The “Lost Decade(s)” that have beleaguered the Japanese economy are rarely lost on anyone. In 1985, the Plaza Accord strengthened the Japanese yen. This, alongside overzealous financial deregulation, fueled an asset bubble that eventually burst i...
Note: This piece was written between October-November 2025. Politics are constantly evolving, and so there may have been multiple developments by the time of publication. Most notably, Andrej Babiš was sworn in as Czechia’s prime minister on Decem...
Albania’s newest cabinet member is pregnant…with 83 babies. But do not worry, she is not human. Meet Diella, Albania’s “AI minister.” Diella was “born” on January 19, 2025, with the job of managing Albania’s ‘e-Albania’ platform, ...
Countless artificial intelligence (AI) platforms make use of content moderation filters to prevent harmful and inappropriate output from being displayed. OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, cites its content filtering system, Moderation endpoint, as part...
Countless artificial intelligence (AI) platforms make use of content moderation filters to prevent harmful and inappropriate output from being displayed. OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, cites its content filtering system, Moderation endpoint, as part...
The South African government has a longstanding history of HIV denialism. Throughout his presidency from 1999 to 2008, Thabo Mbeki continually questioned the validity of HIV research. Infamously, he presented his dissenting positions in a letter to w...
The South African government has a longstanding history of HIV denialism. Throughout his presidency from 1999 to 2008, Thabo Mbeki continually questioned the validity of HIV research. Infamously, he presented his dissenting positions in a letter to w...
“What happens to a country without land? Where will we call home?” Such are the considerations facing Tuvalu, a small island nation in the South Pacific, where sea levels are increasing at twice the pace of the worldwide average. Tuvalu, with a p...
“What happens to a country without land? Where will we call home?” Such are the considerations facing Tuvalu, a small island nation in the South Pacific, where sea levels are increasing at twice the pace of the worldwide average. Tuvalu, with a p...
The first Russian to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, Ivan Bunin, was unable to do so as a proud representative of his country. Introduced at the Nobel Banquet as “the soul of vanished Russia,” Bunin expressed his gratitude to “the hospitalit...
The first Russian to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, Ivan Bunin, was unable to do so as a proud representative of his country. Introduced at the Nobel Banquet as “the soul of vanished Russia,” Bunin expressed his gratitude to “the hospitalit...
The first recorded instance of a political sex strike—when women actively withhold sex from men as a temporary means of political action—dates back to 411 BCE in Aristophanes’ play Lysistrata. The comedy displays an effort by Lysistrata to end ...
The first recorded instance of a political sex strike—when women actively withhold sex from men as a temporary means of political action—dates back to 411 BCE in Aristophanes’ play Lysistrata. The comedy displays an effort by Lysistrata to end ...
As cities worldwide emerge from the social and economic devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, urban planners have discovered a newfound enthusiasm for localized and pedestrianized urban life. In recent months, however, the concept of the ...
As cities worldwide emerge from the social and economic devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, urban planners have discovered a newfound enthusiasm for localized and pedestrianized urban life. In recent months, however, the concept of the ...
Luben is a satiric channel that posts videos, articles, and memes that mock Greek public life, including reality TV, news fails, embarrassing moments in sports, and—most importantly—politics. Created 10 years ago, it always had a reputation for l...
Luben is a satiric channel that posts videos, articles, and memes that mock Greek public life, including reality TV, news fails, embarrassing moments in sports, and—most importantly—politics. Created 10 years ago, it always had a reputation for l...
India, the world’s largest democracy, seems to be slowly but surely falling into a state of restricted freedom under the control of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). While many Western publications have denounced Prime Minister Narendra Modi...
India, the world’s largest democracy, seems to be slowly but surely falling into a state of restricted freedom under the control of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). While many Western publications have denounced Prime Minister Narendra Modi...
Ask any government statistician: The B-1 Bomber won us the Cold War. Not in the way you might think. No bomber ever dropped payloads over Russia, and the victory wasn’t overnight. But by its specific characteristics—anti-radar stealth, low-altitu...
Ask any government statistician: The B-1 Bomber won us the Cold War. Not in the way you might think. No bomber ever dropped payloads over Russia, and the victory wasn’t overnight. But by its specific characteristics—anti-radar stealth, low-altitu...
Debates about fertility rates rage around the world. India is no exception. As a country where family and children are valued above nearly all else, this fact is unsurprising. But focus on family often comes at great cost for India’s women. In a na...
Debates about fertility rates rage around the world. India is no exception. As a country where family and children are valued above nearly all else, this fact is unsurprising. But focus on family often comes at great cost for India’s women. In a na...
In an anonymous statement to the United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), an Egyptian woman described in painful detail her family’s reaction to her contracting HIV: They ostracized her, beat her, and withheld her inheritance. In an attem...
In an anonymous statement to the United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), an Egyptian woman described in painful detail her family’s reaction to her contracting HIV: They ostracized her, beat her, and withheld her inheritance. In an attem...
On January 28, 2023, US officials first noticed a mysterious object floating over the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska. The object subsequently traveled over western Canada before floating back into US airspace in northern Idaho on January 31...
On January 28, 2023, US officials first noticed a mysterious object floating over the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska. The object subsequently traveled over western Canada before floating back into US airspace in northern Idaho on January 31...