Invisible Trauma & Crisps

Featured Articles

Invisible Trauma

Grist • 18 Sep 2024 • ~4450 words

In a region where environmental activism often comes at a deadly cost, mental health is a critical yet overlooked issue for those defending their lands. This piece explores the growing network of mental health shelters in South America, offering vital support to activists grappling with trauma, paranoia, and depression. It highlights the unique challenges faced by these defenders and the innovative approaches being taken to foster healing and resilience amidst ongoing violence.

But while public discourse and policy have focused on addressing the most egregious cases of violence against environmental activists — such as assassinations, threats, or forced disappearances — little to no attention has been paid to the invisible traumas and mental health impacts experienced by those who defend the lives of rivers, mountains, ecosystems, animals, and the communities that live within their bounds.

Crisps de Madrid

Vittles • 16 Sep 2024 • ~2450 words

In Madrid, crisps are more than just a snack; they’re a part of the city's culture. This piece takes us on a delightful journey through the unique world of fábricas de patatas fritas, revealing how these crisp factories add a flavorful twist to life in the Spanish capital. Discover the history and charms of Madrid’s crisp scene that make it a culinary treasure.

If you’re lucky, the crisps will come topped with conservas (tinned seafood): think anchoas (salt-cured anchovies), boquerones (the same, cured in vinegar), or my favourite, mejillones en escabeche (mussels preserved in a curing liquid made from vinegar and wine and spiced with pimentón, which will paint the crisps a lovely burnt orange colour). This combination of crisps and conservas, in which the crisps soak up the fish's brine, quickly became my bar snack of choice.

Recommended Articles

Walking Faroe Islands (part two)

Chris Arnade Walks the World • 17 Sep 2024 • ~2700 words

In the second part of his exploration of the Faroe Islands, Chris Arnade reflects on the unique blend of breathtaking landscapes and impressive infrastructure that defines this remote archipelago. He shares his experiences of exploring the islands through a scattershot approach and how this allowed them to gain a deeper appreciation for the Faroese way of life, which is deeply intertwined with the surrounding landscape. The article also touches on the author's observations regarding the Faroese people's relationship with nature and their sense of national pride.

While most do go to Denmark to study, the majority return, after a few years, or as they get older and realize they miss their home. I was initially surprised by that answer, but the longer I stayed, the more I understood it. The Faroe Islands, to get corny and cliched, really is a magical place.

Semiconductor Island

Boston Review • 16 Sep 2024 • ~3250 words • Archive Link

Taiwan emerges as an unexpected powerhouse in a world where semiconductors are crucial to tech competition. This article examines the history and geopolitical significance of Taiwan's semiconductor industry, particularly the dominance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). It explores how Taiwan's colonial past, the Cold War dynamics between the U.S. and China, and the strategic importance of semiconductor technology have all shaped the island's rise as a global chip manufacturing powerhouse.

What explains its success? The most common answers cite the company’s exclusive focus on chip fabrication and the intense work culture set by hard-driving managers. Still, why Taiwan? What made it possible for this small country, whose sovereignty remains intensely disputed by Beijing, to dominate the ultra-valuable production of advanced semiconductors?

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Egypt Now

CounterPunch.org • 20 Sep 2024 • ~3850 words

The article provides an analysis of the political events in Egypt since the 2011 revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. It examines the complex dynamics between the military, the Muslim Brotherhood, and secular forces in the aftermath of the revolution. It also touches on Egypt's economic challenges, its dependence on the US and Gulf states, and the ongoing discontent and potential for further unrest in the country.

Now more than a decade after the revolution, a number of articles have appeared and analyzed the revolution as a failure. There is more discontent than ever. An Egyptian student told me this spring that Egypt seemed to be approaching the boiling point again.

America through the looking glass: The crypto bros crowdfunding a new country

BBC News Afrique • 19 Sep 2024 • ~2650 words

The article discusses a group of tech entrepreneurs who are proposing the idea of "network states" - startup nations that would exist alongside and eventually replace traditional nation-states. It explores their vision of a future where people can choose their citizenship like a gym membership, and the potential implications of such a shift, including concerns about the rise of corporate dictatorships.

You would choose your nationality like you choose your broadband provider. You would become a citizen of the franchised cyber statelet of your choice.

The End of Adoptions from China

The New Yorker • 19 Sep 2024 • ~2250 words

The recent decision by China to end its international adoption program marks a significant shift in a complex history of abandoned infants and the families eager to adopt them. This piece explores the complex history behind this program, including China's one-child policy, the trafficking of children, and the demographic shifts that have led to its termination.

