Netflix's next big sci-fi franchise finally has a release date

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Netflix's next big sci-fi franchise finally has a release date Zack Snyder and Netflix are hoping to land among the stars with an original new sci-fi, Rebel Moon. To kick off the new year, Netflix recently released a snazzy trailer to promote its upcoming movies. There’s a wide variety to fill up your queue for the next 12 months, but one of the most anticipated titles is Rebel Moon, a sci-fi action epic from writer and director Zack Snyder that Netflix hopes will be the next big thing. Continued here

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'Tron 3' is confirmed, will unfortunately star Jared Leto Disney loves a science fiction franchise, which makes sense given that its two massive tentpole sagas, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars, have made the company so much money that accountants have had to invent new numbers. However, not all of its sci-fi franchises have been whopping successes. In 2012, the curse of Disney original sci-fi movies reached new depths with John Carter, an adaptation of a 1912 Edgar Rice Burroughs serial that sees a Confederate veteran be teleported to Mars. Even last year, the animated sci-fi movie Strange World underperformed after a confusing marketing campaign. Now, another failed franchise is being exhumed from the dustbin of movie history, with a huge (and hugely controversial) name attached: Jared Leto. Continued here

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'Fire Emblem Engage' protagonist differences and 5 more beginners tips Filling the shoes of Fire Emblem: Three Houses can’t be easy. Now that Fire Emblem Engage is out, it’s likely to attract a lot of players whose first experience of the series was this game’s wildly successful predecessor. But Fire Emblem Engage is a much different game from Three Houses, and some of the changes it makes may come as a big surprise. With that in mind, here are some tips that will help you get the best start on your tenure as the Divine Dragon. The first decision you’ll make in Fire Emblem Engage is whether to choose a male or female version of the protagonist, whose name is Alear either way. In Three Houses, this was a major decision, as it affected who your character could start a romantic relationship with later in the game. Continued here

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Stuck With a Big Life Decision? World Leading Economist Says 'Just Flip a Coin' and You'll Be Happier Research shows that giving it over to chance makes us feel better when making big decisions. Continued here

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In the Year of the Rabbit, spare a thought for all these wonderful endangered bunny species What do you think when you hear the word “rabbit”? Does your mind conjure images of cartoon bunnies eating carrots? Or the fluffy tails and floppy ears of pet bunnies? Maybe you think about their incredible ability to reproduce. For many Australians, “rabbit” is synonymous with “pest” because of their infamous introduction and subsequent invasion around 164 years ago. The destruction rabbits cause to Australian landscapes is harmful and serious, but there’s a lot more to bunnies when we cast our thoughts overseas. Continued here

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Why is 'Genshin Impact' on my PS4? Those mysterious downloads, debunked What’s Paimon been up to now? A gaggle of gamers have recently reported that Genshin Impact has mysteriously appeared on their PlayStation 4 console, without any recollection of downloading it. Some have wondered if it could be a weeb curse or computer hack, but it’s probably be something a lot less sinister: an ad. PlayStation 4 users have reported random “downloads” for the anime-inspired RPG as far back as six months ago. However, another wave of folks brought the issue back into the spotlight this week, after receiving an ad for the Genshin Impact 3.4 update. Continued here

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'Warzone 2.0' Season 2 delay highlights the worst thing about modern CODs Warzone 2.0 and Modern Warfare 2 Season 2 has been delayed by two weeks. As teased by the previous in-game battle pass countdown timer, Season 2 was initially supposed to launch on February 1 but will now begin on February 15 instead. The delay is yet another blow to the community after Warzone 2.0’s less-than-stellar reception. Sure, Activision finally confirmed that a new Resurgence map will come alongside Season 2 as a consolation prize of a sort, but this delay is a prime example of what’s wrong with modern Call of Duty entries: It’s all tied to Activision rushing its games out the door. In 2022, Activision said Modern Warfare 2 would be “the most advanced experience” in Call of Duty history. Inverse scored it — and its battle royale spinoff, Warzone 2.0 — a 6 out of 10, with criticisms toward their pacing, odd design choices, and overall lack of polish across the board. Continued here

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4 Ways to Engage a Diverse Audience During Lunar New Year Four tips for inclusive businesses that want to meaningfully reach a wider audience this Lunar New Year. Continued here

