Nitrous oxide: why the environment isn't amused about laughing gas

S13

Nitrous oxide: why the environment isn't amused about laughing gas   A young man breathes deeply from a gas-filled bag. He begins to feel a pleasurable sensation “particularly in the chest and extremities” before dancing around and then collapsing in a heap. A few minutes later he comes to and is consumed by a fit of giggles. The young man is a chemist, living in Bristol and his name is Humphry Davy. The year is 1799 and Davy has just discovered the euphoric effects of nitrous oxide (N₂O), which he names “laughing gas”. Word soon spread through high society and laughing gas parties became all the rage. But, despite its pain relief properties, it wasn’t adopted in medical settings until the middle of the 19th century. Continued here

S64

Fox News Doesn't Do Apologies   Throughout the Trump era in American politics—which began in 2015 with that escalator ride and, 2020 election results notwithstanding, has hardly ended—there has been at most a thin line separating current events from cynical satire. Donald Trump's own lies have been so prolific that it would be wrong to call even a transcript of his words a nonfictional document. His premeditated and endlessly repeated falsehoods about the "rigged" 2020 election, including a bizarre international conspiracy theory about Dominion voting machines, were so laughably untrue and yet still so effective that millions of Americans still believe Joe Biden is not the legitimate President.In the redemptive Hallmark-movie version of America, the inevitable reckoning for this offense against democracy finally, if belatedly, began this week with the announcement that Fox News would pay an extraordinary seven hundred and eighty-seven million dollars to Dominion for its role in spreading those lies. This amounts to one of the largest-ever defamation settlements. "The truth matters. Lies have consequences," Justin Nelson, a lawyer for Dominion, told reporters outside a Delaware courthouse, where the deal was announced on Tuesday, just as the trial in the case was about to begin. "Today represents a ringing endorsement for truth and for democracy." Dominion's C.E.O., John Poulos, added, "Throughout this process, we have sought accountability, and believe the evidence brought to light through this case underscores the consequences of spreading lies." Continued here

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S29

Ghetto Kids: what's behind the moves of the Ugandan dance troupe that stormed the world   Francesca Negro is affiliated with the Centre for Theatre Studies and the Centre for Comparative Studies at Lisbon University.A group of young dancers from Uganda, Triplets Ghetto Kids, went viral across the world when they earned the “golden buzzer” mid-performance on the TV show Britain’s Got Talent. The golden buzzer sends a shower of gold confetti onto the stage – sending the contestants straight through to the show’s final rounds – and it had never been pressed in the middle of a performance before. Continued here

S22

US faces $31.4 trillion national debt crisis - and Republican divisions could make it harder to solve than ever   US federal debt currently stands at a staggering US$31.4 trillion (£25.2 trillion), the highest it’s ever been. That matters because it’s approaching the maximum limit that the government is legally allowed to borrow. This is why Republican House speaker Kevin McCarthy recently delivered a speech at the New York Stock Exchange where he outlined his plan to address the concerns over this “debt ceiling”. Continued here

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S4

The 100 Most Important People in Your Company   For any business to thrive, it needs its core group of people—the ones whose capabilities are most critical to success—to be highly engaged in pursuing a common vision of success. For as long as anyone can remember, the top management team has been seen as this critical group, and the way to achieve the “mind meld” has been through executive off-sites. Though the specifics vary from one company to the next, these corporate leadership retreats are a combination of social bonding and behind-closed-doors discussion of strategy. Continued here

S8

Ganja & Hess: The 50-year-old vampire movie masterpiece critics got all wrong   The story of Ganja & Hess is just as compelling a tale as the film itself. Written and directed by Bill Gunn, and released in New York on 20 April, 1973, the black vampire movie has lost none of its power over the past 50 years. It artfully depicts a wealthy anthropologist Dr Hess Green (Duane Jones), who is stabbed by his assistant George (Gunn) with an ancient African ceremonial dagger before George kills himself. The dagger turns Hess into a vampire, and further complications ensue when George's widow Ganja (Marlene Clark) comes to Hess' home looking for her husband, and the two fall hopelessly in love.The film defies easy classification with its hallucinatory visuals, rich metaphors for addiction, raw sexuality and lyrical dialogue that offers a wholly unique treatise on African-American identity. For the film critic and programmer Kelli Weston, who recently co-programmed the In Dreams are Monsters season at London's British Film Institute, which screened Ganja & Hess, "the story has a quite classic structure for a horror film" and is founded on "the core premise of horror cinema, that what is repressed must always return". "But Ganja & Hess is enlivened by these black characters and the tension between spirituality, addiction and the predatory nature of empire," she adds. "Hess faces a curse from another place that he's sort of tied to – there's a rupture between black Americans and Africa, but a sense of feeling always bound or even haunted by it." Continued here

