About the journal
Current events.
Enduring questions.
Independent essays with evidence, intellectual depth and room to think.
What we examine
On Borrowed Times looks at how institutions work, how they drift, and how people and technologies change them. Its essays connect immediate events with questions that last: trust, judgment, responsibility, knowledge and the systems we rely on.
We welcome clear arguments and serious disagreement. The aim is to understand a question more fully, follow the evidence and make the reasoning visible.
Open to readers. Open to ideas.
Every essay is freely accessible. Optional email updates let readers request new work without a paywall.
New and established writers are welcome to offer essays for private editorial consideration. Research, fairness and a willingness to be edited matter more than a particular institutional affiliation.
John Elijah
John Elijah writes about institutions, work, technology and the decisions people make through them. John Elijah is a pen name.
Contact
To offer an essay or a developed proposal, use the private submission form. Please read the guidelines first.
For a correction, privacy request or other editorial question, contact the editor by email. Include the essay title or submission reference when relevant.
For our approach to evidence, AI assistance and corrections, see the editorial standards. Our privacy notice explains how subscription and submission information is handled.