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The Best Way to Name a New Product When an established consumer-packaged-goods (CPG) company introduces a new product, it faces a potentially make-or-break decision: how to brand it. Tying it to an existing brand (as was the case for Cherry Coke and Avon Hand Lotion) is tempting. Customers are more likely to try a new product with a familiar association, and companies have to expend fewer marketing resources to launch it. But the strategy has risks, too: Weak or failed brand extensions can harm the parent company. When the maker of Coors beer introduced a nonalcoholic beverage, Coors Rocky Mountain Spring Water, customers were confused, with some wondering about the alcohol content of the beverage. Sales of both water and beer suffered, and the new product was ultimately discontinued. A new study can help companies make the right branding decision—and shows that those who do will be rewarded with higher returns. Continued here

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How Uber's bus-like EVs could revive a transit pipe dream Uber says it's partnering with automakers to create custom EVs designed for ride-sharing that, yes, sound a bit like buses. Uber is designing its own cars. The ride-hailing and food delivery company is working with automakers to develop and create custom EVs, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi shared at a Wall Street Journal event on Thursday. Continued here

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Shopify Is Going Nuclear on Meetings. Your Company Should Consider Doing the Same Shopify is canceling all recurring meetings to see which ones are actually missed. Should you try something similar? Continued here

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Look: Global photo competition illuminates nature's beauty and drama Cannibal insects, foraging birds, and carnivorous plants were just a few of the subjects captured at the fourth annual Close-Up Photographer of the Year competition. Continued here

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'Legend of Vox Machina' will continue -- even if Dungeons and Dragons doesn't Critical Role’s array of cast members unpack the road ahead for both Vox Machina and the future of tabletop gaming. Anyone with the hobby of playing Dungeons & Dragons might be feeling like it’s the apocalypse. Continued here

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How To Achieve Self Mastery And Become A Better Leader Entrepreneurs who have mastered the self make effective and powerful leaders. Continued here

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Every 'Fire Emblem Engage' character you can S-rank, romance, and smooch Fire Emblem is known for its great tactical combat and, just as importantly, a very smoochable cast of characters. Some games in the series go as far as letting you get married and have children with your allies, while others keep the romance a bit tamer. Naturally, there’s been a lot of speculation about how Fire Emblem Engage will handle its relationships. With the game now out, it’s clear that it’s an improvement on the series’ relationship mechanics in some ways, but a step back in others. Here’s how S-rank support and romance work in Fire Emblem Engage. First off, you have to earn your ships in Fire Emblem Engage. To reach S-rank support, you need to give your crush the Pact Ring, an item than can only be acquired late in the game by completing a specific quest. As you near the story’s end, you’ll return to Lythos for a battle, and completing it will unlock a Paralogue called the Connector. You need to beat this optional mission to acquire the Pact Ring. Continued here

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Managing in the Age of Outrage Almost every leader in every sector is now dealing with angry stakeholders. Even a revered company like Apple can find itself suddenly managing outrage flashpoints, both with employees and with external groups. Such encounters are nothing new; what sets this time apart is a perfect storm of three forces: (1) Many people feel unhopeful about the future. (2) Many feel, rightly or wrongly, that the game has been rigged against them. (3) Many are being drawn toward ideologies that legitimize an us-versus-them approach. The author offers a five-step framework for dealing with outrage that draws on analytical insights from disciplines as wide-ranging as the science of aggression, managerial economics, organizational behavior, and political philosophy. It forms the basis of a course he teaches at Oxford and has been built inductively through a series of deep-dive case studies on a variety of organizations, including IKEA, the London Metropolitan Police, Nestlé, and Oxford University Hospitals. Continued here

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Ukraine recap: world leaders gather at Davos to make the case for more military aid to Kyiv “We’re tired of fighting Putin with rubbish kit”. This recent headline in The Times was an eloquent expression of the feelings of a Ukrainian tank sergeant, part of the 24th Mechanised Brigade fighting in Bakhmut in the country’s east. “Spider” Bogdan, whose Soviet-era T-62 had ground to a halt, dreams of a more modern tank: “"Would we like to have a Challenger instead? What do you think? It would be a gift from the heavens.” Bogdan’s T-62 had apparently seen action in Afghanistan 40 years ago and – like so much of the military hardware that Ukraine has depended on in fighting against the Russians in the Donbas since 2014 – is falling apart. Continued here

