Stephen Silver

Stephen Silver is a journalist, essayist, and film critic, who is also a contributor to Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.

Maj. Paul Lopez, F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team commander, performs during the Chicago Air and Water Show, Aug. 17, 2019. Founded in 2007, the F-22 Demo Team showcases the unique capabilities of the world's premier fifth-generation fighter aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo by 2nd Lt. Samuel Eckholm)

Dollars and Sense

The World’s Richest Oil States Cannot Buy Fresh Water — They Burn Energy to Make It, and Iran Is Hitting Those Plants

Tens of millions in the Gulf drink water that comes out of a machine. Those machines are being hit, and they are slow and...

Stephen SilverJuly 22, 2026

The U.S. Navy Gerald R. Ford–class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) underway in the Atlantic Ocean on 4 June 2020, marking the first time a Gerald R. Ford–class and a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier operated together underway.

Dollars and Sense

Ships Are Now Refusing to Sail Through Hormuz — and a Maritime Expert Says It’s ‘Purely About the Fear’ Gripping Crews

Iran's Revolutionary Guard says two 'deviant' tankers exploded after passing through the Strait of Hormuz, where crews are now refusing to move, one expert...

Stephen SilverJuly 21, 2026

Putin Thinking Back in 2016 Russian Federation Photo

Ukraine War

Russia Has Now Bombed Ukraine’s State Gas Company 250 Times — and It’s Ramping Up the Strikes as a Brutal Winter Approaches

Russia has struck Ukraine's state gas operator, Naftogaz, for three straight days in Kharkiv Oblast — the 250th attack on its facilities since the...

Stephen SilverJuly 21, 2026

(October 30, 2007) - USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) conducts Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) following a six-month Planned Incremental Availability (PIA). All Naval vessels are periodically inspected by INSURV to check their material condition and battle readiness. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (AW) M. Jeremie Yoder.

Dollars and Sense

A Supertanker Loaded With Two Million Barrels of Saudi Crude Just Turned Around in the Red Sea to Escape the Houthis

A supertanker hauling about two million barrels of Saudi oil to China reversed course in the southern Red Sea under Houthi threat, Bloomberg reported,...

Stephen SilverJuly 21, 2026

Ukraine Cruise Missile Ministry of Defense Photo

Ukraine War

Zelensky Says Ballistic Missiles Are the Reason ‘Putin Still Believes in His War’ — Then Ukraine Hit Moscow’s Region and Six Ships

After what Zelensky called one of Russia's largest ballistic missile attacks of the war, Ukraine struck back across two fronts — an oil depot...

Stephen SilverJuly 20, 2026

President Donald J. Trump rings the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq during an event to launch Trump Accounts, Monday, July 6, 2026, in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)

The Treaty

The Strike That Killed Khamenei Was Supposed to End This War Fast — Nearly Five Months Later, Trump Has No Good Options Left

Nearly five months after the strike that killed Ali Khamenei, Trump's Iran war grinds on — the June ceasefire has collapsed and Washington is...

Stephen SilverJuly 17, 2026

The Treaty

Russians Just Stopped Vacationing in Putin’s Prized Crimea — and the Quiet Reason Says Everything About How This War Is Going

Ukrainian drone strikes have cut fuel, power, and transport links across occupied Crimea, and Russian vacationers are staying away, a Moscow Times op-ed reports....

Stephen SilverJuly 17, 2026

Ukraine War

The CIA Says Russian Recruits Last Twenty to Thirty Minutes at the Front — a Number First Floated by Russia’s Own War Bloggers

Ratcliffe's 20-to-30-minute life-expectancy claim, made at the Army War College, traces to Russian milbloggers' own reporting — and no official CIA assessment has confirmed...

Stephen SilverJuly 17, 2026

Dollars and Sense

The Mid-June Ceasefire Gave American Drivers a Month of Falling Gas Prices — and the War’s Return Is Taking It All Back

Brent hit $85.06 and WTI $79.88 as oil posted a 12 percent week, its biggest since April, with Hormuz transits collapsing to 13 ships...

Stephen SilverJuly 17, 2026

National Security Journal

Stephen Silver

Dollars and Sense

The World’s Richest Oil States Cannot Buy Fresh Water — They Burn Energy to Make It, and Iran Is Hitting Those Plants

Dollars and Sense

Ships Are Now Refusing to Sail Through Hormuz — and a Maritime Expert Says It’s ‘Purely About the Fear’ Gripping Crews

Ukraine War

Russia Has Now Bombed Ukraine’s State Gas Company 250 Times — and It’s Ramping Up the Strikes as a Brutal Winter Approaches

Dollars and Sense

A Supertanker Loaded With Two Million Barrels of Saudi Crude Just Turned Around in the Red Sea to Escape the Houthis

Ukraine War

Zelensky Says Ballistic Missiles Are the Reason ‘Putin Still Believes in His War’ — Then Ukraine Hit Moscow’s Region and Six Ships

The Treaty

The Strike That Killed Khamenei Was Supposed to End This War Fast — Nearly Five Months Later, Trump Has No Good Options Left

The Treaty

Russians Just Stopped Vacationing in Putin’s Prized Crimea — and the Quiet Reason Says Everything About How This War Is Going

Ukraine War

The CIA Says Russian Recruits Last Twenty to Thirty Minutes at the Front — a Number First Floated by Russia’s Own War Bloggers

Dollars and Sense

The Mid-June Ceasefire Gave American Drivers a Month of Falling Gas Prices — and the War’s Return Is Taking It All Back

Recent Posts

Recent Posts

Recent Comments