Esther King
@esthermavis.bsky.social
Deputy editor, The Dial (@thedialmag.bsky.social)
Reposted by Esther King
In 2018, two months before his 33rd birthday, Egyptian writer @ahmednaji.bsky.social arrived in the U.S. on a one-way ticket in a journey of exile and self-reinvention. These are excerpts from his journals from that time: www.thedial.world/articles/new...
Las Vegas Diaries — The Dial
“These days I have no passport, no documents. And even if I manage to get one, I cannot return to Egypt.”
www.thedial.world
November 19, 2025 at 4:44 PM
In 2018, two months before his 33rd birthday, Egyptian writer @ahmednaji.bsky.social arrived in the U.S. on a one-way ticket in a journey of exile and self-reinvention. These are excerpts from his journals from that time: www.thedial.world/articles/new...
Reposted by Esther King
Today, we’re kicking off our end-of-year fundraising campaign. Support The Dial in promoting the exchange of ideas across borders! www.thedial.world/support
November 16, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Today, we’re kicking off our end-of-year fundraising campaign. Support The Dial in promoting the exchange of ideas across borders! www.thedial.world/support
Can't wait to answer your questions 👀
Powered by Dial editors, trained on years of experience at newsrooms around the world, DialGPT is built to answer reader questions. Have you ever wondered how we commission pieces? Or want a book recommendation? Ask us anything: www.thedial.world/dialgpt
November 17, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Can't wait to answer your questions 👀
Reposted by Esther King
"But one fact remains and that’s if you're dead, it doesn't matter which leader 6,000 miles away never knew your name, never knew your story."
www.thedial.world/articles/new...
I wrote this last year during the worst days of the war. Much of it still applies.
www.thedial.world/articles/new...
I wrote this last year during the worst days of the war. Much of it still applies.
“They Are Liars” — The Dial
Israel’s attacks in Beirut, and American complicity in them, has confirmed for many Lebanese how little they matter to the United States.
www.thedial.world
November 11, 2025 at 10:20 AM
"But one fact remains and that’s if you're dead, it doesn't matter which leader 6,000 miles away never knew your name, never knew your story."
www.thedial.world/articles/new...
I wrote this last year during the worst days of the war. Much of it still applies.
www.thedial.world/articles/new...
I wrote this last year during the worst days of the war. Much of it still applies.
Reposted by Esther King
Delighted to have a new article with The Dial - this time on tech giants, their alarming inflation of our GDP, and the mutation of the Dublin docklands from the early 2000s to today. Thanks to The Dial for the commission & their wonderful & astute editorial support.
Ireland is alarmingly reliant on Meta, Google and Apple. Jessica Traynor reports on how U.S. technology companies have reshaped the economy, leaving it deeply exposed to President Trump’s tariffs: www.thedial.world/articles/new...
What US Tech Did to Ireland — The Dial
The country is alarmingly reliant on Meta, Google and Apple.
www.thedial.world
November 11, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Delighted to have a new article with The Dial - this time on tech giants, their alarming inflation of our GDP, and the mutation of the Dublin docklands from the early 2000s to today. Thanks to The Dial for the commission & their wonderful & astute editorial support.
Reposted by Esther King
What's the point of a global climate target?
@sophieyeo.bsky.social on where 1.5C came from and where it's going:
www.thedial.world/articles/new...
@sophieyeo.bsky.social on where 1.5C came from and where it's going:
www.thedial.world/articles/new...
What’s the Point of a Global Climate Target? — The Dial
Countries pledged to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Is it time to abandon it?
www.thedial.world
November 5, 2025 at 3:17 PM
What's the point of a global climate target?
@sophieyeo.bsky.social on where 1.5C came from and where it's going:
www.thedial.world/articles/new...
@sophieyeo.bsky.social on where 1.5C came from and where it's going:
www.thedial.world/articles/new...