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Ernest Cole: South Africa's most famous photobook has been republished after 55 years Photographer Ernest Cole was born in 1940 in the Pretoria township of Eersterust, just before apartheid was formally introduced in South Africa in 1948. He was 20 when thousands of people gathered outside a police station in Sharpeville township to protest against being forced to carry pass books by the white minority government. On that day at least 69 people were shot dead, hundreds were injured, and a state of emergency was declared. The Sharpeville Massacre is regarded as a turning point in the struggle for liberation in South Africa. It marked the beginning of a decades-long period in which images of human rights abuses in South Africa would rarely be out of the international news. Continued here S6 Employers Can Do More to Advance Health Equity In this article the authors explain why businesses should help find solutions to health inequities and showcase companies innovating in this space. The article outlines four opportunities for companies. They can optimize benefits and health plan offerings, address social determinants of health, expand primary care and mental health access through virtual care and community partnerships, and make benefits and health care easy to navigate. Continued here S3 Apple cider vinegar: is drinking this popular home remedy bad for your teeth? A dentist explains Apple cider vinegar has become a popular home remedy in recent years and has been used for centuries in cooking and medicine. It’s thought to help with a wide range of health issues, including high cholesterol, blood sugar levels, obesity and high blood pressure. It’s also said to help with eczema and stomach acid reflux, but this has not been scientifically proven. Because apple cider vinegar is a good source of nutrients like potassium, magnesium, calcium, and vitamin C, it’s believed to be good for your body as a whole. Apple cider vinegar is usually consumed with foods as an additive to sauces, salad dressings and marinades. Continued here S53 The 8 best guns in 'Warzone 2.0' Season 1 Reloaded There’s an overwhelming number of weapons to choose from in Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0, but not all of them are worth using. Some are slow and have terrible damage, while others are ideal for many situations. In Warzone 2.0, you’ll want to excel with different types of weapons — from afar, mid-range, and close quarters. Currently, the meta is a bit stale and hasn’t changed much at all since the game’s release. Regardless, you’ll want to come prepared with the best guns in the game to ensure survival. But which weapons are the best? These are the top 8 weapons to use in Warzone 2.0 as of Season 1 Reloaded. The Vaznev-9K doesn’t hit the hardest, but it works well at close to mid-range, thanks to its fast time to kill (TTK), and ease of use. It’s recommended to use a sniper or assault rifle alongside this weapon. Continued here S11 Netflix CEO Reed Hastings Has Resigned. His Reason is a Lesson for Every Leader The company is sticking with the co-CEO model. Continued here S38 What is involuntary manslaughter? A law professor explains the charge facing Alec Baldwin for 'Rust' shooting death A prosecutor in New Mexico intends to charge Alec Baldwin with two counts of involuntary manslaughter it was announced on Jan. 19, 2023, over the deadly shooting on the set of the film “Rust” in 2021. The shooting occurred while Baldwin was rehearsing a scene with a gun that had been loaded with live ammunition instead of blanks. The prosecutor also intends to charge Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer responsible for overseeing the safety of firearms on the set, with two counts of involuntary manslaughter as well. As a professor of law, my job is to understand the nuance of the U.S. legal system. Involuntary manslaughter occurs when a person unintentionally, but still unlawfully, kills another person. And a prosecutor will need to show the unlawful nature of either Baldwin’s or Gutierrez-Reed’s actions to get a conviction in this case. Continued here S10 You May Be Over-Coaching Your Team. Here's How to Tell Here's how to tell if you are at risk of self-sabotage. Continued here S2 Q&A: Why are the Scottish and UK governments going to court over gender recognition laws? The Scottish and UK governments are heading to court over a plan to change the law in Scotland to make it easier for people to change their legal gender. We asked a legal expert to explain what the dispute is about and why it has serious constitutional implications. _ The Scottish parliament passed the gender recognition reform (Scotland) bill in December 2022, amending the law in Scotland to make it easier for a person to change their legal sex. The bill makes it possible to obtain a gender recognition certificate without a medical diagnosis and reduces the time period that someone has to live with their acquired gender before qualifying for a certificate. It also makes it possible for 16- and 17-year-olds to obtain a gender recognition certificate. Continued here S63 Every possible 'Persona 3 Portable' romance for both protagonist options Ah, young love. Even amidst world-ending supernatural events, the protagonist of Persona 3 Portable has the time to pursue romance. With two protagonists P3P offers even more romance to pursue than the rest of the series. So outside of getting started and keeping your grades up, you should not forget that maybe love