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Longform, big-picture, detailed analysis of world events, politics, policy, & more with depth & context you won't find anywhere else.
Transcend the noise with an academic approach to news coverage from independent analyst, consultant, & historian Brian Frydenborg.
Named a “Top 60 Foreign Policy Blogs & Websites” site From 2020-2025
ONE MILLION content views as of January 1, 2023!!! Thank you to readers & an appeal for support
Real Context News Intelligence (RCNI) is the client-centered branch of Real Context News that produces commissioned research and analysis content for clients upon request at its discretion. E-mail Brian directly with any inquiries.
FEATURED STORIES
The Inaugural Real Context News AI Reading List (#1)
Trump, Taking Page from Netanyahu, Turns America Into His West Bank
THE Way to Watch Star Wars’ Andor and Rogue One for Max Emotional Impact (or, The Best Damn Full Andor Viewing Guide in the Galaxy)
MAGA Doesn’t Get Math, Economics, or History; Now, It Doesn’t Get Star Wars!
THE TWO MAPS THAT PROVE RUSSIA ISN’T WINNING AND UKRAINE ISN’T LOSING IN 2025
A Comeback and Some Accountability on Past Coverage on Ukraine and the U.S. Elections
Kursk-Belgorod Operation: Ukraine’s Transformational Ace Up Its Sleeve
Harris-Shapiro 2024? Why Josh Shapiro Is a Much Better Pick as Vice President for Kamala Harris than Mark Kelly
Biden at His Worst Is Better than Insurrectionist Trump at His “Best”: 13 Reasons to Keep Calm & Carry On (Biden’s Already Gaining Ground!)
I Endorse Angela Alsobrooks: Why I Am Proud to Do So As a Former Competitor!
How Combining Filibuster Reform, Expanding the Supreme Court, and Granting Statehood for DC and Puerto Rico Can Help Bring Balance Back to Our Politics: My 3-Tier Plan As a Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate for Maryland
Sad Realities but Plenty of Reason to Hope As Russia’s Escalatory Ukraine Invasion Enters Third Year
Haley, DeSantis Set for Embarrassment as Fascist Trump Train Set to Roll Through Primaries & Caucuses; It Begins with Iowa
The Real Context News Podcast #13: The Iowa Caucuses, GOP Primaries, & Why Haley & DeSantis Are Done & Biden Will Beat Trump
The Real Context News Podcast #12: Rula Jebreal—Palestinian Journalist, Analyst, & Author—on Palestine and Israel
The Real Context News Podcast #11: Aquilino Gonell, Staff Sgt. (U.S. Army Ret.) & Former Capitol Police Sgt., on January 6 & the Threat to Our Democracy
The Real Context News Podcast #10: Journalist Noga Tarnopolsky on Israel’s 2 Wars: One vs. Hamas & One vs. Netanyahu
The Lord of the Rings, Israel, and Palestine: Reflections of the Gaza-Hamas War in Tolkien
The Concept of Roman Peace
The Geopolitics, Politics, and Military Realities of the Past Year of U.S. Arms Transfers, Sales, and Authorizations to Taiwan
Facts, Context Don’t Care About Your Narrative: Gaza Hospital Edition
6 Steps for Israel to Take to Still Win, but with Far Better Outcomes for Itself and Gaza
The 9/11 and 10/7 Analogy for the Israel-Hamas War: Why It Both Does and Does Not Fit
There Is No “Stalemate” In Ukraine: Ukraine Still Winning, Russia Still Losing
If You Want to Support Israel, Call Out Its Apartheid in the West Bank
TRUMP INDICTED 4TH TIME, WITH GIULIANI, MEADOWS, & 16 OTHERS ON 41 COUNTS WITH 161 CRIMINAL ACTS IN GEORGIA RICO CASE—Read Full Indictment Here
TRUMP INDICTED FOR FEDERAL ELECTION CRIMES BY SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH—Read Full Indictment Here
From Orwell in Spain to Trump and Putin: Orwell as Antidote to Stalinism and Fascism, Then and Now
Putin’s (and Russia’s) Naked Weakness
The Coming Siege of Crimea?