S20

As digital activists, teens of color turn to social media to fight for a more just world   When it comes to social media use among young people, very often the concern is about potential harm.Parents, policymakers and others worry that online platforms like Instagram and TikTok may compromise children’s privacy, threaten their safety, undermine their mental health and make them susceptible to social media addiction and cyberbullying, among other problems. Continued here

S7

The 'right' way to eat sushi: Tips from the experts on sushi rules to follow   In February 2023, a video surfaced online showing a man licking a communal soy sauce bottle as it rolled by on a sushi conveyor belt. The man went on to tamper with other sushi dishes as well, to the dismay of restaurant onlookers. That should've been the end of the story, but like most viral trends (emphasis on virus), sushi-ruining copycats sprang up, showing videos of people licking chopsticks, rubbing saliva on sushi and putting wasabi on other people's orders.Three of the perpetrators have been arrested by the Japanese police, hopefully putting a stop to the sushi-destroying shenanigans, but it still shocked a nation that's known for its rules, regulations, cleanliness and etiquette, especially with food. Additionally, sushi restaurants in Japan have begun to disable their conveyor belts or install sensors and cameras to catch the "sushi terrorists" red-handed (or red-tongued as it were), possibly putting an end to one of the world's great sushi eating experiences. Continued here

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S18

White Tennessee lawmakers speak out for insurrection in honoring Confederate history   Justin Jones, one of two Black members expelled from the state’s House of Representatives in April 2023, had run afoul of House leadership before. In 2019, as a private citizen, he was arrested following his actions in protesting a bust in the state capitol honoring Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general and later Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.While the expulsion of Jones and his colleague, Justin J. Pearson, riveted the nation’s attention, a curious and related event in the Legislature’s other branch, the Tennessee Senate, passed nearly unnoticed. Continued here

S10

Grattan on Friday: The government invited ambit claims for the budget and now it will be judged against them   Budgets are for stakeholders and interest groups like Christmas is for kids. They’re preceded by a multitude of letters to “Santa”, aka the treasurer, in the run-up. For the May 9 budget, two key correspondents were appointed by the government itself. This week, the wish lists from the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee and the Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce were released. Continued here

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S3

How Much Time and Energy Do We Waste Toggling Between Applications?   Workers spend a lot of time toggling between apps and websites to do their jobs. But how often do they really do this, and how much times does it really take up? The authors studied 20 teams, totaling 137 users, across three Fortune 500 companies for up to five weeks. They found workers toggled roughly 1,200 times each day, which adds up to just under four hours each week reorienting themselves after toggling — roughly 9% of their time at work. While many companies may write this off as the cost of doing business in a digital environment, more often it’s an active choice that companies and managers are making about how work is done and the programs that are used to do it. As such, managers need to realize that simply adding people to cover for bad processes won’t fix the problem, look for places where the design of work is causing the most friction, and rebalance people’s workloads. Leaders need to rationalize the cost of acquiring or building better software solutions, focus on user experience, and invest in building a work graph to better understand their employees’ journeys through their work. Continued here

S33

Shakespeare's First Folio turns 400: what would be lost without the collection? An expert speculates   It has been 400 years since the publication of the first collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays, a volume now known as the First Folio. Prepared by his fellow actors after his death, the book presented 36 plays divided into the genres of comedy, history and tragedy.Without it, 18 of Shakespeare’s plays that had not previously been printed would have been lost, among them Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night and The Tempest. No “friends, Romans and countrymen”, no “brave new world”, no “double, double toil and trouble”. Continued here

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S32

The great Alice Neel: 'I wanted to paint as a woman, but not as the oppressive, power-mad world thought a woman should paint'   In 1971, the art critic Linda Nochlin transformed the art history debate by asking: “Why have there been no great women artists?”, a question with profound implications for rethinking the gendered operations of criticism, curation, history and the art market, which conspired to define “greatness”. The notion remains a problem.In London, a portrait of Nochlin and her daughter Daisy hangs in the Barbican Art Gallery exhibition Alice Neel: Hot Off the Griddle. In the last decade or so, the status of Neel has risen from relative obscurity as an outlier in modern art to the extent that a critical consensus of greatness frames her career, almost 40 years after her death. Continued here

S12

ChatGPT: lessons learned from Italy's temporary ban of the AI chatbot   PLMJ chair in law and technology at Católica Global School of Law and Católica Lisbon School of Law and academic fellow, Bocconi University Oreste Pollicino acted as an Independent Honest Broker for the drafting of the new European Union code against disinformation online. Continued here

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S14

Woman spends 500 days alone in a cave - how extreme isolation can alter your sense of time   A year and half alone in a cave might sound like a nightmare to a lot of people, but Spanish athlete Beatriz Flamini emerged with a cheerful grin and said she thought she had more time to finish her book. She had almost no contact with the outside world during her impressive feat of human endurance. For 500 days, she documented her experiences to help scientists understand the effects of extreme isolation. Continued here