Reposted by Esther King
“The Glamour Zoo”, short story by Li Jingrui, tr. me, in yesterday’s @thedialmag.bsky.social
Here’s the link:
swe01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
Here’s the link:
swe01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
"The Glamour Zoo," by Li Jingrui — The Dial
A short story.
swe01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
October 15, 2025 at 1:36 PM
“The Glamour Zoo”, short story by Li Jingrui, tr. me, in yesterday’s @thedialmag.bsky.social
Here’s the link:
swe01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
Here’s the link:
swe01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
Reposted by Esther King
“Border bears,” bears that roam between nations like the U.S. and Mexico, risk being disturbed by immigration policies and tariff-related threats. If President Trump continues to build the wall, these animals’ migration paths could end up completely blocked. Ganesh Marín reports.
Bears at the Border — The Dial
How immigration and tariff policies affect the animals that roam between the U.S. and Mexico.
www.thedial.world
October 10, 2025 at 1:22 PM
“Border bears,” bears that roam between nations like the U.S. and Mexico, risk being disturbed by immigration policies and tariff-related threats. If President Trump continues to build the wall, these animals’ migration paths could end up completely blocked. Ganesh Marín reports.
This was such a fantastic read, and a real pleasure to review for @wwborders.bsky.social
“From the harsh, sterile confines of prison, the novel returns to the central question: Who gets to be a mother?” writes critic Esther King. For WWB, King reviews Brenda Lozano’s latest novel MOTHERS (tr. Heather Cleary).
Read the review: wordswithoutborders.org/book-reviews...
Read the review: wordswithoutborders.org/book-reviews...
October 8, 2025 at 7:14 PM
This was such a fantastic read, and a real pleasure to review for @wwborders.bsky.social
Reposted by Esther King
Over the 1990s, Washington transformed Guantánamo Bay into a theater of extraterritorial mass incarceration to hold tens of thousands of Haitian and Cuban asylum-seekers fleeing political violence and economic collapse. Miriam Pensack reports on this little-known history.
Guantánamo's Secret History — The Dial
Trump isn't the first president to use the military base for the U.S.'s dirty secrets
www.thedial.world
October 1, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Over the 1990s, Washington transformed Guantánamo Bay into a theater of extraterritorial mass incarceration to hold tens of thousands of Haitian and Cuban asylum-seekers fleeing political violence and economic collapse. Miriam Pensack reports on this little-known history.
I translated Sabrina's great reporting from German for @thedialmag.bsky.social — read her dispatch here👇
Oil companies and developers in Peru are ignoring historic legislation which protects the country’s waves, reports Sabrina Weiss. With oil spillage and new infrastructure threatening wildlife and the local economy, activists are organizing to maintain clean waters.
www.thedial.world/articles/new...
www.thedial.world/articles/new...
Protecting Peru’s Waves — The Dial
A new law was supposed to shield beaches from development and oil spills. It’s not being enforced.
www.thedial.world
September 30, 2025 at 4:18 PM
I translated Sabrina's great reporting from German for @thedialmag.bsky.social — read her dispatch here👇
Reposted by Esther King
I have a new translation up at @thedialmag.bsky.social, Lauren Bastide's Courir l'escargot, which we're calling Consider the Snail. I loved this book & was so happy to get to translate some excerpts from it, about slowness, failure, grief, alterity, cycles, & goo www.thedial.world/articles/lit...
Consider the Snail — The Dial
“In writing about snails, I wanted to write about slowness and strangeness, solitude and death, hibernation and estivation.”
www.thedial.world
September 25, 2025 at 8:44 AM
I have a new translation up at @thedialmag.bsky.social, Lauren Bastide's Courir l'escargot, which we're calling Consider the Snail. I loved this book & was so happy to get to translate some excerpts from it, about slowness, failure, grief, alterity, cycles, & goo www.thedial.world/articles/lit...
Reposted by Esther King
1/ Dear readers,
The Dial is evolving. You talked, we listened — and have made a few changes to our magazine.
The Dial is evolving. You talked, we listened — and have made a few changes to our magazine.
September 9, 2025 at 2:42 PM
1/ Dear readers,
The Dial is evolving. You talked, we listened — and have made a few changes to our magazine.
The Dial is evolving. You talked, we listened — and have made a few changes to our magazine.
