FEATURES

Tuesday, 26 May 2020 05:04

Welcome to the first global economic depression of our lifetimes

Ian Bremmer Another week, another grisly job reports for the US. The data is still streaming in, but it’s time to start calling this what it is—a global economic depression. Why It Matters: Technically, there’s no official definition of the term “depression.” But compared to a “recession” (defined as two consecutive quarters of contracting economic growth), there are some general rules we can apply—depressions are global, much worse than typical recessions, and their impact on both the economy and society last far longer. It’s this latter point why we still call 2008 the “Great Recession.” For all the drama and…

Monday, 25 May 2020 05:15

4 reasons why the call to reopen churches goes beyond politics

The rush to reopen churches has become the latest front in the coronavirus culture wars. President Donald Trump has declared places of worship "essential" during the pandemic and said he'd override governors if they didn't allow in-person services. Analysts have countered he doesn't have the constitutional authority to do that. But long before Trump ordered churches reopened -- and long after how this battle plays out politically -- some ministers and congregations have and will likely continue to defy state mandates. Because for many of them, the reasons go beyond partisan politics. Some see it as a religious freedom issue…

Sunday, 24 May 2020 05:32

The secret lives of perfect social distancers

Someone who looks like they’re always staying inside on Instagram may actually have a double life they’re hiding to avoid judgment. “When I look at my choices as objectively as possible, I should not be doing this,” a 26-year-old speech pathologist told me, referring to the romance she started a few weeks ago. The speech pathologist, who asked to not be identified by name to avoid repercussions at work, has been renting a car and driving from her home in Washington, D.C., to her new boyfriend’s home in Baltimore a few times a week, and keeping it a secret from…

Sunday, 24 May 2020 05:29

Why kids have a favorite parent

Kids are big on favorites. From superheroes to YouTubers, they know who's top of their list. They might also have a favorite parent, which can sting a little more than their preference for Spider-Man over Batman. "I definitely play second fiddle to my husband," says Annie, a mom of two from New Jersey. "In our daughters' eyes, he can do no wrong. I think it's because they have him wrapped around their little fingers, whereas I'm the parent who dishes out the discipline." It's not uncommon for a child to favor one parent over the other, says board-certified child and…

Sunday, 24 May 2020 05:28

How to build a life: Four rules for identifying your life’s work

Arthur Brooks What shape your professional path should take depends on how you define success. My oldest son graduates from college this month. Graduation is a leap into uncertainty even during ordinary times, and COVID-19 times are far from ordinary. It’s a scary moment to be heading out into the world. But my advice to my son—and to all graduates—remains the same as it would have been without a pandemic: Find your marshmallow. Maybe that sounds like some groovy ’60s code language for dropping acid or joining a commune, but it’s actually just a nod to a classic social-science experiment.…

Sunday, 24 May 2020 05:25

Here’s why you need humor to have a healthy brain

Ori Amir is a mild-mannered 30-something college professor. He teaches undergraduate psychology and neuroscience classes, conducts research into how the brain functions, and holds regular office hours on the leafy campus of Pomona College in Southern California. But his students aren’t fooled. They’ve seen the YouTube videos, the ones that document his not-so-secret other life. In one of them, Amir is gripping a microphone and standing center stage at the 1,400-seat Alex Theater in Glendale, California, wearing a striped rugby shirt, faded blue jeans, battered construction boots—and a ridiculously shaggy white fur coat. It’s the second night of the Glendale…

Saturday, 23 May 2020 05:11

‘Not wearing masks in Hong Kong is like not wearing pants’

New research shows that universal mask-wearing may help slow the spread of Covid-19. New York City, with a population of about 8.4 million, has had over 28,000 coronavirus deaths as of May 18. Meanwhile, Hong Kong has officially recorded only four Covid-19 deaths, despite having 7.5 million residents. One reason that could help explain the stark disparity: In Hong Kong, nearly everyone wears a face mask in public. If any city in the world was likely to experience the worst effects of the coronavirus, Hong Kong would have been a top candidate. The urban area is densely populated and heavily…