S9

Apple TV+'s Drops of God: A 'hugely entertaining' thriller about... French wine-tasting, based on a Japanese manga series   Drops of God is an unusual, stylish, hugely entertaining drama but rarely has watching television been such thirsty work. You'll want a bottle of something special when you settle down to this show based on a hit manga series that sparked a wine boom in Japan and South Korea.Camille Léger (Fleur Geffrier) is at a birthday party in a bar in Paris when she gets a call from her estranged father Alexandre, a world-famous wine expert and creator of the influential reference work, the Léger Wine Guide. Alexandre lives in Tokyo, and Camille hasn't seen him since her parents separated when she was nine, and hasn't spoken to him since she graduated high school 11 years ago when he called her, said "Good job" and hung up. Now he's dying and he wants her to go to him. Continued here

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S2

How to Grow Up: Nick Cave's Life-Advice to a 13-Year-Old   Each month, I spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars keeping The Marginalian going. For seventeen years, it has remained free and ad-free and alive thanks to patronage from readers. I have no staff, no interns, not even an assistant — a thoroughly one-woman labor of love that is also my life and my livelihood. If this labor has made your own life more livable in the past year (or the past decade), please consider aiding its sustenance with a one-time or loyal donation. Your support makes all the difference.“Make your interests gradually wider and more impersonal, until bit by bit the walls of the ego recede, and your life becomes increasingly merged in the universal life,” Bertrand Russell counseled in his timeless advice on how to grow old. There is a lovely symmetry between this orientation to the winter of life and the natural state of its springtime — in youth, curiosity unfurls centripetally from the self to the world, touching more and more facets of it with that electric jolt of discovery when everything is new and interesting and dazzling with delight. How to harness youth’s centripetal curiosity as a creative force for bettering the world is what Nick Cave — himself an insightful reckoner with the art of growing older — explores in answering a 13-year-old boy’s question about how to live a full, creative, actualized, spiritually rich life in “a world ridden with so much hate, and disconnect.” Continued here

S31

Rising seas could flood nests of vulnerable sea turtles - new research   Sea-level rises caused by global warming could flood sea turtle nesting beaches in Australia, several Caribbean islands, Costa Rica and the US.Our findings suggest that flooding could deprive five vulnerable species of valuable nesting sites. Even if climate change this century is not as extreme as some scenarios project, we predict that all nesting habitats at two of the seven areas we studied will be flooded. The nests of leatherback turtles, which are already listed as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), are most at risk. Continued here

S30

How the brain stops us learning from our mistakes - and what to do about it   You learn from your mistakes. At least, most of us have been told so. But science shows that we often fail to learn from past errors. Instead, we are likely to keep repeating the same mistakes. What do I mean by mistakes here? I think we would all agree that we quickly learn that if we put our hand on a hot stove, for instance, we get burned, and so are unlikely to repeat this mistake again. That’s because our brains create a threat-response to the physically painful stimuli based on past experiences. But when it comes to thinking, behavioural patterns and decision making, we often repeat mistakes – such as being late for appointments, leaving tasks until the last moment or judging people based on first impressions. Continued here

S19

Hopelessness about the future is a key reason some Black young adults consider suicide, new study finds   Janelle R. Goodwill currently serves as the principal investigator for a suicide prevention intervention funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The data presented in this article are not supported by the NIMH grant. Feeling hopeless about the future is one of the primary reasons Black young adults consider suicide. That is one of the key findings from a new study I published in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. Hopelessness proved to be the most common reason that Black men considered suicide, and it was one of the most common reasons Black women consider suicide. Continued here

S15

Allergy season is getting more intense with climate change - we're creating better pollen forecasts to help   If you’re feeling the misery of allergy season in your sinuses and throat, you’re probably wondering what nature has in store for you this time – and in the future.To help allergy sufferers manage their symptoms in our changing climate, we’re building better pollen forecasts for the future. Continued here

S17

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas moves to reverse the legacy of his predecessor, Thurgood Marshall   As public attention focuses on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ close personal and financial relationship with a politically active conservative billionaire, the scrutiny is overlooking a key role Thomas has played for nearly three decades on the nation’s highest court.Thomas’ predecessor on the court, Thurgood Marshall, was a civil rights lawyer before becoming a justice. In 1991, in his final opinion before retiring after a quarter century on the court, Marshall warned that his fellow justices’ growing appetite to revisit – and reverse – prior decisions would ultimately “squander the authority and legitimacy of this Court as a protector of the powerless.” Continued here

