Let’s talk about the Superbowl, Star Trek and timelessness – Beau of the Fifth Column

Democracy, Authoritarian Capitalism, and China: Crash Course World History 230

In which John Green teaches you about the end of World History, and the end of the world as we know it, kind of. For the last hundred years or so, it seemed that one important ingredient for running an economically successful country was a western-style democratic government. All evidence pointed to the idea that

‘They want to remove us and take the rock’, say Zimbabweans living near Chinese-owned mines

As companies extract wealth, villagers say they see little benefit and are instead exploited in quarries, live in homes damaged by blasts and are unable to farm polluted land A convoy of trucks laden with huge black granite rocks trundles along the dusty pathway as a group of villagers look on grimly. Every day more

Failure to share Covid vaccines ‘coming back to haunt us’, says Gordon Brown

Ex-PM says world was ‘forewarned’ of dangers of failing to vaccinate poorer countries amid rise of new variant ‘New variant is no surprise when rich countries are hoarding vaccines’ The failure of wealthy nations to get vaccines to the developing world is “coming back to haunt us”, Gordon Brown has warned, as experts said the emergence of

Soldier admits role in 1987 murder of Burkina Faso’s revolutionary leader Sankara

A former army private admitted at a trial on Tuesday that he had helped transport a hit squad to assassinate Burkina Faso’s revolutionary leader, Thomas Sankara, 34 years ago. The trial unfolding at a military court in Ouagadougou is being closely followed by the Burkinabe public, many of whom hope it will shed light on

Hundreds of Thousands Take to Streets Worldwide for ‘Uproot the System’ Climate Strikes

“The climate crisis has not disappeared,” said Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. “It’s the opposite—it’s even more urgent now than it was before.” Young people by the hundreds of thousands took to the streets across the globe on Friday to deliver a resounding message to world leaders: The climate crisis is getting worse, and only radical action

The Cold War in Asia: Crash Course US History #38

In which John Green teaches you about the Cold War as it unfolded in Asia. As John pointed out last week, the Cold War was occasionally hot, and a lot of that heat was generated in Asia. This is starting to sound weird with the hot/cold thing, so let’s just say that the United States

DR Congo president seeks review of mining contracts with China

Democratic Republic of the Congo is seeking what it says is a fairer share of its vast mineral wealth. Felix Tshisekedi, the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has called for a review of mining contracts signed with China in 2008 by his predecessor, saying he wanted to get fairer deals. A

American Imperialism: Crash Course US History #28

In which John Green teaches you about Imperialism. In the late 19th century, the great powers of Europe were running around the world obtaining colonial possessions, especially in Africa and Asia. The United States, which as a young country was especially suceptible to peer pressure, followed along and snapped up some colonies of its own.

Mexico City to replace Columbus statue with one of indigenous woman

A prominent statue of explorer Christopher Columbus on one of Mexico City’s principal avenues is to be replaced with that of an indigenous Mexican woman, the capital’s mayor, Claudia Sheinbaum, said on Sunday. The 19th-century bronze statue was taken down from the Paseo de la Reforma boulevard last year for restoration work ahead of an annual