Island King & Financial Hurricane

Featured Articles

The Island King

Harper's Magazine • 15 Oct 2024 • ~8350 words • Archive Link

In a fascinating journey to Bougainville, the author explores the curious life of Noah Musingku, a self-proclaimed king who has captivated the islands with his dubious financial schemes. This piece delves into the complex history of Bougainville, its fight for independence, and how Musingku’s Ponzi-like venture, U-Vistract, has entwined itself in the local narrative. With a mix of political intrigue and cultural nuance, the article reveals the strange allure of this island’s “king” and the uncertain future of its people.

In October 2023, I booked a trip to Buka to report on these developments, budgeting some days at the end to interview leaders of the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG), the formal authority that expects to secure self-rule for its people. But over the previous months I had become transfixed instead by the strange tale of Noah Musingku, a Bougainvillean scam artist who had made a fortune, lost it, then retreated to a remote armed compound in the jungle, where he declared himself the islands’ king. He wore crowns of brass and cowrie shells that, lest there be any ambiguity, spelled out king. An academic who has described Musingku as “Bougainville’s Bernie Madoff” wrote him off as an “irrelevance,” while a diplomatic envoy to Papua New Guinea told me he was a “fucking joke.”

The Coming Financial Hurricane

The Lever • 16 Oct 2024 • ~4250 words

As climate change intensifies, the financial implications of natural disasters are also becoming increasingly dire. This piece explores how hurricanes like Milton and Helene expose vulnerabilities in the U.S. financial system, from collapsing insurance markets to the potential for a housing crisis. With personal stories woven throughout, the piece highlights how communities are grappling with the harsh realities of climate adaptation and the looming economic threats that accompany it.

Less than 1 percent of Asheville’s Buncombe County had flood insurance, which is typically sold separately from homeowners’ policies. Many weren’t considered high risk by the federal flood program, which mortgage lenders use to decide where to require flood coverage. Despite recent efforts to update government flooding maps, many are badly outdated; in recent years, the National Flood Insurance Program has paid out far more in damage claims outside of its designated high-risk zones than in them. As a result, the vast majority of Helene’s potentially $250 billion in damages won’t be covered by insurance.

Recommended Articles

The Wild Story of the Taum Sauk Dam Failure — Practical Engineering

Practical Engineering • 15 Oct 2024 • ~2900 words

In 2005, the Taum Sauk Dam in Missouri experienced a catastrophic failure that sent billions of gallons of water rushing down a mountainside. This piece delves into the engineering decisions that led to this disaster, exploring not only the events that unfolded but also the broader implications for dam safety and energy storage. Discover how a project once hailed as an engineering milestone became a cautionary tale, prompting significant changes in oversight and design practices.

Early in the morning of December 14, 2005, pumps were nearly finished filling the upper reservoir at the Taum Sauk power station, marking the end of the daily cycle. Water rose to the top of the rockfill embankment, reaching the concrete parapet wall that ran along the top of the dam. But the water didn’t stop. One of the two pumps shut off, but the other kept running, and soon, the water was lapping over the wall. Within minutes, those splashes turned into a steady stream cascading over the parapet, pouring against the embankment on the other side. The rockfill eroded slowly at first, but the hole grew deeper and wider. The pump finally shut off, but it was too late—the footing of the parapet wall had already been undermined. The wall tipped over, and a massive surge of water was unleashed down the mountainside headed directly toward a state park.

The Final Flight of the Airline Magazine

Columbia Journalism Review • 16 Oct 2024 • ~2600 words

This article discusses the decline of in-flight magazines, using the final print issue of United Airlines' Hemispheres magazine as an example. It explores the history, purpose, and cultural significance of these magazines, as well as the shift towards digital content and personalized advertising for airline passengers. The article also raises questions about the role of print media, the "captive audience" of airline passengers, and the class divisions reflected in different in-flight magazine offerings.

It was in a Wi-Fi void, inside of a highfalutin, high-altitude tin can, that the in-flight magazine once thrived, both opulent and casual, an object of simultaneous aspiration and reassurance. Its cousin Skymall understood these brief, buoyant contradictions acutely, offering, via its contracts with the airlines that stocked it, an array of smart idiosyncrasies, luxurious gags whose appeal also seemed, maybe, specific to the temporary whims of air travel: Harry Potter wands, Easter Island doorstops, personal sauna systems, mittens for two, toasters that would burn the silhouette of your dog’s head into a slice of bread. These were not necessities, in the same way that in-flight magazines never pretended to offer breaking news or timely political analysis.

More Than Meets The Eye: The Enigma of Being ‘Good With Faces’

Sequencer • 8 Oct 2024 • ~2900 words

Max G. Levy reflects on the complexities of facial recognition and memory. He examines the differences between recall and recognition, the phenomenon of aphantasia (the inability to visualize), and the remarkable diversity in people's facial memory abilities. The article also raises intriguing questions about the social and evolutionary factors that influence our capacity to remember faces.

But when we talk about remembering a face as stored data, we need to ask what we're actually remembering. When we do, we already run up against the limits of our knowledge. Are faces stamped as clusters of eyes, noses, and mouths into our mental banks, or are they separated into sets of discrete parts — an especially distinctive pair of ears singled out, or a button nose, or cheeks the size of water balloons, or a sharp chin that could pop said balloons?

Inside the Growing and Controversial World of Wildlife-Killing Contests

Rolling Stone • 12 Oct 2024 • ~4200 words • Archive Link

Wildlife-killing contests are gaining traction, particularly in Texas, where events like the SEO Varmint Roundup draw hunters eager for competition and cash prizes. This article dives into the controversial landscape of these contests, exploring the motivations behind them and the ethical debates they spark within the hunting community. With perspectives from both participants and critics, it explores the implications of these events for wildlife management and conservation efforts. A word of warning: the article includes some disturbing images.