S5

Building the AI-Powered Organization   Artificial intelligence seems to be on the brink of a boom. It’s now guiding decisions on everything from crop harvests to bank loans, and uses like totally automated customer service are on the horizon. Indeed, McKinsey estimates that AI will add $13 trillion to the global economy in the next decade. Yet companies are struggling to scale up their AI efforts. Most have run only ad hoc projects or applied AI in just a single business process. Continued here

S11

Is ice cream really healthy? Here's what the evidence says   Lead for Evidence-Based Medicine and Nutrition, Aston Medical School, Aston University Ice cream lovers worldwide were probably rejoicing when a recent article suggested that indulging in your favourite flavour might be healthy. The article drew upon a 2018 doctoral thesis, which suggested that people with type 2 diabetes who consumed more ice cream had lower risks of heart disease. But as exciting as this sounds for those of us who sometimes enjoy indulging in a bowl of raspberry ripple, when we actually examine the study, it’s likely this link comes down to variety of other factors. Continued here

S16

AI-generated spam may soon be flooding your inbox -- and it will be personalized to be especially persuasive   Each day, messages from Nigerian princes, peddlers of wonder drugs and promoters of can’t-miss investments choke email inboxes. Improvements to spam filters only seem to inspire new techniques to break through the protections.Now, the arms race between spam blockers and spam senders is about to escalate with the emergence of a new weapon: generative artificial intelligence. With recent advances in AI made famous by ChatGPT, spammers could have new tools to evade filters, grab people’s attention and convince them to click, buy or give up personal information. Continued here

S23

Russian 'spy ship' in North Sea raises concerns about the vulnerability of key maritime infrastructure   The film, which has been widely reported in the UK press this week, asserts that Russia is systematically mapping the vulnerabilities of maritime infrastructure in the North Sea. This would enable Russia to learn of any weak spots – for instance, the locations where underwater energy and data cables intersect, making it easier to mount a sabotage attack if the Kremlin deemed it necessary.These reports don’t tell maritime security experts anything they don’t already know. We have known for a long time that Russian forces are mapping maritime infrastructures, including wind farms, communication cables and pipelines. Indeed, back in the 1990s and 2000s, when Nato and Russia were cooperating on some security issues, Russian spying activities in Nordic waters never stopped. In 2013, I was taken on a Royal Navy vessel to the North Sea where part of its mission was to look out for Russian spy ships. Continued here

S24

What King Charles III's coronation quiche tells us about the history of British dining   King Charles III and Queen Camilla have announced a quiche as the official coronation dish. Devised by a Buckingham Palace chef, the idea is that people will cook it at home, as part of a Coronation Big Lunch, a nationwide and indeed international feast. The recipe features a traditional shortcrust pastry with added lard, encasing a cream-and-egg filling of spinach, broad beans and cheddar, spiked with tarragon. Like Queen Elizabeth’s 1953 coronation chicken, it reveals much about the inevitability of multiculturalism in the kitchen. The message of any British coronation is arguably that we should celebrate Britishness. The question, then, is what a French staple is doing at the centre of the table. Continued here

S6

The companies backtracking on flexible work   In January, Disney employees received a memo from CEO Bob Iger. Like other entertainment conglomerates, the media giant had been operating a hybrid-working policy, in which teams were allowed to work remotely twice a week. However, Iger explained in the memo, the company was now reversing course, mandating a four-day return to office beginning in March.“As you’ve heard me say many times, creativity is the heart and soul of who we are and what we do at Disney,” he wrote. “And in a creative business like ours, nothing can replace the ability to connect, observe and create with peers that comes from being physically together, nor the opportunity to grow professionally by learning from leaders and mentors.” Continued here

S21

Climate change increases the risk of extreme wildfires around Cape Town -- but it can be addressed   Across the globe, many recent severe wildfires have moved from wildlands into the urban periphery (the “wildland urban interface”). In their wake, they’ve left death, destruction and disruption. This has led to questions about the extent to which climate change is to blame.A field of study called extreme event attribution has developed to answer such questions. These studies quantify the links between global climate change, regional extreme weather events, and their effects on people, property and environment. Continued here

S28

Outer space: Rwanda and Nigeria sign an accord for more responsible exploration - why this matters   In 2020, the United States announced a framework for the private exploitation of space resources. It consists of practical principles to guide exploration, science and commerce in outer space. The Artemis Accords are intended to make space activity responsible, transparent, safe, peaceful and sustainable. Nigeria and Rwanda signed the accords on 14 December 2022, becoming the 22nd and 23rd countries, respectively, and the first African countries to do so. Nigerian space law and policy scholar, Anne Agi, explains why they signed and what the potential impacts could be.The Artemis Accords are principles, guidelines and best practices shared by the US and other governments participating in NASA’s Artemis Program, which aims to explore the Moon and send astronauts to Mars. The accords seek to advance international cooperation and peace in space activities, for the benefit of humanity. Continued here