could be in there. In order to help you find the perfect match, we put together a definitive list of every romance option and how to woo them for the female and male protagonists in Persona 3 Portable. Yukari is the first SEES member you meet in P3P, but you won’t be able to begin her social link until July 24th. However, in order to start the social link the protagonist will have to max out your Charm stat. Romancing her is about support as well as being strong enough to challenge her when she is avoiding her own emotions. She is a headstrong but kind person who is a joy to romance. Continued here S41 Would a law banning the Nazi salute be effective - or enforceable? Amid the growing threat of far-right extremism in Australia, Victoria recently became the first state to ban the Nazi swastika, (known as the Hakenkreuz). Publicly displaying the symbol is now a criminal offence and carries a penalty of up to $22,000, or 12 months of imprisonment. Other states and territories, including NSW, Queensland, the ACT, Tasmania and most recently, Western Australia, are now taking similar steps. Continued here S14 In Just 2--Very Unpleasant--Words, a Former Google Exec Pinpointed the Company's Biggest Problem Does your company have the same issue? Continued here S4 How to talk to someone about conspiracy theories in five simple steps People’s first instinct when engaging with conspiracy believers is often to try and debunk their ideas with factual and authoritative information. However, direct confrontation rarely works. Conspiracy theories are persuasive, often playing on people’s feelings and sense of identity. Even if debunking conspiracy theories was effective, it’s difficult to keep up with how quickly they appear and how widespread they travel. A study showed that during 2015 and 2016, the number of propagators of Zika virus conspiracy theories on Twitter twice outnumbered debunkers. Continued here S50 There’s Only One Thing to Call Biden’s New Scandal: Political Malpractice It's scandal season in Washington. (When is it ever not?) For weeks, the saga of George Santos, the incoming congressman from Long Island who faked just about everything, has provided a salacious mix of near-daily revelations and Republican squirming. In a town full of liars, the G.O.P. newcomer turns out to be truly world-class. His résumé was faked. His religion was a lie. He was not, it now seems clear, the grandchild of Holocaust survivors. (Well, he said, when challenged, he meant he was "Jew-ish," not Jewish.) He did not graduate from college or work at Goldman Sachs. This week, we learned that he lied about his mother being at the Twin Towers on 9/11. He was even accused of stealing three thousand dollars from a GoFundMe that was set up to save a homeless veteran's dying dog. Multiple investigations have now been launched into various unanswered questions, such as where Santos, a Donald Trump superfan who listed no assets to speak of in 2020, got hundreds of thousands of dollars to loan his campaign two years later. On Thursday, Andrew Kaczynski, one of the reporters tracking down his trail of deceit, published a list of the different names that Santos went by in his various scams: Anthony Santos; George Santos; Anthony Devolder; George Anthony Devolder; George Devolder; George A.D. Santos; Anthony Zabrovsky; George Anthony Santos-Devolder. As a grifter, the thirty-four-year-old who may or may not have had an alternate life as a drag queen in Brazil puts even Trump and his old John Barron routine to shame. Continued here S33 Finding your essential self: the ancient philosophy of Zhuangzi explained Zhuangzi – also known as Zhuang Zhou or Master Zhuang – was a Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE. He is traditionally credited as the author of the ancient Taoist masterpiece bearing his name, the Zhuangzi. The work of Zhuangzi has been described as “humorous and deadly serious, lighthearted and morbid, precisely argued and intentionally confusing”. On the surface, his teachings can seem outright nonsensical. He maintains that “listening stops with the ear”, that we should “hide the world in the world”, and that a person on the right path is “walking two roads”. Continued here S58 This sleek e-bike is more than just a Super73 knockoff Ride1Up is expanding its lineup beyond the typical commuter-style electric bicycles. The e-bike company debuted its Revv 1 moped-style e-bike that was built to be more performance-minded. It’s the first time that Ride1Up is offering a moped-style option since most of its products follow a more standard bicycle design. The Revv 1 feels very similar to the e-bike offerings from Super73, which first popularized this sleek and sporty look with its e-bikes. Ride1Up’s alternative shares a similar look, but has the specs to back up its build and is still designed to be capable as a daily commuter. Continued here S36 How often should you change up your exercise routine? People asking for exercise advice are usually looking for a simple answer. Do this over that. Do this many of that thing, for this long. Get these gains. In reality, things are never that simple. That’s certainly true for the age old question of how often one should change up one’s exercise routine. Unfortunately, there’s no single, perfectly designed study that answers this question exactly; much depends on things such as how fit you already are, your goals and how you train. Continued here S40 What do oranges, coffee grounds and seaweed have in common? They outshine cotton in sustainable