We turn to page seven in our handbooks. “Hunting laws preserve wildlife, but ethics preserve the hunter’s opportunity to hunt,” reads a bullet point. “Because ethics govern the behavior that affects public opinion of hunters.” In other words, as another instructor named Julie says, “It’s always about image.”

Inside Turkey’s EU-Funded Deportation Machine

New Lines Magazine • 12 Oct 2024 • ~7450 words

In a revealing investigation, journalists uncover the grim realities of Turkey's EU-funded deportation centers, where migrants face systemic abuse and coercion. Through personal accounts and extensive reporting, the piece highlights the EU's financial support for these facilities despite the human rights violations occurring within. The piece also explores the coercion used to force "voluntary" returns to Syria and the broader political context driving Turkey's crackdown on refugees.

It is the dark side of the way that the EU outsources its migration management to third countries, and then looks the other way when refugees’ rights are violated. As the authors of this piece reported in a joint investigation coordinated by Lighthouse Reports, the EU has allocated at least 200 million euros in funding to the setting up and operation of a vast network of 32 “removal centers” in which migrants and refugees are abused, humiliated and forced to sign so-called “voluntary removal forms.”

SOUND MACHINES

Artforum • 1 Oct 2024 • ~3050 words

In exploring the work of Russian engineer Evgeny Sholpo, this article delves into his ambitious vision of a "Mechanical Orchestra" and the Variophone, a proto-synthesizer he developed in the early 20th century. Amid the backdrop of a rapidly evolving technological landscape, Sholpo's ideas mirror today's debates surrounding automation and creativity. The narrative not only uncovers Sholpo's quest to eliminate the need for human performers but also raises questions about the future of music in an increasingly automated world.

What strikes the reader most today about these debates, which are by now more than a century old, is how much they resemble contemporary ones. Sholpo’s proposal to undermine the performer through mechanical music mirrors recent developments with generative AI platforms that use simple prompts to produce unique musical tracks or texts. Just as he and his colleagues sought to eliminate the musician and grant performative agency to a machine, new technologies like chatbots, self-driving cars, and image generators reconfigure human intervention to delegate complex tasks to machines, removing subjective interactivity in favor of rational procedures.

Cambodia’s Billion Dollar Scam

The Dial • 13 Oct 2024 • ~4200 words

The Dial explores Cambodia's booming cyber scam industry and how thousands are trafficked into the country, lured by false job promises, only to find themselves trapped in brutal conditions. The article uncovers the web of complicity among Cambodian elites and Chinese investors that has transformed entire regions into hubs for illicit activities.

This illicit scam industry did not emerge by accident. Rather, it is the result of years of investment and infrastructure development designed to accommodate the industry’s needs. Cambodia is hardly the first country to be plagued with high-level corruption, to see its government bow to the demands of organized crime groups or to have those in power hand lucrative public contracts to family members or sell them to the highest bidder.

How will climate change affect crop yields in the future?

Our World in Data • 14 Oct 2024 • ~3700 words

As climate change continues to reshape our world, its effects on agriculture are complex and varied. This article explores how different crops may respond to rising temperatures and changing weather patterns, revealing that while maize may suffer significant declines, wheat could see surprising gains. The piece highlights the unequal impacts across regions, raising crucial questions about food security as global populations grow and shift.

As a general rule, high-latitude or temperate countries will likely see less severe adverse climate impacts — and potentially even increases in yields, despite additional extreme weather events — while farmers in the tropics and subtropics face the largest yield declines, while also having a lower capacity to adapt.

The Woman Who Helped Send a Spacecraft to Europa, Jupiter’s Icy Moon

The New Yorker • 15 Oct 2024 • ~2350 words • Archive Link

This article profiles Louise Prockter, a planetary scientist who played a key role in the development of the Europa Clipper mission to explore Jupiter's icy moon Europa. It explores not only the mission itself but also Prockter's personal transformation and her decision to pivot towards a more grounded life after decades in space exploration.

Prockter made the decision to retire because of time. NASA’s approach to ambitious missions did not leave enough years to make anything else for the outer solar system. She only had time to make things on Earth. On top of a heavy-duty toolbox in her workshop, I saw a half-scale model of a Little Free Library. It is based on the New York Public Library and made of thick white poster board, cut into panels and pasted together. There are two ceramic lions—formerly salt and pepper shakers—at the library’s “entrance.” On a nearby notepad, she had sketched angles and equations to improve its design. Peering inside the model, I could see that the poster board was the blank side of a sign advertising a 2023 lecture at Penn State. The speaker that year was Dr. Louise Prockter.

SCOTUS Revives Lawsuit Against Missouri Cop Who Jailed a Man 'for Being an Asshole'

Reason.com • 11 Oct 2024 • ~2200 words

In a case that raises questions about free speech and police authority, Mason Murphy found himself arrested by an officer named Schmitt for simply walking down a Missouri highway and refusing to identify himself to an officer. Murphy argues that the arrest was retaliatory because he challenged Schmitt's authority and refused to identify himself. The Supreme Court has revived Murphy's lawsuit, allowing him to pursue his claim that his First Amendment rights were violated by the arrest.

Schmitt was still trying to figure out exactly why he was arresting Murphy. "What's my charges?" he asked the other officer. "Refusal to identify?" Maybe, the other cop said, assuming Schmitt could "articulate that you had a reason to deal with him." Or the charge "could be disobeying a lawful order," he suggested. "You can figure it out." But Schmitt never did.