Our Mission
The Lemur will provide a forum for intellectually ambitious and curious Duke students who wish to share ideas about history, philosophy, politics, art, religion, science, and culture with the broader university community while honing their writing skills with the aid of superb mentorship from Duke faculty and affiliates.
The Lemur will be a thought leader on campus, igniting discussions about the most vital ethical, political, and cultural questions of our time and all time, and encouraging Duke students to thoughtfully engage with the world and the ideas that shape it.
Why Call It The Lemur?
The philosopher Isaiah Berlin once wrote, in an influential essay on Leo Tolstoy’s view of history, about the “Hedgehog and the Fox.” Extrapolating from an obscure quotation from a since-lost Greek play, Berlin hypothesized that the hedgehog “knows one big thing, whereas the fox knows many little things.” Berlin’s thesis was a transformative one—historians and sociologists alike used his paradigm to explain both everyday human behavior and the psychology of history’s Great Men (the colossally ambitious Napoleon was a hedgehog, the slyly calculative Machiavelli a fox). Berlin’s idea is elegant and profound; it certainly changed how we see the world. Nevertheless, he made a glaring omission and left one creature out. It is now the duty of this magazine to answer Berlin’s unasked (but assuredly implied) question: what does the Lemur know?
Our Speech Policy
The Lemur adheres to the following free speech principles, as outlined in the Chicago Statement:
“In a word, the University’s fundamental commitment is to the principle that debate or deliberation may not be suppressed because the ideas put forth are thought by some or even by most members of the University community to be offensive, unwise, immoral, or wrong-headed. It is for the individual members of the University community, not for the University as an institution, to make those judgments for themselves, and to act on those judgments not by seeking to suppress speech, but by openly and vigorously contesting the ideas that they oppose. Indeed, fostering the ability of members of the University community to engage in such debate and deliberation in an effective and responsible manner is an essential part of the University’s educational mission.”
The Lemur in the News
‘A Battlefield of Ideas’: Students Promote Civil Discourse Through Peer-Driven Magazine, Event Steve Hartsoe | April 18, 2025 | Duke Today
Meet the Lemurs
Co-Editor-in-Chief
Cara Eaton
I’m Cara, Co-Editor-in-Chief and resident armchair metaphysician at The Lemur. I’m a senior from Westerly, RI, studying philosophy. I write about metaphysics, aesthetics, film, and literature. Find me watching and theorizing about David Lynch. I periodically travel to Oxford to study the comma — yes, that one — and settle the debate for good. Ask me about Dostoevsky’s Brothers Karamazov — I will not be brief.
Co-Editor-in-Chief
Alejandro Nina Duran
I’m Alejandro Nina Duran, Co-Editor-in-Chief and former El Caudillo for The Lemur‘s Politics section. I am currently a junior studying political science, with a minor in interdisciplinary applied alchemy. Before facing the barrels of the Duke Chronicle’s editing squad, Mother Lemur took me to touch grass. A recent read of mine was [REDACTED], a riveting storyline! In my spare time, you can find me having matcha (with a dash of sustainable oat milk) with my intersectionality book club or reenacting the eighth wonder of the learned alchemists of Macedonia.
Politics Editor
Anna Vannoy
I’m Anna, a Politics Editor and Communications Director for The Lemur. I’m a junior from Greensboro, NC, majoring in public policy and minoring in English. I also devote considerable time to beating dead horses. I like to write about politics, policy, literature, history, and movies. A recent read of mine was Sudden Death by Álvaro Enrigue, a story about the history of the world told through the lens of a really intense tennis match played between the artist Caravaggio and a fictional Spanish poet, using a tennis ball made of Anne Boleyn’s hair. I liked the book because I’d love to become so infamous that people rejoice in making my hair into a sports ball. Seems like a good way to live on into perpetuity. If you have any other recommendations on ways to become that problematic and odious, please let me know.
Politics Editor
Nathan Hertzberg
I’m Nathan, a Politics Editor for The Lemur. I’m a junior from Hamilton, VA, majoring in statistical science and history. I like to write about politics, history, literature, and music. I also have a passing interest in the digital humanities, especially using text mining. My perennial book recommendation is The Next Shift: The Fall of Industry and the Rise of Health Care in Rust Belt America by Gabriel Winant.
History Editor
Daelyn Edge
Hi beautiful people! My name is Daelyn Edge, and I am a History Editor for The Lemur! I am a junior studying history and psychology, and I love to write about current political events as they connect to history and literature. Two books that I have read and loved recently are On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder and Animal Farm by George Orwell.
History Editor
Krish Ramesh
I’m Krish, a History Editor for The Lemur. I’m a sophomore from Waxhaw, NC, studying history with a concentration on 19th-century transatlantic conflicts and revolutions (aka the Napoleonic Wars). When I was in Kindergarten, I picked up a Magic Treehouse novel and became entranced in the literary masterpiece that is Mary Pope Osborne’s 37-book series. Ever since, I have garnered several thousand hours on Total War: Napoleon and adjacent Paradox Interactive games, a collection of imported Napoleonic textbooks, and a humble collection of Napoleon-themed socks and pajamas. I often spend my days lollygagging, dilly-dallying, and/or dawdling my time with whimsical history classes.
Philosophy & Religion Editor
Jason Lu
I’m Jason, the Philosophy and Religion Editor for The Lemur, and a sophomore majoring in none other than philosophy! I love to run 3 miles, feeling a complex problem slowly untie its knots in the increasingly cold air. Other times, you may see me bickering about whether God is truly dead, although I myself have no clear answer at hand. My favorite book is Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh.
