Why I used sheep entrails to predict the Trump era
Predicting Donald Trump’s presidency via sheep entrails must rank among the most unusual exercises in academic outreach ever undertaken. But it is just one way Dr Selena Wisnom has brought her Assyrian research to the wider world.
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"Wisnom argues that reading the literature is not enough: "There are all kinds of things you can understand better if you try it than if you just read about it,' she says – an assertion that any teacher of ovine anatomy would second. She chose political prediction because in Assyria divination was a vital political tool. 'They would ask things like, "Is there going to be a rebellion in the south? Is the chief eunuch going to take the throne?"
On August 7, 2026, Assyrian communities around the world observed the Day of Remembrance for Assyrian Martyrs. On this day, the victims of persecution and mass killings are commemorated, particularly those who perished during the Simele massacre in Iraq in 1933.
The best cookbooks offer more than recipes—they tell the stories of the people behind them, their heritage, and their struggles. That’s exactly what makes The Oldest Kitchen in the World by Matay de Mayee such a treasure.
In a collaboration between Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) and the University of Baghdad, an ancient Babylonian hymn dating back over two millennia has been rediscovered and fully deciphered.
More than 200 letters, photographs and family records documenting Assyrian life in the Lake Urmia region have been digitized and will soon be made widely accessible through the University of California, Berkeley.
Almost two years after his passing on September 17, 2024, the voice of Evin Agassi still echoes deeply within the hearts of many Assyrians. Agassi was more than a musician; he was a cultural bridge, a storyteller of homeland longings, and a unifying symbol for millions scattered across the globe.
A century after its official establishment, Qamishli remains one of the most important reminders of how Assyrians rebuilt their lives after the destruction of their ancestral communities in the Ottoman Empire.
Dr Selena Wisnom
