The Mughal Empire and Historical Reputation: Crash Course World History #217

In which John Green teaches you about the Mughal Empire, which ruled large swaths of the Indian Sub-Continent from 1526 to (technically) 1857. While John teaches you about this long-lived Muslim empire, he’ll also look at the idea of historical reputation and how we view people from history. Namely, he’ll look at the reputations of

Thousands of Iranian farmers protest against severe water shortages

Thousands of protesters have converged on Isfahan in central Iran to voice their anger after the city’s lifeblood river dried up due to drought and diversion. The massive protest, that drew in farmers and other people from across Isfahan province, was the biggest since demonstrations over the water crisis started on November 9. “Thousands of

India to repeal controversial farming laws following persistent protests – DW News

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Friday in an address to the nation that he will be repealing three controversial farm laws. Farmers in the northern part of the country have been protesting against the laws for over a year. The announcement came on the day of Guru Nanak Jayanti, a celebration of the birthday

Brazil’s Bolsonaro accused of ‘crimes against humanity’ at ICC

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was accused Tuesday (Oct 12) of “crimes against humanity” at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his alleged role in the destruction of the Amazon, the first case seeking to explicitly link deforestation to loss of life. Planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from burning and industrial-scale agriculture in the Amazon are higher

Police arrest Indian minister’s son in killing of farmers

Indian police on Saturday arrested the son of a junior minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government as a suspect days after nine people were killed in a deadly escalation of yearlong demonstrations by tens of thousands of farmers against contentious agriculture laws in northern India, a police officer said. Four farmers died Sunday when

Slavery – Crash Course US History #13

In which John Green teaches you about America’s “peculiar institution,” slavery. I wouldn’t really call it peculiar. I’d lean more toward horrifying and depressing institution, but nobody asked me. John will talk about what life was like for a slave in the 19th century United States, and how slaves resisted oppression, to the degree that

Migrations and Intensification: Crash Course Big History #7

In which Hank and John Green teach you about humanity conquering the Earth. Or at least moving from Africa into the rest of the Earth. As human beings spread out across the world and populations grew, humanity reached a critical mass of innovators, and collective learning took off! All these innovations were great for lots

North Korea feeds war rations to the poor after heatwave ravages food supply

North Korea is releasing emergency military rice reserves as its food shortage worsens, according to South Korea’s spy agency, with a heatwave and drought reducing the country’s supply. The country’s moribund economy is continuously being battered by the protracted COVID-19 pandemic, and while mass starvation and social chaos have not been reported, observers expect further deterioration

‘The sky has fallen’: Chinese farmers see livelihoods washed away by floods

Chinese farmer Cheng wades through knee-deep water, pulling dead pigs behind him one-by-one by a rope tied around their ankles as he lines up the bloated carcasses for disposal. More than 100 of Cheng’s pigs drowned in floods that paralysed China’s central Henan province last week, and the outlook for those left alive is bleak.

Two dams in China’s Inner Mongolia collapse after torrential rain

Two dams in China’s northwestern region of Inner Mongolia have collapsed after torrential rain, the Water Ministry said on Monday (July 19), highlighting the safety risks posed by ageing infrastructure during the summer flood season. The dams, in the Inner Mongolian city of Hulunbuir, collapsed on Sunday afternoon. They had formed reservoirs with a combined