The Economic Failure Of Venezuela
In terms of countries that had it easy Venezuela by all counts should be at the top of the list, it is home to the largest oil deposits in the world, easily beating out the typical oil giants like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab eremites. But they squandered it.
How One NASA Image Tells Dozens Of Stories
In 2016, NASA used the Suomi NPP weather satellite to create a high resolution image of the earth at night. It can help us better understand the current developments and conflicts underway. The amount of light pollution is most severe in heavily populated areas, as well as in regions of high prosperity.
Why The Brazilian Soccer Team Wouldn’t Wear White – Until Now
White is also the color that the Brazilian national soccer team was wearing in the infamous “Maracanazo” match, a decisive showdown against Uruguay in the 1950 World Cup. Nearly 70 years later Brazil is ready to tempt fate.
China’s Vanishing Mosques
The BBC has found new evidence of the increasing control and suppression of Islam in China’s far western region of Xinjiang – including the widespread destruction of mosques. Authorities provided rare access to religious sites and senior Islamic officials to support their claim that their policies only target violent religious extremism, not faith itself.
Meet The Americans Who Moved To Europe And Went Awol On Their Student Loans
The amount of money adults in the US owe due to educations is over $1.3 trillion and jumps up by more than $2,000 every second. The average borrower owes $28,000. Some cash-strapped former students are choosing to leave America behind in order to avoid paying off their giant debts.
Apps Have Changed The Way We Date
The online dating industry is projected to be worth $9 billion by 2025 and according to eHarmony, most people will find a partner via an app or website by 2035. Tinder is one of the most popular swiping apps with more than 5 million subscribers and it’s launched a whole new language of love.
How And Why The Great Wall Of China Was Really Built
The Great Wall of China was built 2,200 years ago out of military necessity: to combat the Mongolian ancestors of Genghis Khan. Its construction was a marvel of military engineering.
The Violent Eviction That Transformed San Francisco
In 1968, a group of predominantly Filipino elders in San Francisco launched a battle to protect their home from eviction. Their fight for their neighborhood would evolve into a nearly decade-long protest with thousands of supporters and become a symbol of the campaign for affordable housing for decades to come.
Mapping America’s Stark Wage Inequality
One of the most important economic stories of the past couple of decades is the rise of economic inequality in the United States and around the world. Since 1980, economists say, wage growth for the highest-paid workers has been roughly triple that for the lowest paid. In some cities, the disparity is wider.
McHive, The World’s Smallest McDonald’s For Bees
Some of McDonald’s restaurants in Sweden have beehives on their rooftops. The initiative started out locally but is now growing. To celebrate the initiative which is part of McDonald’s Swedens sustainability work, they created what could be the world’s smallest McDonald’s – a fully functioning beehive.
“This Land Is Your Land”, The Story Behind America’s Best-Known Protest Song
On its most basic level, “This Land Is Your Land” is a song about inclusion and equality—the American ideal broken down into simple, eloquent language and set to a melody you memorize on first listen. But there’s more to “This Land Is Your Land” than many people realize.
Amazon Is Trying To Control The Underlying Infrastructure Of Our Economy
Jeff Bezos’s big bet is that he can make buying from Amazon so effortless that we won’t notice the company’s creeping grip on commerce and its underlying infrastructure, and that we won’t notice what that dominance costs us. Amazon has unprecedented power to steer our choices.
Why Are Millions Of Chinese Kids Parenting Themselves?
Generations of Wang Ying’s family farmed the misty mountains of Liangshan, one of China’s poorest regions. But now, the 14-year-old girl lives on her own as the sole caretaker of her two younger siblings. They are among an estimated 9 million “left-behind children” raising themselves in the Chinese countryside.
How Not To Bomb Your Offer Negotiation
Most people think negotiating well is just looking the other person in the eye, appearing confident, and asking for tons of money. But being a good negotiator is a lot more subtle than that.
How Leonardo Da Vinci Made A “Satellite” Map In 1502
When infamous Italian politician Cesare Borgia brought Leonardo da Vinci — the guy who drew this portrait — to the city of Imola, it was as a military engineer. When Leonardo was installed at Borgia’s newly acquired fort, one of his duties was to help Borgia learn the territory.
“Alternative Math”, A Teacher Trumped By Post-Fact America
Alternative Math is a multiple award-winning short film, tackling issues like fake news and alternative facts with a good sense of humor. The plot involves a well-meaning maths teacher coming under fire when she fails a young boy who gives some wrong answers on a test.
This Is What It’s Like Inside North Korea’s Luxury Ski Resort
Get a glimpse of what life is like in North Korea, a country rarely seen by foreigners. Britain’s fastest snowboarder Jamie Barrow is our guide around the DPRK’s capital city Pyongyang before he heads up to the slopes of Masikryong.
How The 0.001% Invest
Global finance is being transformed as billionaires get richer and cut out the middlemen by creating their own “family offices”, personal investment firms that roam global markets looking for opportunities.
Repopulating A Japanese town
As the Japanese populace shrinks and ages, and young people leave the suburbs and rural areas for cities, more and more communities are becoming ghost towns. The municipality of Okutama, on the outskirts of Tokyo, has come up with a novel solution: Give away houses to young families for free.
How Oxford University Shaped Brexit — And Britain’s Next Prime Minister
You turn the pages of yellowing student newspapers from 30 years ago, and there they are, recognisably the same faces that dominate today’s British news. Boris Johnson running for Union president, Michael Gove winning debating contests, Jeremy Hunt holding together the faction-ridden Oxford University Conservative Association (OUCA).
