Earlier this week Domino’s Pizza had to issue an apology over a promotion it ran in Australia and New Zealand, offering free pizza to “nice Karens”. The company didn’t pick out the name Karen at random. “Karen” has, in recent years, become a widespread meme referencing a specific type of middle-class white […]
The Hong Kong government has postponed September’s parliamentary elections by a year, saying it is necessary amid a rise in coronavirus infections. Hong Kong is currently experiencing a spike in Covid-19 infections, and reported 121 new cases on Friday. However, the opposition has accused the government of using the pandemic […]
Emails between UK socialite Ghislaine Maxwell and the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have been revealed in a trove of unsealed court documents. Epstein tells Ms Maxwell she has done “nothing wrong” in the 2015 exchange, which appears to contradict her earlier claims of not having contacted him. And […]
Several staff will be replaced on Ellen DeGeneres’ daytime chat show after an investigation uncovered “deficiencies” in “the show’s day-to-day management”. The inquiry was prompted by a widely-circulated story on Buzzfeed news, in which employees made allegations of racism and intimidation on the show. The accusers claimed the workplace was toxic and […]
FROM OUR OBSESSION Because China Even small changes in China have global effects. Like many of his colleagues in the Hong Kong civil service, V. has a calendar pinned up in his office cubicle. But his stands out: it features a slogan supporting the city’s pro-democracy protest movement. “My calendar […]
Small and medium-sized businesses have been at the center of the Narendra Modi government’s plans to revive the Indian economy from the Covid-19-triggered slump. Yet, experts believe, not much has changed for such firms and the pandemic could prove to be a “mass-extinction event” for them. Only a third of […]
FROM OUR OBSESSION Global Economic Disruptions Globalization, automation, and inequality. At the beginning of July, the US government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) gave $354 million to a drug company to fight the pandemic. Its other big investments, which by now have topped a few billion, have gone to established American […]
FROM OUR OBSESSION Global Economic Disruptions Globalization, automation, and inequality. The US federal government is betting on vaccines to end the Covid-19 pandemic. On July 22, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) announced that it would buy up the first 100 million doses of a potential vaccine from Pfizer, a […]
FROM OUR OBSESSION Being Human We’ve never been as connected, or as isolated. Seven months into the pandemic, cloth masks are now fashion statements. But when you’re building up your wardrobe, it’s worth considering not just your mask’s pattern, but its protective power. Fabric masks slow the spread of viruses from […]
FROM OUR OBSESSION Future of Work Preparing for a labor force that doesn’t yet exist. Teleworking is widening income inequality all over the world, according to a new study from the International Monetary Fund. The ability to work remotely has become a make-or-break factor for many workers during the coronavirus pandemic. Unless […]