A Stubborn Thing About our 2023 Stubborn Things

In 2023, we published 45 Stubborn Things with topics related to nearly every Wilson Center program area. The most read blog post was “Hamas: Words and Deeds” with more than 55,000 readers. As 2023 quickly draws to a close, we report a few “stubborn things” of our own.

Our most-read post of the past year—with more than 55,000 views—considered the jihadist beginnings of Hamas, tracing the shifting language of its original political charter in 1988 to its terrorist attack on October 7, 2023. With reports of an extensive, 300-mile-long network of Hamas-controlled tunnels underneath Gaza, we also reflected upon the use of tunnels by criminals and militants throughout history—and how Hamas is changing the game with its technical sophistication and brazen use of civilian shields.

Heatwaves and Preterm Births

A new report suggests that preterm birth is 16% more likely to occur on heatwave days.

According to data conducted by NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies, worldwide, the summer of 2023 was the hottest on record since 1880. With those rising temperatures, heat-related disasters also seem to be occurring more and more often. From wildfires across Canada to flooding across the Mediterranean, extreme weather events were on the rise.

Medicine Supply Chain Vulnerabilities

Of 20 cancer drugs considered essential by the independent not-for-profit group US Pharmacopeia, 14 have more than 40% of their production concentrated in a single facility.

America’s response to COVID-19 continues to be a politically charged topic, but few would dispute that it laid bare serious vulnerabilities in our health supply chains. And while the infectious disease itself may no longer be a pandemic, our public leaders are likely to focus on health supply processes, especially for life-saving medicines, for years to come.