Friday, 22 May 2020 05:00

Lockdowns haven’t proved they’re worth the havoc

Joe Nocera My junior and senior years in high school were 1968 and 1969; five decades later, I can still remember some of the main events of that era: the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy, the bombing of Cambodia, the Apollo 8 spaceflight that orbited the moon, and Woodstock, which I pleaded with my parents to let me attend. (They said no.) In my personal life, I remember playing on the basketball team, buying my first car, working in my family’s corner grocery store and wishing I had the nerve to ask certain girls out on…

Friday, 22 May 2020 04:56

Can air conditioning spread Covid-19? Here’s what the experts say

Now that warmer weather is on the way and lockdown orders are being lifted, people are wondering: Can air conditioning spread Covid-19, especially the AC in public place, like your office or a restaurant? Early research raised concerns. A recent study, published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, found that nine people in Wuhan, China (the first epicenter of the new Coronavirus outbreak) were infected with the virus simply by sitting near an air conditioning vent in a restaurant. According to researchers, the virus was spread by one asymptomatic diner who sat at a table in front of the AC unit. Four…

Wednesday, 20 May 2020 05:16

Elections in Africa: The pandemic offers cover for ballot-dodgers

Strongmen tend to find election observers rather a nuisance. The sharper-eyed ones make trickery harder to get away with. Which is why autocrats see an upside to covid-19. These days, even the nosiest monitors are disinclined to travel. Alpha Condé, Guinea’s president, has taken full advantage of the pandemic. On March 22nd he pressed ahead with a parliamentary vote he had postponed four times before. The coronavirus was apparently not a good enough reason to warrant a fifth delay. Foreign observers, who had previously raised concerns about possible tampering with the electoral register, stayed away, as did the opposition, who…

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Monday, 18 May 2020 05:24

Can Coronavirus survive on your clothes, shoes? Here's what we know

Since businesses are reopening in several states and counties, it's important to know the precautions you should take to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus -- such as wearing a face mask, maintaining social distancing and frequently washing your hands. And while you already know that you should be sanitizing your home regularly, should you be doing the same with your clothes and shoes? The virus that causes Covid-19 can spread from person to person, through respiratory droplets from a cough or sneeze or by touching an infected (usually solid) surface and then touching your face. The coronavirus can even…

Monday, 18 May 2020 05:19

Pandemic shatters World Order, sowing anger and mistrust

While the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc across much of the globe, political and business leaders are already starting to think about what the world might look like once the worst of the outbreak eases. The forecasts aren’t good. Collapsing governments, famine, crushed economies and emboldened extremists are all among the darkest post-pandemic scenarios. Yet even less dramatic outlooks have a gloomy tinge, with political alliances crumbling and economies unlikely to rebound fast enough to blunt the impact of hundreds of millions of lost jobs. Seams that were opening before the virus emerged are tearing apart faster. U.S.-China bickering about the…

Monday, 18 May 2020 05:13

Coronavirus: How face masks are becoming fashionable

Face masks have become a necessity during the coronavirus outbreak and now the fashion world is ensuring that they become trendy. And with masks advised for the foreseeable future, people are finding ways to incorporate them into their outfits. "Everyone is on it right now including designers. It is a necessary fashion statement right now," says Angel Obasi who runs the Instagram account Styleconnaisseur. Ms Obasi posted images of a matching mask and suit outfit she wore to a Zoom wedding when the pandemic began. More than 100,000 people liked the images of her outfit on Twitter. She told the…

Saturday, 16 May 2020 05:16

The Almajiris at the heart of Coronavirus spread in the North

Powerful politicians in northern Nigeria are pushing for the scrapping of controversial Koranic schools after some pupils found themselves at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak. Tens of thousands of Koranic school children were recently crammed into open vans and sent back home from cities and towns across northern Nigeria in a controversial move by state governments to prevent the spread of coronavirus within their territories. There was a ban on travel, but the vans, with children sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, were allowed to criss-cross the country's highways to get the boys to their homes in villages, often thousands of miles away.…

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