fashion The average cotton shirt produces 2.1 kilograms of carbon dioxide – but a polyester shirt produces over twice as much (5.5 kilograms). It might come as no surprise that the fashion industry is responsible for around 5% of global CO₂ emissions. Some natural fibres can also take a heavy toll on the environment. Last week, for example, an ABC investigation revealed hundreds of hectares of the Northern Territory’s pristine tropical savanna had been cleared to make way for cotton farms, sometimes without permit. Continued here S35 Could feral animals in Australia become distinct species? It's possible - and we're seeing some early signs You might think evolution is glacially slow. At a species level, that’s true. But evolution happens every time organisms produce offspring. The everyday mixing of genes – combined with mutations – throws up new generations upon which “selection pressure” will act. This pressure is popularly known as survival of the fittest, where fittest means “best adapted” individuals. Tiger snakes with a mutation for a larger head can eat larger prey. Evolution is the zoomed-out version, where species change – or evolve into new ones, better adapted to the environment they find themselves in. Continued here S21 Pay inequality is high in South Africa: bosses are part of the problem South Africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world. This income inequality is mostly due to high unemployment and large differences in wages. In South Africa today, economists and policy-makers typically focus on worker characteristics such as education to address wage inequality. Elsewhere, however, attention has recently returned to the power that bosses have to set the wages of workers. Continued here S20 Climate change is threatening Madagascar's famous forests - our study shows how serious it is Global climate change doesn’t only cause the melting of polar ice caps, rising sea levels and extreme weather events. It also has a direct effect on many tropical habitats and the animals and plants that inhabit them. As fossil fuel emissions continue to drive climate change, large areas of land are forecast to become much hotter and drier by the end of this century. Many ecosystems, including tropical forests, wetlands, swamps and mangroves, will be unable to cope with these extreme climatic conditions. It is highly likely that the extent and condition of these ecosystems will decline. They will become more like deserts and savanna. Continued here S66 Why Apple's rumored smart display could be doomed from the start While Apple has dragged its feet on entering the smart home space, Google and Amazon have tightened their vice grip. Apple has managed to do a little bit of everything over the years. Obviously, it’s continued the train of tried and true laptops, phones, and tablets, but it’s also segued into wearables, trackers, and loads of services that branch into gaming, fitness, entertainment, and — still dumbfoundingly — banking. Continued here S52 You need to play the best high-school RPG ever made ASAP Sometimes, your own worst enemy is looking back at you in the mirror. Persona 4 dramatizes these kinds of self-destructive metaphysical truths in spectacular fashion by gamifying one’s inner conflict. The high school-aged protagonist and his friends spend much of the adventure fighting their “Shadow” selves, which are the embodiments of their emotional insecurities. In other words, characters have to literally confront their inner demons. In doing so, they unlock their Persona, a powerful physical manifestation of their psyche that can be used in battle. What could be more relatable than that for an RPG set in high school? The journey from Shadow to Persona is the core gameplay loop in Persona 4, but it’s wrapped up in a bigger story about a charming group of friends on a mission to solve a supernatural mystery in their small town. Victims are being thrown into a strange world inside a television and harassed by their Shadows. Radical acceptance is how they must save the day rather than overpowering evil monsters. Continued here S16 15 Questions to Ask Yourself That Will Make This Year More Productive, Fulfilling, and Meaningful Check out Shane Parrish's handy guide to help you reflect on the past year... and make this year 'unstoppable.' Continued here S39 Why learning to surf can be great for your mental health, according to a psychologist Nothing clears the mind like going for a surf. With the escapism and simplicity of riding waves, it’s no secret that surfing feels good. Now our preliminary study in children and adolescents adds to growing evidence that surfing really is good for your mental health. Continued here S56 'Ant-Man 3' interview proves Marvel is taking the wrong lesson from 'Jodorowsky's Dune' Marvel can’t stop what-iffing. From the Multiverse of Madness to Loki, and now, the Quantum Realm in the upcoming film, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the myriad of realities in the Marvel Cinematic Universe seems endless. Recently, the writer of the film, Jeff Loveness, told Empire that the Quantum Realm itself is “Jodorowsky’s Dune within Marvel.” While this hyperbole might make a certain amount of sense, this nerdy cinematic sci-fi deep cut feels cringe, even if it ends up being awesome. Here’s why. Continued here S69 'JUNG_E' review: 'Train to Busan' director's sci-fi flick belongs in the scrap heap Director Yeon Sang-ho strikes out with his robotic sci-fi Jung_E, an inert action-drama that feels stuck in testing phases. You