Reposted by Esther King
unexpected and very nice to have a piece I wrote for the dial about baseball last year selected for this anthology! ⚾
the piece is here: www.thedial.world/articles/new...
the piece is here: www.thedial.world/articles/new...
September 4, 2025 at 10:13 AM
unexpected and very nice to have a piece I wrote for the dial about baseball last year selected for this anthology! ⚾
the piece is here: www.thedial.world/articles/new...
the piece is here: www.thedial.world/articles/new...
Reposted by Esther King
In “Burial at Sea,” a short story by Karim Kattan set in Palestine in the summer of 2019, the narrator loses a lover on a cruise vacation and reckons with their grief: www.thedial.world/articles/lit...
“Burial at Sea,” by Karim Kattan — The Dial
A short story.
www.thedial.world
August 19, 2025 at 5:05 PM
In “Burial at Sea,” a short story by Karim Kattan set in Palestine in the summer of 2019, the narrator loses a lover on a cruise vacation and reckons with their grief: www.thedial.world/articles/lit...
I spoke to the wonderful Karim Kattan about his recent stories for @thedialmag.bsky.social and why horror is a genre that speaks to the Palestinian experience: "You’re always trapped in a time that you can’t get free of.” Read the full conversation here: www.thedial.world/articles/the...
Palestinian Literature and the “Recurring Nightmare” of Occupation — The Dial
A conversation with Karim Kattan, whose short story “Burial at Sea” was published in our Fiction issue. A previous story, “Salt Air,” translated from the French by Jeffrey Zuckerman, was pub...
www.thedial.world
August 20, 2025 at 8:30 AM
I spoke to the wonderful Karim Kattan about his recent stories for @thedialmag.bsky.social and why horror is a genre that speaks to the Palestinian experience: "You’re always trapped in a time that you can’t get free of.” Read the full conversation here: www.thedial.world/articles/the...
Reposted by Esther King
🤩 Delighted to say my translation of Klára Vlasáková’s short story “The Cells” was published today as part of @thedialmag.bsky.social’s Fiction issue: bit.ly/4oQPrPB
August 20, 2025 at 4:09 AM
🤩 Delighted to say my translation of Klára Vlasáková’s short story “The Cells” was published today as part of @thedialmag.bsky.social’s Fiction issue: bit.ly/4oQPrPB
Reposted by Esther King
"I read of dogs furiously digging holes in the ground to escape the 35-degree heat. Children fainting during assembly early in the morning."
@arielsaramandi.bsky.social for @thedialmag.bsky.social: www.thedial.world/articles/new...
@arielsaramandi.bsky.social for @thedialmag.bsky.social: www.thedial.world/articles/new...
The Future of Climate Change Is on Mauritius — The Dial
Freak tornadoes, “explosions” of jellyfish, flash floods and dried up pumps.
www.thedial.world
August 13, 2025 at 11:05 AM
"I read of dogs furiously digging holes in the ground to escape the 35-degree heat. Children fainting during assembly early in the morning."
@arielsaramandi.bsky.social for @thedialmag.bsky.social: www.thedial.world/articles/new...
@arielsaramandi.bsky.social for @thedialmag.bsky.social: www.thedial.world/articles/new...
What place is there for fiction when reality demands our constant attention? The writers in our fiction issue this month give possible answers. @thedialmag.bsky.social
www.thedial.world/articles/lit...
www.thedial.world/articles/lit...
“Illegal Alien,” by Jumaana Abdu — The Dial
A short story.
www.thedial.world
August 7, 2025 at 3:19 PM
What place is there for fiction when reality demands our constant attention? The writers in our fiction issue this month give possible answers. @thedialmag.bsky.social
www.thedial.world/articles/lit...
www.thedial.world/articles/lit...
Reposted by Esther King
In Mauritius, jellyfish are dying, the seas are boiling; the climate dystopia we fear for the future has already arrived, Ariel Saramandi writes: www.thedial.world/articles/new...
