Journalism that unpacks the global authoritarian toolkit
Current
Rewriting History
In this current, stories on how those in power shape our future by weaponized the past and manipulating our memories
The new samizdat
For years at Coda, we have tried to understand not just what is happening in the world, but how seemingly separate crises, technologies and political movements connect
The Belongers: What the Chagos Islands tells us about the new world order
A strategically important base is the setting for a new version of an old story about colonialism, exile, sovereignty, and the projection of power
SPECIAL PROJECT
The Alibi Machine
In Russia’s information war, the cover story is written before the bomb drops. Is that a crime?
Current
Authoritarian Tech
In this current, stories on how technology has captured every aspect of our lives from intimacy to politics.
“All my fundees have blue eyes.” Epstein and the tech world’s dark ideology
The Epstein files reveal a coherent ideology — about race, genetic hierarchy, and the engineering of human life — that ran from his Manhattan townhouse to the heart of Silicon Valley.
How Brazil is starting to rein in Big Tech
A recent White House meeting between presidents Lula and Trump may have thawed the ice on trade, but Brazilian legislators remain intent on holding Silicon Valley to account
The Big Idea
The Age of Exile
What does displacement look like in the era of digital connection? Our series explores how exile has evolved from historical punishment into a defining condition of our time.
Current
Polarization
Who you are and what you believe have been weaponized in new ways in the power struggles of the 21st century. We track what price individuals and societies pay for these identity battles.
Peter Thiel is building a parallel justice system — Powered by AI
His investment in Objection.ai points to a new model: private investigations, AI verdicts, and accountability mechanisms that operate outside democratic institutions.
Always on the outside: Exile isn’t about the country you leave
When a lie about Haitians in Ohio spread nationwide, a pioneering Haitian-American journalist was forced to ask if belonging will always be conditional. Exile, he realized, is not geography, it’s the distance between who you are and who the nation insists you must be
Europe vs Big Tech: A battle for democracy?
Silicon Valley and the U.S. government are positioning their frustration over European regulation as ideological, as a defense of freedom over government control.
THE THINKERS
“The Politics of Dysfunction”
THE THINKERS from Coda Media: bold ideas, urgent questions, and the people behind them.
Recorded at ZEG Storytelling Festival.
Author and researcher Peter Pomerantsev has spent years dissecting how modern authoritarianism works — and why democracies keep losing ground. In this conversation, he explains how strongmen are learning to network across borders, why “getting-shit-done” politics is winning people over, and what treating information like a weapon does to our public life. He also reveals the one group he thinks will shape our future — and why, despite everything, he still finds a sliver of hope.
Current
Armed Conflict
In this current, we take a deep dive into how digital technology is re-defining armed conflicts
Why an insurgency in Mali matters in Moscow
For years, Russia has been interfering in the Sahel, using misinformation and mercenaries in what now looks like a botched bid to secure influence and control
Teens making drones: Russia’s demographic collapse
Despite the Kremlin’s focus on raising birth rates, a combination of war and failed policy means the country’s steep population decline now seems terminal.