have to hand it to Jung_E for being efficient: The South Korean sci-fi action flick wastes no time feeling like its own derivative Hollywood remake. Continued here S19 Nigeria's new Lekki port has doubled cargo capacity, but must not repeat previous failures Three-quarters of the world is covered by water and up to 90% of world trade is seaborne. Seaports and shipping are critical to the conduct of global trade. Africa has relatively few natural harbours that offer shelter and are deep enough to take big vessels. Along the Atlantic coastline of West Africa, for instance, natural harbours exist only at Freetown and Lagos. Consequently, artificial ports have been carved out of lagoon and river ports, which dot the coastline from Morocco to South Africa. Considerable capital and engineering know-how have been applied since the late nineteenth century to make African ports accessible to ocean shipping. Continued here S18 Inflation hasn't increased US food insecurity overall, according to our new tracker Grocery prices soared by 11.8% in 2022 – the swiftest pace since the early 1980s. Rapid inflation is, naturally, leading to concerns that it’s getting harder for Americans to put food on the table. Indeed, Feeding America, a nonprofit that supports and connects roughly 60,000 food banks and pantries nationwide, has said that at least half of its members are seeing more demand for their services. And many journalists are reporting about struggling parents waiting in long lines for free food. Continued here S12 5 Ways Marketers Can Elevate Consumer Experience and Value in 2023 Maximizing your consumer experience in 2023 is essential to maintaining a successful business. Continued here S45 Scientists have started steering lightning with lasers - Lightning may look beautiful but every year it kills thousands of people, does huge amounts of damage to buildings and infrastructure, and causes power outages. The only protection we have is lightning rods, which were invented 300 years ago and only protect a small area. Continued here S47 How to help UK households manage rising energy bills - and decarbonise at the same time The cost of electricity rose sixfold between January 2021 and November 2022 as the impact of the COVID pandemic combined with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to push up wholesale energy prices. Without government intervention, household electricity costs could have grown sixfold too. But the energy price guarantee (EPG) launched in September 2022 was designed to limit the per-unit price charged to all consumers. Continued here S51 “When You Finish Saving the World” Is Very Jesse Eisenberg It comes as a surprise to learn that "When You Finish Saving the World," a new film directed by Jesse Eisenberg, is also the first film directed by Jesse Eisenberg. Really? I could have sworn he'd taken charge before. He's one of those actors who become de-facto auteurs, imbuing a story so richly with their manners, or their moods, that it feels like their own creation. In Eisenberg's case, "The Double" (2013), "Louder Than Bombs" (2015), and "The Art of Self-Defense" (2019), all of them made by other directors, are galvanized by his nervous electricity. As he stares at the surrounding characters, furrowing his brow and twitching with unease, you can see their self-possession starting to waver. There you have it: Eisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. Although he doesn't appear in the new movie, and delegates his staring duties to the camera, the principle is upheld. No one here could be accused, even temporarily, of contentment. Welcome to the Katz family, of Bloomington, Indiana—a huge and boisterous clan numbering precisely three. Sometimes they even talk at dinner. Roger (Jay O. Sanders) is the head of the household, but a severed head; seldom without a glass of wine, he prefers to slip upstairs, wise fellow, to read a book. Evelyn (Julianne Moore), his wife, runs a local women's shelter. Completing the picture is their only child, Ziggy (Finn Wolfhard), aged seventeen, who hibernates in his room. There, facing his computer, he plays guitar and sings to a growing and, it must be said, undiscerning bunch of fans. Ziggy calls his music "classic folk rock with alternative influences." "I don't know what that means," his father says. What exasperates Ziggy, apart from absolutely everything, is being interrupted by Evelyn while he's live-streaming. "What's 'live-streaming'?" she asks. I was reminded of the mother from New Jersey, sublimely cited in the Onion, ten years ago, "who asked if the internet was as good as the online." Continued here S25 China's population decline is a result of decades of botched family planning measures and will have global implications China’s population has fallen for the first time in 60 years and is set to be reduced by half by the end of the century. After declining for some years, China is now in what a government official called an “era of negative population growth”, with the national birth rate hitting a record low of 6.77 births per 1,000 people. China has long been the most populous country in the world. Apart from the famine years (1959-61) caused by the Great Leap Forward political campaign, China’s population has rapidly increased over the past decades. Continued here S48 A Hotter Planet Takes Another Toll on Human Health Shortly after the New Year, the Washington Post ran a story with a headline that would have seemed inexplicable, even runic, to most readers just a few years ago: “The world’s