The headlines move fast, but the stakes underneath them move faster. When political leaders say the Strait of Hormuz is “open” and diplomacy is “wrapping up,” we slow the tape and ask the only question that matters: who actually has leverage right now, and what price...

War is content, at least for those who are far from the explosions, acrid smoke and mourning parents. To those closer to the destruction and loss, it’s very real and inescapable. For most of us, the privileged, we peer into it whenever we dare, or should it come...