S25

UK poultry can roam free outside again - but bird flu risk hasn't gone away   The UK government recently announced that as of April 18, poultry and captive birds can be kept outside again as the threat from bird flu eases. These mandatory housing measures were introduced across England and Wales in the autumn of 2022 following the unprecedented spread of bird flu in the UK and Europe.Indeed, the past two winters in the UK have seen our largest and most prolonged outbreak of bird flu in modern times, leading to substantial controls in poultry production, the mass death of seabirds, cases in wild mammals and a single human case. Continued here

S59

My Family and the Monterey Park Shooter   My mother had two issues with the ballroom-dance scene in the San Gabriel Valley. Some of the men who frequented the dance studios, she complained, had bad hygiene, were out of shape, and held her too tightly on purpose—even the ones who had wives at home. The other reason she didn’t like ballroom dancing was the matter of coupledom. As a single woman, she would have to wait for someone to approach her for a dance. Bad hygiene notwithstanding, there was a shortage of men in the ballroom studios; women outnumbered them three to one.My uncle, meanwhile, was in demand on the dance floor. He became a ballroom-dance instructor. There are two different types of instructors at ballroom-dance studios in the San Gabriel Valley: professional dancers, often Eastern European, who lead group dance classes; and male instructors who dance one-on-one with women who hire them. My uncle falls into this second category. There is instruction in these transactions, but the primary function of his side hustle is to be a dance partner to women in need. Continued here

S62

The Failed “Coup-Proofing” Behind the Recent Violence in Sudan   Nearly four years ago, in April, 2019, protesters helped overthrow the Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir, who had become notorious around the world for his role in perpetrating mass slaughter in the country's Darfur region. Bashir's downfall did not immediately lead to any democratic transformations—many protesters were later killed by the same military forces that had ousted Bashir—but by October, 2019, a civilian Prime Minister had been appointed to run the government alongside the military. Two years later, the military took full control of Sudan in a coup led by two generals who had long been key players in the nation's politics: Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who has spent his career with the Army, and Mohamed Hamdan, formerly a commander of the infamous janjaweed militia, which had terrorized Darfur's civilians, and who'd become close to Bashir.Over time, conflict developed between these two generals. Last week, that conflict flared, leading to clashes across the country between the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group led by Hamdan. Hundreds of civilians have died, several thousand have been wounded, and many others wonder whether a ceasefire that was announced earlier in the week will hold. Continued here

S26

Cities must take immediate action against 'renovictions' to address housing crisis   Amid all the discussions about constructing new housing, existing affordable housing is being overlooked. A recent study found that 322,000 affordable homes were lost across Canada between 2011 and 2016 compared to the construction of only 60,000 new houses for those in greatest need of housing. In cities like Hamilton, Ont., the situation is even more dire: for every new unit of affordable housing built, 29 are lost. While most of these homes still exist, they are now much more expensive. And that’s largely because of renovictions. Continued here

S70

Skills-Based Hiring Is on the Rise   Two decades ago, companies began adding degree requirements to job descriptions, even though the jobs themselves hadn’t changed. After the Great Recession, many organizations began trying to back away from those requirements. To learn how the effort is going, the authors studied more than 50 million recent job announcements. The bottom line: Many companies are moving away from degree requirements and toward skills-based hiring, especially in middle-skill jobs, which good for both workers and employers. But more work remains to be done. Continued here

S27

Zimbabwe's ruling party vilifies the opposition as American puppets. But the party itself had strong ties to the US   Post-doctoral Scholar, Mershon Center for International Security Studies, The Ohio State University The Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF), which has governed Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, is well known for denouncing the United States’ role as a superpower that polices the world. Continued here

S66

Discretion is hard to live with, even harder to live without | Aeon Essays   Just the one: Sister Gertrude, a Benedictine nun at Maredsous Abbey, Belgium, 8 December 2021. Photo by Johanna Geron/ReutersJust the one: Sister Gertrude, a Benedictine nun at Maredsous Abbey, Belgium, 8 December 2021. Photo by Johanna Geron/Reuters Continued here

S60

DeSantis Ends Feud with Disney and Launches Attack on Smurfs   TALLAHASSEE (The Borowitz Report)—Facing backlash from Republican donors, Ron DeSantis has abruptly ended his feud with Disney and launched a scorched-earth campaign against the Smurfs.Harland Dorrinson, DeSantis’s top political aide, called the Florida governor’s pivot to the Smurfs a “strategic masterstroke.” Continued here

S41

New look at 'Einstein rings' around distant galaxies just got us closer to solving the dark matter debate   Physicists believe most of the matter in the universe is made up of an invisible substance that we only know about by its indirect effects on the stars and galaxies we can see.We’re not crazy! Without this “dark matter”, the universe as we see it would make no sense. Continued here