The Future of Climate Change Is on Mauritius — The Dial
Freak tornadoes, “explosions” of jellyfish, flash floods and dried up pumps.
www.thedial.world
July 29, 2025 at 1:50 PM
In Mauritius, jellyfish are dying, the seas are boiling; the climate dystopia we fear for the future has already arrived, Ariel Saramandi writes: www.thedial.world/articles/new...
"In the nearby women’s detention facility at Mezzeh Military Airport in Damascus, small clay heart decorations inscribed with messages were hanging alongside crayon-colored drawings of peaceful homelife — a kitchen table, a garden, a child’s bedroom." @thedialmag
www.thedial.world/articles/new...
www.thedial.world/articles/new...
Syria’s Archives of Atrocity — The Dial
Discarded documents from Assad’s regime offer clues to Syrians searching for lost family and friends.
www.thedial.world
July 25, 2025 at 9:25 AM
"In the nearby women’s detention facility at Mezzeh Military Airport in Damascus, small clay heart decorations inscribed with messages were hanging alongside crayon-colored drawings of peaceful homelife — a kitchen table, a garden, a child’s bedroom." @thedialmag
www.thedial.world/articles/new...
www.thedial.world/articles/new...
Reposted by Esther King
More than 100 aid agencies warn of mass starvation in Gaza. Why has famine become a modern tool of war? Last year, Sarah Nouwen talked with the executive director of the World Peace Foundation and the UN's special rapporteur on the right to food: www.thedial.world/articles/sta...
www.thedial.world
July 23, 2025 at 2:00 PM
More than 100 aid agencies warn of mass starvation in Gaza. Why has famine become a modern tool of war? Last year, Sarah Nouwen talked with the executive director of the World Peace Foundation and the UN's special rapporteur on the right to food: www.thedial.world/articles/sta...
Reposted by Esther King
The Dial is a super mag, which I've had the pleasure of contributing to a couple of times.
For its summer reading list I recommended one book I can't stop thinking about – Dirty Work by @epress.bsky.social
Check out the full list and donate to support unique and independent journalism :)
For its summer reading list I recommended one book I can't stop thinking about – Dirty Work by @epress.bsky.social
Check out the full list and donate to support unique and independent journalism :)
This summer, if you donate to The Dial you’ll receive our exclusive book list from 35 of our contributors. The diversity of the list reflects the diversity of our writers and reporters, who are based in China, Turkey, India, Switzerland and elsewhere. www.thedial.world/summer-readi...
Summer Reading Campaign
Get The Dial's exclusive summer reading list with 50+ global book recommendations. Support independent literary journalism with a $50 donation.
www.thedial.world
July 17, 2025 at 10:38 AM
The Dial is a super mag, which I've had the pleasure of contributing to a couple of times.
For its summer reading list I recommended one book I can't stop thinking about – Dirty Work by @epress.bsky.social
Check out the full list and donate to support unique and independent journalism :)
For its summer reading list I recommended one book I can't stop thinking about – Dirty Work by @epress.bsky.social
Check out the full list and donate to support unique and independent journalism :)
Reposted by Esther King
Donate to The Dial before Aug. 1 and you’ll receive our exclusive reading list of more than 50 titles! As a nonprofit, we are proud to offer all our articles to readers for free. Your support allow us to continue to make our work accessible to all. Donate today: www.thedial.world/summer-readi...
Summer Reading Campaign
Get The Dial's exclusive summer reading list with 50+ global book recommendations. Support independent literary journalism with a $50 donation.
www.thedial.world
July 18, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Donate to The Dial before Aug. 1 and you’ll receive our exclusive reading list of more than 50 titles! As a nonprofit, we are proud to offer all our articles to readers for free. Your support allow us to continue to make our work accessible to all. Donate today: www.thedial.world/summer-readi...
1/ The stories in this month’s issue, Fever, take on various issues that have reached peak intensity. We’ll bring you a report on the UN’s liquidity crisis, snapshots from Mauritius where climate disaster brings freak tornadoes and jellyfish “explosions,” a photo essay of swimming horses and more.
The Dial
The Dial is an online magazine of culture, politics, and ideas with a focus on locally sourced writing from around the world.
www.thedial.world
July 11, 2025 at 2:46 PM