torrid future is etched in the crippled kidneys of Nepali workers.” But we’re growing used to the idea that the climate crisis, in Naomi Klein’s phrase, “changes everything,” so why not the internal organs of Nepalis? Remarkable reporting by Gerry Shih tells a series of unbearably poignant tales: young Nepali men, struggling to earn a living in their impoverished homeland, head to the Gulf states to do construction work in the searing heat, some without access to sufficient water, some until they collapse. (Other reporting also shows that some Nepalis who work abroad resort to the black market for a transplant that might keep them—and the families that depend on the money they earn—alive.) The piece ends with a man coming back to the care of his sister, who donates her own kidney to save him. The costs of the medical procedures require that he sell his half-built house, and that he give up his life’s dream, which was to get married. The Post was right: the world’s future is likely encapsulated in this story. The planet is getting steadily hotter, and large swaths of it are moving past the point at which it’s safe to do heavy outside labor in the middle of the day. A 2022 study estimated that six hundred and seventy-seven billion working hours a year were already being lost because it’s too hot to go outside and build things or farm. The researchers assessed the cost at more than two trillion dollars annually, but, of course, it could also be measured in other units—in vital organs, or dreams. Continued here S43 Jacinda Ardern's resignation: gender and the toll of strong, compassionate leadership “Uneasy is the head that wears the crown”, wrote Shakespeare, way back in the 1500s. It’s not a new idea that top-level leadership jobs are intensely stressful and pose a heavy toll. Extended periods of stress are known to put people at risk of burnout. Yet probably few of us can ever grasp just how unrelentingly demanding and difficult leading a country actually is. Especially in times of crisis and with our modern media and online environment, every statement and every move a leader makes is subject to extensive scrutiny and commentary. Continued here S42 Australia's twice extended deadline for torture prevention is today, but we've missed it again Andreea Lachsz is currently contracted to the ACT government as the ACT National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) Coordination Director. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of ACT government, ACT NPM or any extant policy. Today marks the (already twice extended) deadline for Australia to meet its international obligation to implement torture prevention bodies. The role of these bodies is to monitor treatment and conditions in places where people are deprived of their liberty, like prisons and detention centres. Continued here S46 Does COVID really damage your immune system and make you more vulnerable to infections? The evidence is lacking Over the past month or two, many northern hemisphere countries including the US and the UK have seen a large wave of respiratory viral infections. These include RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), flu and COVID in all ages, as well as bacterial infections such as strep A in children. Sometimes these infections can be very serious. The UK has seen a huge surge in hospital admissions during winter, putting the health service under further stress. Continued here S31 Victorians won't miss myki, but what will 'best practice' transport ticketing look like? With fewer people using public transport and more working from home due to the COVID pandemic, public transport agencies need to do everything they can to encourage more people to use their services. An essential step is to make the ticketing and payment process as easy as possible. That means it needs to keep pace with emerging technology and trends. Some agencies, such as Singapore’s Land Transport Authority, have done so. Others have not – the myki card system in Victoria falls into this category. The state government has announced a “best practice” system will replace myki when its operator’s contract expires later this year. Continued here S54 'Scream 6' trailer brings its meta-commentary to terrifying new heights From sleepy Woodsboro to the college quad, we’ve seen Ghostface murder teenagers for almost three decades now. But in the franchise’s latest chapter, Scream VI eschews that small-town feel for the bustle of The Big Apple. Following a brief teaser and poster reveal (both themed to the New York subway system), a new trailer shows a brutal Ghostface rampaging through a bodega and countless Ghostfaces riding the subway on Halloween. With a cast that includes Jenna Ortega (fresh from her viral Wednesday dance), Jasmin Savoy Brown (Yellowjackets), and Jack Champion (Spider in Avatar: The Way of Water), Scream VI is aiming the franchise at a Gen-Z audience. But the movie isn’t entirely focused on the TikTok generation. Patron saint of 2000s girls Hayden Panettiere reprises her role as Kirby Reed, one of the few survivors of Scream 4, and Courtney Cox once again brings Gale Weathers into action, thankfully without those tragic Scream 3 bangs. Continued here S57 'Last of Us' Episode 1 reshoots quietly set up a key Season 2 relationship The Last of Us deftly established a terrifying world in its first episode. After a mysterious disease rips through humanity, Joel Miller, his daughter Sarah, and his brother Tommy all had to find a way out of their hometown. Joel and Sarah become separated