S56

Solicitor-general confirms Voice model is legally sound, will not 'fetter or impede' parliament   The federal government today released the long-awaited legal advice on the Voice to parliament from Australia’s solicitor-general, Stephen Donaghue.In it, Donaghue states that the proposed model for the Voice “will not fetter or impede the exercise of existing powers of Parliament”, adding that the proposal Continued here

S69

The Perfect Paradox of Star Brands: An Interview with Bernard Arnault of LVMH   Who would want to run a company that makes and sells products no one needs? Only a fool, right? Unless, of course, the company is LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest and by far most successful purveyor of luxury goods. Each year, LVMH sells billions of dollars—$10 billion in 2000 to be exact—of items that serve little purpose in the lives of consumers except to fulfill dreams. And those dreams don’t come cheap—a magnum of 1985 Dom Pérignon Rosé champagne costs about $925; a Givenchy gown $15,000; and the finest TAG Heuer watch upwards of $58,000. No one needs these items, of course, yet millions desire them. Continued here

S63

Rudy Giuliani Wheels and Deals   Follow @newyorkercartoons on Instagram and sign up for the Daily Humor newsletter for more funny stuff.© 2023 Condé Nast. All rights reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Ad Choices Continued here

S38

Up in smoke: Human activities are fuelling wildfires that burn essential carbon-sequestering peatlands   Assistant professor, Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University For centuries, society has scorned bogs, fens and swamps — collectively known as peatlands — treating them as wastelands available to be drained and developed without realizing they’re important buffers against climate-changing carbon emissions. Continued here

S55

Join us for the Fear & Wonder podcast live bonus episode   Last month, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its latest Synthesis Report.The verdict is sobering. Global temperatures are now 1.1℃ above pre-industrial levels, and they’re likely to reach 1.5℃ in the early 2030s. As climate change experts Frank Jotzo and Mark Howden wrote for The Conversation: “The world is in deep trouble on climate change, but if we really put our shoulder to the wheel we can turn things around”. Continued here

S58

Rana Plaza: ten years after the Bangladesh factory collapse, we are no closer to fixing modern slavery   It’s ten years since the tragic collapse of the Rana Plaza building near Dhaka, Bangladesh, which killed at least 1,132 garment workers and injured several thousand more. The collapse of the eight-storey building on April 24 2013, which housed five factories making clothes for western high street brands like Accessorize, Primark and Walmart, was the worst of its kind in the world. The owner, Mohammed Sohel Rana, had allegedly been told by an engineer the day before that the building was not safe and should be evacuated. Ten years on, the murder trial against him and another 35 defendants has still not been concluded. Continued here

S52

Challenging the Anzac ideal: the tragic stories of two Australian deserters in WWI   Anzac Day continues to feature on the Australian calendar as a day for celebrating and commemorating the deeds of our military personnel. Traditionally focused on the first world war, the mythology of the Anzacs – bronzed bushmen storming the cliffs of Gallipoli or walking fearlessly through artillery bombardments on the western front – has long clouded the reality of the experience of fighting in what was then an unprecedented conflict. Continued here

S42

Like father, like son: new research shows how young men 'copy' their fathers' masculinity   Today’s men express their maleness in different ways. Some adhere to more traditional models of masculinity, characterised by beliefs in male superiority and endorsement of risky or violent behaviours. Others embrace more progressive stances.Our new study addresses this question by focusing on one important factor influencing how young men express their masculinity – their fathers. Continued here

S40

SpaceX launches most powerful rocket in history in explosive debut - like many first liftoffs, Starship's test was a successful failure   Wendy Whitman Cobb is affiliated with the US Air Force School of Advanced Air and Space Studies. Her views are her own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Defense or any of its components.On April 20, 2023, a new SpaceX rocket called Starship exploded over the Gulf of Mexico three minutes into its first flight ever. SpaceX is calling the test launch a success, despite the fiery end result. As a space policy expert, I agree that the “rapid unscheduled disassembly” – the term SpaceX uses when its rockets explode – was a very successful failure. Continued here

S67

Does Your Office Have a Jargon Problem?   While most people find jargon (not to be confused with slang) to be annoying, it remains a staple of the modern workplace. It does have its uses — for example, air traffic controllers use the phonetic alphabet for clarity and accuracy. But, according to the authors’ research, jargon can also result from insecurity and a desire for professional status. If you’re concerned about the potential negative effects of jargon on you or your organization, there are four steps you can take to mitigate them. First, be aware of context to know whether jargon might be helping or hurting you. Second, ask yourself if there’s a simpler way to communicate the same idea or if the audience commonly uses the same jargon. Third, use executive communications that use clear and unambiguous language to set the tone for the organization. Finally, send a message by letting others know why you or your organization don’t espouse excessive jargon. Continued here