TRUMP INDICTED ON 37 FEDERAL CRIMINAL COUNTS BY SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH—Read Full Indictment Here
Recent Raids and Drone Strikes in Russia Show How Screwed Russia and Putin Really Are
EXCLUSIVE: First Round Turkey Election Voting Data Suggest Systemic Opposition Voter Suppression
My Turkish Election Results Dataset Raises Troubling Questions and Should Be of Interest
The Importance of The Effort to Eject Erdoğan Goes Far Beyond Turkey
How Bakhmut and Kherson Set Up Ukraine’s Counteroffensive
Ukraine Crossing Dnipro River a Big Deal and General Assessment
Enough with the Breathlessly Stupid Trump Indictment Commentary
TRUMP INDICTED ON 34 FELONY CHARGES—Read Full Indictment Here
The Post-Putin World Will Be So Much Better than This One
Offensive Smensive: 8 Reasons Why Russia’s Expected Offensive Cannot Succeed
Russia’s Pyrrhic Advances at Soledar Near Bakhmut Setting Up Ukrainian Counteroffensive, Not Russian Victory
Biden’s and Democrats’ Historic Awesomeness Cannot Be Denied: Midterms Edition
A ONE MILLION Milestone, a Thank You, and an Appeal
An Urgently Needed Definition of “Fascism” as the West Fights It Anew at Home and Abroad
Russia-Ukraine War Settles into Predictable Alternating Phases, But Russia’s Losing Remains Constant
Elon Musk Is Not Fighting for “Free Speech” or Transparency on Twitter, But He Is a Lying Partisan: An Exhibit
Winter War in Ukraine: Seeing Through the Blizzard of Bad Takes
The Hard Voter Data Indicating Democrats Will Outperform the Polls and Hold Congress: In Data (and Women) We Trust
Capturing the Unique Inspirational Quality of Ukraine’s Fight Against Russia via Two Writers
This Is the Beginning of the End of the War
Why Putin Has Doomed Himself with His Ukraine Fiasco
Thoughts on the Passing of Queen Elizabeth II
I Saw This War Could Be Putin’s Undoing All the Way Back in Early March
Russian Army Collapses—and Revolution—Near-Certain as Russia Loses War: When/Where Harder to Predict
Why Is Russia Losing on 3 Fronts? Math (the Short Answer)
A (Half-Million) Milestone, a Thank You, and an Appeal
The 5 (English) Accounts to Follow on Russia’s Ukraine War
Ukrainian Prudence Meets Russian Limitations: Explaining the Current Pace and Nature of Russia’s War on Ukraine
The West’s Humanitarian Response to Ukraine Should Inspire Repetition, Not Envy
How Ukraine War Will Likely Go Rest of 2022, or, Kherson: The Beginning of the End for Russia
Russia’s Defeat in Ukraine May Take Some Time, But It’s Coming and Sooner Than You Think
Debunking One of the Worst Arguments Against Increasing Support for Ukraine
A Plea to Disney for Coherence and Quality Control in Star Wars (and More Finesse with Politics)
THE THREE MAPS SHOWING WHY UKRAINE IS WINNING AND RUSSIA IS LOSING (and why is isn’t even close)
The Inaugural Real Context News AI Reading List (#1)
Trump, Taking Page from Netanyahu, Turns America Into His West Bank
THE Way to Watch Star Wars’ Andor and Rogue One for Max Emotional Impact (or, The Best Damn Full Andor Viewing Guide in the Galaxy)
MAGA Doesn’t Get Math, Economics, or History; Now, It Doesn’t Get Star Wars!
THE TWO MAPS THAT PROVE RUSSIA ISN’T WINNING AND UKRAINE ISN’T LOSING IN 2025
A Comeback and Some Accountability on Past Coverage on Ukraine and the U.S. Elections
My Data-Driven 2024 Elections Guide: Best Damn Predictions Out There! (Highly-Likely Result: A Harris Win)
The Hard Voter Data Indicating Democrats Will Outperform the Polls & Win Big: In Data (& Black Women & Latinas) We Trust
Kursk-Belgorod Operation: Ukraine’s Transformational Ace Up Its Sleeve
Harris-Shapiro 2024? Why Josh Shapiro Is a Much Better Pick as Vice President for Kamala Harris than Mark Kelly
Latest News/Analysis
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Trump-Russia News/Analysis
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