Philosophy & Religion Editor
Maclain Conlin
Greetings! I’m Maclain Conlin, a Philosophy & Religion editor for The Lemur. I’m a sophomore from Moore County, NC, majoring in religious studies and classical civilization. I like to write about Roman law, constitutional law, and American legal history, and in my free time, I enjoy Dressage riding, reading books on theology, and learning more about North Carolina’s rich heritage. Two of my favorite books are The Life of Thomas More by Peter Ackroyd and Roman Canon Law in Reformation England by R.H. Helmholz.
Criticism & Commentary Editor
Lauren Vandivier
Hi! I’m Lauren, and I’m the Criticism and Commentary editor for The Lemur! I’m a junior from Virginia studying economics, statistics, and history, and I enjoy reading, crafting, and watching Duke basketball. My main writing interests are current events and history (don’t ask me about the future). I recently read The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera, and I hope you’ll read it too!
Campus Editor · Politics Editor
Lauren Blake
I’m Lauren, a Campus Editor for The Lemur. I’m a junior from Richmond, VA majoring in public policy, minoring in Spanish, and getting a certificate in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE) (though I reserve the right to panic-switch this combination at least two more times). In my abundant free time, I enjoy watching the Great British Baking Show (and subsequently adopting lingo such as stodgy and claggy), nursing my Duolingo streak, and telling people why Richmond is great (they rarely believe me). Unfortunately, I must confess that I do not know how to read or write and have instead simply gotten very good at memorizing combinations of letters. Therefore I cannot recommend a book to you at this time. That being said, I have heard through the grapevine that The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich is excellent.
Science Editor
Manu Datta
I’m Manu Datta, Science Editor for The Lemur and a sophomore from Hillsborough, NJ, studying political science and chemistry, concentrating on selling my soul to Big Pharma. I enjoy drug policy, watching old movies so that I can be pretentious about them, and watching college football because, despite my best efforts, there is some humanity left in me. Ask me about Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; I never finished it, but I’m pretty good at pretending that I did.
Staff Writer
Emily McDermott
I’m Emily, a Staff Writer for The Lemur. I’m a junior from Tampa, FL, studying public policy and neuroscience. I like to write about the intersection of policy and neuroscience. A book I read recently is The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson.
Staff Writer
Neel Mehra
I’m Neel, a Staff Writer for The Lemur. I’m a senior from Vienna, Virginia, just outside the Washington D.C. area, majoring in financial economics and statistics. I love to travel and have spent summers living in India, Brazil, and Hong Kong. I enjoy trying new foods and writing about the intersection of cuisine and culture. In my free time, I love playing basketball and the piano, and my favorite book is Factfulness by Hans Rosling.
Staff Writer
Samuel Silva de Moura
I’m Samuel Silva de Moura, a freshman at Duke still getting used to the fact that “syllabus week” doesn’t mean four gap years abroad. Before Duke, I coordinated refugee camps in Jordan and a humanitarian program in Kenya and somehow ended up in a UN negotiation room at COP30. I’m likely studying International Comparative Studies, with an unofficial minor in Journalism and Media. In my spare time, you can find me explaining Middle Eastern and Brazilian regional rivalries to anyone who’ll listen or trying to convince ex-Model UN participants that real diplomacy involves significantly more tea and significantly less parliamentary procedure.
Staff Writer
Anna Ortwein
I’m Anna, a Staff Writer for The Lemur. I’m a junior studying political science and economics with a concentration in international relations. I like to write about German politics and transatlantic relations, often paired with reflections on my experience running for the German and European Parliament. I’m German the way some people are cat people: it comes up quickly, but mostly means I have strong views on bureaucracy and bread. Most recently, I read Why the Heartland Went Red.
Truth Editor
[redacted]
All the information he has about himself is from forged documents. Has read Infinite Jest. Watches, but does not theorize, on David Lynch films.
Staff Writer
Luis Pintak
Hello! I’m Luis, a lemur from The Lemur. You might know me from my tours on campus or my profound writing performance on my computer in the library. I like watching other Lemurs during editor meetings and squirrels that ransack trash cans. I like Duke, Duke people, Duke caps, Savannah, Savannah caps, and fried green tomatoes (both the meal and the movie). Oh, and I love sunglasses (but I’m not Jack Gladney). In Nola, I recently met Louis Armstrong. He didn’t move, and I was told he was a statue now. I’m glad that I can read, and I’ve already read a few books. I’m inclined to collect brochures of places I’ll never visit, stamps I never put into an album, and scrap paper with undecipherable notes. According to my passport, my name is actually Luis Pintak. My biographer writes that I was an exchange student from a German city named Berlin in the turbulent year of 2025. I have no idea where my surname comes from, but Google might know. Probably Eastern Europe. Some call me Luis (all pronunciations are okay), the Americanist, What?, You’re from Germany?, or the Berliner. At least, that’s what the case file claims. And my biographer. And that squirrel. Bye!!
Co-Editor-in-Chief Emeritus & Co-Founder
Zachary Partnoy
I’m Zachary, a Co-Editor-in-Chief Emeritus and co-founder of The Lemur. I’m a Duke alum from San Diego, CA. I majored in history with minors in English and political science. I like to write about movies, books, economic and political history, and pancakes. I recently got a kick out of The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon. Most Tuesdays, you can find me ladling rainbow sprinkles on my third banana split and tanking the bond market.
Co-Editor-in-Chief Emeritus & Co-Founder
Sherman Criner
I’m Sherman, a Co-Editor-in-Chief Emeritus and co-founder of The Lemur. I’m a Duke alum from Wilmington, NC. I studied history and public policy. In my free time, I try to make eye contact with those eye floaty things—so close! I recently read How to Be an Antiracist. I bet you weren’t expecting that…
The content on The Lemur does not represent the official or unofficial views of the Sanford School, Polis, Duke University, or any entity or individual other than the author.