S57

When England had a Spanish king - and what that tells us about Camilla's title   As the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla approaches, interest in the new queen’s title has grown – especially after the coronation invitations dropped the word “consort”, traditionally used to identify the spouse of a ruler. Her title had already been widely discussed when the now king and queen married in 2005 (when Camilla chose to be known as Duchess of Cornwall instead of Princess of Wales). And it was also reported then that once Charles ascended the throne, she would be known as “princess consort”. Continued here

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Stephen Lawrence: how family liaison officers became an integral part of policing in the wake of his murder   Fiona Brookman would like to give special thanks to Duncan McGarry MBE, special advisor, family liaison, for providing invaluable material and advice for this article.Stephen Lawrence was murdered on April 22 1993 in an unprovoked racist knife attack in south London. He was just eighteen at the time. He had been waiting for a bus with his friend, Duwayne Brooks. A group of five to six white youths surrounded him and at least one of them stabbed him to death. Almost 20 years later in 2012, two men were convicted of Stephen’s murder. Continued here

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Whale-watching guidelines don't include boat noise. It's time they did   Imagine … eco-tourists enjoying views of undisturbed whales and dolphins, watching them doing what comes naturally.This is ultimately what we all wish to see when spending time in nature watching animals. We can achieve this by using quieter boats. Continued here

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Childism: how discrimination against children plays out in law   Some acts are only considered criminal if they are committed by someone aged under 18. This doesn’t just include things such as drinking alcohol. In some US states, for example, it is illegal for children to run away from home or even to repeatedly disobey parental authority.This behaviour is called incorrigibility. If a child is decided to be incorrigible by a court, the sanctions they can receive include detention in a juvenile facility. Continued here

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After the migrant deaths in Akwesasne, Canadian immigration law must reckon with its colonial history   On March 29, two families of four died while attempting to cross the St. Lawrence River from Canada to the U.S. Their bodies were found in Akwesasne Mohawk territory which straddles the Canada-United States border.Media coverage quickly began to frame the fatal incident as an issue of illegal human smuggling. Reports characterized the Akwesasne Mohawk territory as a “smuggling hotspot” and an “ideal location for trafficking of humans and contraband.” Continued here

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Australia's adoption of electric vehicles has been maddeningly slow, but we're well placed to catch up fast   Australia has long had a love affair with the internal combustion engine. Its first petrol-powered car was developed in 1901. (Admittedly, the engine was imported from Germany.)Roll forward 122 years and there’s now a registered motor vehicle for every one of the 20 million people of driving age in Australia. And fossil fuels power 99.9% of these vehicles. Continued here

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5 Signs that a Layoff Is Coming   The unfortunate truth is that layoffs may not be slowing down given the uncertain economy. If you’re new to the workforce, the thought of losing your job with little or no warning likely feels incredibly scary, especially if you’re experiencing an economic downturn for the first time in your life. Here are five signs to look out for: Continued here

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Clarence Thomas's Friend of the Court   Every year, judges and Justices release information about their finances. Under a rule designed to maintain public trust in the courts, disclosures must include any gifts worth more than four hundred and fifteen dollars, as well as bonds, stocks, and other assets valued at more than a thousand dollars. When ProPublica reported earlier this month that Justice Clarence Thomas had failed to disclose opulent trips funded by a conservative billionaire, Harlan Crow, the Justice denied violating the rule. Thomas explained in a public statement that Crow and Crow's wife, Kathy, were among his and his wife's "dearest friends," and that he had been advised that "personal hospitality from close personal friends" need not be disclosed.A statement from Crow twinned Thomas's. Crow said that he and his wife had been "friends with Justice Thomas and his wife Ginni since 1996," that the two couples were "very dear friends," and that the Crows were fortunate to have a "great life of many friends." Crow claimed that he never talked about Supreme Court cases with Thomas or tried to influence him "on any legal or political issue." He was also unaware of anyone else doing so on their trips. "These are gatherings of friends," he said. Continued here

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Recent mosque attacks raise questions about the affinity between white supremacy and far-right Hindu nationalism   During Ramadan, a man attacked a mosque in Markham, Ont. He allegedly yelled slurs, tore up a Qu'ran, and attempted to run down worshippers in his vehicle. Some people on Twitter have raised the idea that the attacker was connected to Hindu extremist groups; however, the investigation is still ongoing. Continued here

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Plagues, poisons and magical thinking - how COVID lab leak hysteria could be straight from the Middle Ages   Work on this project is being supported by a Fulbright fellowship. Neither Fulbright International nor Fulbright NZ pays fellowship recipients for publication. The authors' opinions are entirely their own, and do not represent the views of any organisation.The COVID “lab leak” story clearly isn’t going away soon. The theory that the pandemic began with an accidental release of the virus from a lab in Wuhan recurs like clockwork – most recently in a report from Senate Republicans in the US this week. Continued here

