our team! And, to be serious for a minute, you’ve been right there with us supporting our every move. Thank you a million times over.

We can’t wait to count down the new year tonight. But, before we do, here’s a look back at some of the most popular stories we published in 2019:

john bolton pyromaniac

10: John Bolton, Pyromaniac

Stephen Miles argues that John Bolton is responsible for lighting fires all over the world.

democratic decline in spain vox party right wing politics

9: Spain’s Democratic Decline

Spain is generally considered a healthy democracy, but Raphael Tsavkko Garcia points out that troubling trends lie beneath the surface.

military sexual assault

8: Military Sexual Assault is a National Security Issue

Rob Levinson argues that as women are fully integrated into all combat units in the military, it is vital to both our women and our men in uniform that we do everything we can to fix the issue of military sexual assault.

Armenian refugees in 1918

7: The Painful Costs of Denying the Armenian Genocide

Mariam Iskajyan recounts her own family’s painful history and argues that universal values mean little if we fail to remember and learn from our past.

national security and mental health

6: The National Security Community Has a Mental Health Problem

Jamie Withorne says that destigmatization is a process that won’t happen overnight. It’s time to start talking.

frank herbert dune and nuclear weapons

5: Imagine This: Frank Herbert’s “Dune” and Nuclear Use

Cameron Trainer examines the use of nuclear weapons in Frank Herbert’s classic novel, “Dune.”

godzilla king of the monsters

4: Will the Real Godzilla Please Stand Up?

Rachel Emond and Deverrick Holmes argue that the ‘King of the Monsters’ has been stripped of its nuclear past.

lobby for war with iran

3: The Lobby for War With Iran

Cassandra Stimpson and Nia Harris explain how Saudi and Emirati influence is driving the US to war… again.

nuclear-themed beer

2: That Nuclear-Weapons Themed Beer is Getting Some Blowback

Jon Letman reports that victims say the branding is a painful reminder of the devastation they’ve endured.

doomsday clock

1: Tick Tock Goes the Doomsday Clock

Derek Johnson argues that humanity is as close to the edge of the cliff as it’s ever been, and says the fact that we’ve perched here for as long as we have without plunging to our deaths has more to do with luck than with leadership.