As the supply of babies dwindled, orphanages started buying them. Traffickers from the countryside would look for abandoned babies or procure them from midwives. They cajoled new mothers, pregnant women, and grandparents into giving up their children.

Two distinct and conflicting forms of nationalism – civic and ethnic – helped create the nation-states of Europe

Aeon • 20 Sep 2024 • ~4450 words

This essay challenges the common perception that there is a clear distinction between "civic" nationalism in Western Europe and "ethnic" nationalism in Central and Eastern Europe. It argues that both Western and non-Western nationalisms have contained a mix of civic and ethnic elements, and that the state has been the primary force in shaping national identities, rather than the other way around.

But nationalisms – both Western and non-Western – contain a complicated mixture of civic and ethnic factors, excluding some while offering others the chance for inclusion through assimilation. The state acts as the most powerful force for both. That’s why historians of nationalism like to say states make nations, not the other way around. Nationalism is, by definition, exclusivist insofar as it excludes those who do not think of themselves as a part of the nation.

Prosecutors, Jurors, and the Victim’s Family Want His Execution Tossed. Will it Matter?

Rolling Stone • 19 Sep 2024 • ~1550 words • Archive Link

This article discusses the case of Marcellus Williams, a man who was convicted of murder in 2003 and sentenced to death. It explores the issues surrounding his case, including new DNA evidence that suggests he may be innocent, the opposition to his execution from prosecutors, jurors, and the victim's family, and the ongoing legal battle to stop his execution scheduled for September 24, 2024.

No one wants him to die — not the jurors who decided his fate years back, not the prosecutor’s office, not even the victim’s family. The only entity pushing for his execution, it seems, is the state of Missouri.

The Problem with Effective Altruism

persuasion.community • 19 Sep 2024 • ~4400 words

Effective altruism started with a noble idea: doing good effectively. This article discusses the problems and shortcomings of this movement, by examining how the movement's focus on maximizing the impact of charitable giving has led to issues around psychology, prediction, and a sense of moral superiority.

The problem with long-termism isn’t that we shouldn’t care about avoiding a nuclear war that might wipe out humanity in 10,000 years. Nor is it that we should be indifferent between a world in which 10 billion people live happy lives and one in which one hundred people live happy lives. It’s that we know far too little about how the social world works—especially across such vast time spans—to do anything meaningful to pursue such long-termist objectives.

The Hustlers Who Make $6,000 a Month by Gaming Citi Bikes

New York Times • 19 Sep 2024 • ~1550 words • Archive Link

This piece discusses how some users have found a way to earn up to $6,000 per month by repeatedly borrowing and returning Citi Bikes, a bike-sharing program in New York City, taking advantage of the system's incentives for users who help redistribute bikes to in-demand stations. It explores the clever strategies behind their success and the ethical debates that arise in the process.

The clock struck 10:15. The algorithm, mistaking this manufactured setup for a true emergency, offered the maximum incentive: $4.80 for every bike returned to the Ed Sullivan Theater. The men switched direction, running east and pedaling west.

'It smells like a food bin that's overflowing': Why the huge smelly 'corpse plant' still fascinates us

BBC • 18 Sep 2024 • ~2450 words

Have you ever heard of the titan arum, also known as the "corpse plant"? This fascinating plant takes a decade to bloom and emits a smell that many describe as akin to rotting flesh, yet it draws huge crowds when it flowers. This article explores the unique lifecycle of the titan arum, its captivating biology, and the reasons behind our fascination with this botanical oddity.

I've never seen one before. I turn a corner and spot it there in the next glasshouse: a long, light-yellow spike protruding several metres up from what looks like an enormous, thick crinkly green petal with a pink-purple tip. I brace myself for the infamous smell to hit me – the source of one of its many names, the "corpse plant".

A Day In The Life Of A Russian War Crimes Prosecutor In Ukraine

Coda Story • 17 Sep 2024 • ~2800 words

Step into the shoes of a Ukrainian war crimes prosecutor during an active conflict, as Svitlana Oslavska chronicles a day in the life of Viktoriia Shapovalova. This piece offers a poignant look at the challenges and dangers faced by those tasked with documenting the atrocities of war, all while navigating their own fears and the realities of ongoing violence.

According to international humanitarian law civilians are under the protection of the occupying force. But while talking to the people from the occupied territories, Shapovalova routinely recorded incidents of abductions, arbitrary detentions, and tortures.