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Raising Felix: This Is Forty (with a Toddler)   Follow @newyorkercartoons on Instagram and sign up for the Daily Humor newsletter for more funny stuff.© 2023 Condé Nast. All rights reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Ad Choices Continued here

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Shakespeare by numbers: how mathematical breakthroughs influenced the Bard's plays   Mathematical motifs feature in many of Shakespeare’s most memorable scenes. He lived and wrote in the late 16th century, when new mathematical concepts were transforming perceptions of the world. Part of the role of the theatre was to process the cultural implications of all these changes.People in Shakespeare’s time were used to the idea of the infinite: the planets, the heavens, the weather. But they were much less used to the inverse idea that the very small (and even nothingness) could be expressed by mathematical axioms. In fact, the first recorded English use of the word “zero” wasn’t until 1598. Continued here

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Will the brilliance of Netflix's 'Beef' be lost in the shadow of a sexual assault controversy? -- Podcast   Beef premiered on Netflix this month to rave reviews and quickly became the top watched series on the platform in the U.S. In Canada, it took the No. 2 spot.Beef is a dark comedy series created by Lee Sung Jin. It follows two L.A. strangers, courageously played by Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, who get into a road rage incident — and end up in an escalating feud. Continued here

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What are dead hangs? What are the shoulder pain risks and how do I do them safely?   You might have seen media articles or fitness influencers online urging people to do “dead hangs”, where one hangs loosely from a bar – usually with feet off the floor. The goal is usually to improve upper-body strength and shoulder stability, or stretch out muscles around the shoulder. As with so many things health and fitness, it’s not an easy “yes” or “no”. It really depends on your reason for doing it, your individual biology, and how you do them. For some, dead hangs may risk musculoskeletal injury. Continued here

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Stephen Lawrence: daeth swyddogion cyswllt teulu yn rhan annatod o blismona yn sgil ei lofruddiaeth   Hoffai Fiona Brookman ddiolch i Duncan McGarry MBE, cynghorydd arbennig, cyswllt teulu, am ddarparu deunydd a chyngor amhrisiadwy ar gyfer yr erthygl hon.Cafodd Stephen Lawrence ei lofruddio ar 22 Ebrill 1993 mewn ymosodiad hiliol yn ne Llundain. Dim ond deunaw oed oedd Stephen ar y pryd. Roedd wedi bod yn disgwyl am fws gyda'i ffrind, Duwayne Brooks. Cafodd ei amgylchynu gan grŵp o bump neu chwe pherson ifanc gwyn, a gwnaeth o leiaf un ohonyn nhw ei drywanu â chyllell. Bron i 20 mlynedd yn ddiweddarach yn 2012, cafwyd dau ddyn yn euog o lofruddiaeth Stephen. Continued here

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Less than illustrious: remembering the Anzacs means also not forgetting some committed war crimes   Jeffrey McNeill is the author of Taking the Ridge: Anzacs and Germans at the Battle of Messines 1917 (Rifleman Press, 2022) from which some of the material in this article is drawn.So reads a disturbing war diary entry of the Bavarian 18th Regiment from June 7 1917, quoting one Schütze (Rifleman) Jakob Eickert of the 2. Machine Gun Company. Continued here

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Australians lost more than $3bn to scammers in 2022. Here are 5 emerging scams to look out for   Associate Dean (Learning & Teaching) Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice, Queensland University of Technology The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s latest Targeting Scams report indicates Australians reported more than A$3 billion lost to fraud in 2022. This is about a $1 billion increase on reported losses from 2021. Continued here

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Is Pierre Poilievre deliberately muddying the waters on the CBC's Twitter label?   Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, is attempting to mislead Canadians into believing that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is an untrustworthy news source after it was labelled “government-funded media” by Elon Musk’s Twitter. In response, CBC paused its activity on Twitter, objecting to any suggestion the government has any control over its journalism. Continued here

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Friday essay: 'I trained to be an engineer ... now I am a pickle seller'. What does migration do to a wife?   But you know what’s funny? All my life, I have been trained to be an engineer. Look at me now, I am a pickle seller! By the way, how does one collect data when the “subjects” are human? When the information one is looking for has turned into personal stories? Like this story of Selina (a pseudonym), born in a riverside town near Dhaka – the capital of Bangladesh. Selina’s husband was already planning to apply for an Australian offshore visa when they married and in 2010, when she was 27, the couple migrated to Sydney. Continued here

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If you live in a bulk-billing 'desert' it's hard to see a doctor for free. Here's how to fix this   Peter Breadon's employer, Grattan Institute, has been supported in its work by government, corporates, and philanthropic gifts. A full list of supporting organisations is published at www.grattan.edu.au.Lachlan Fox's employer, Grattan Institute, has been supported in its work by government, corporates, and philanthropic gifts. A full list of supporting organisations is published at www.grattan.edu.au. Continued here