from Tommy, and after an encounter with a soldier, Sarah is fatally shot. It’s a brutal sequence, but at least the brothers are together. Apparently, the relationship between Tommy and Joel wasn’t always so fleshed out, but thanks to reshoots we were given more insight into their dynamic. That’s a relationship that can only be deepened in a possible Season 2. Continued here S32 Reaping what we sow: cultural ignorance undermines Australia's recruitment of Pacific Island workers Alice and Scott* have been running their two-storey pub-turned-backpacker hostel in Queensland’s Wide Bay region, north of Brisbane, for more a decade. Over the years they’ve provided accommodation for thousands of backpackers and itinerant workers who come to the region for fruit-picking jobs. Before the pandemic, the hostel bustled with backpackers – “mostly from Europe, some Asian backpackers” too, Alice explains. Now they cater exclusively for Pacific Islanders on temporary visas. Continued here S49 Kevin’s Place in McCarthydom Follow @newyorkercartoons on Instagram and sign up for the Daily Humor newsletter for more funny stuff. © 2023 Condé Nast. All rights reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Ad Choices Continued here S28 Britishvolt: more evidence UK is falling far behind in race to capture growing EV market Britishvolt, the would-be electric vehicle (EV) battery maker that recently went into administration, always faced an uphill struggle. The start-up had no track record developing technology and never confirmed how it would raise the £3.8 billion needed to start mass producing batteries, which reduces the average cost per battery. The proposed facility near Blyth, a coastal town in north-east England, was slated to contribute around a quarter of what the UK automotive industry needs, or enough for 330,000 battery packs a year. But with no major auto firms as customers, its business model always looked vulnerable. Continued here S22 Ancient poop offers unusual insight into animal behaviour Some people are annoyed when they encounter a fresh pile of dung while out on a walk in nature. Others are excited because it points to the recent visit of a particular kind of animal. But some scientists, myself included, may just be disappointed that the dung isn’t fossilised. That’s because coprolites – fossilised scat – are palaeontological treasure troves. They can provide all sorts of information about the animal that deposited them, including the environment they lived in, what they ate and what the climate and vegetation were like. Continued here S55 Eight major trends that will shape the games industry in 2023 Every year, the Game Developers Conference captures developers’ perspectives on trends that shaped the last year in gaming. This year’s State of the Game Industry survey highlights unionization, accessibility, and metaverse skepticism. Continued here S17 Matisse's The Dance: The masterpiece that changed history In 1930, Henri Matisse, one of the giants of 20th-Century art, found himself in a discouraging creative slump. At the age of 60, the painter had been living in Nice, France, for 13 years, after spending years in Paris as an enfant terrible of the city's avant garde art world. Isolated from the buzz of the Paris painting scene, Matisse focused on depicting alluring female models in interior studio setups, using vivid patterns and sparkling colours lit by the Mediterranean light. As he fell into a stylistic repetition, some critics, along with Matisse himself, wondered if the once-radical artist had lost his edge. "I have sat down several times to do some [painting]," he wrote to his daughter, Marguerite, in 1929. "But in front of the canvas, I am at a loss for ideas." More like this: - The portrait that questions history - The women who redefined colour - Why we're fascinated by art fakes Continued here S29 Why do we read about accidents? Lessons from 18th-century English newspapers “If it bleeds, it leads” is a well-known maxim associated with journalism. Accident reports often attract readers, even when their headlines give away the plot. This has been true for over three hundred years, since reading the news became part of daily life in 18th-century Britain. Just four pages long, British newspapers of the 1700s had few images, no headlines and little separation between articles. Their random arrangement of news paragraphs is reminiscent of modern social media feeds without their algorithms. Jostling with news ranging from foreign military reports to book reviews, accounts of accidents occur as random shocks, nearly as surprising for the newspaper’s readers as the original accidents must have been for their subjects. Continued here S30 Ukraine war: Kremlin's campaign of misinformation keeps Kyiv and its allies guessing During a recent visit to St Petersburg, Russian president Vladimir Putin reiterated his confidence in his country’s victory over Ukraine. Visiting a defence contractor, he also took the opportunity to reassure workers that his so-called “special military operation” was in defence of ethnic Russians and Russian speakers in Ukraine against a “neo-Nazi regime” in Kyiv. In other words, Russia is acting in the tradition of the “great patriotic war” that saved Europe from Nazi Germany. At a press conference in Moscow meanwhile, Putin’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, spoke along similar lines: Continued here S24 Five big challenges for Lula's presidency of Brazil The storming of democratic intuitions in Brazil’s capital – the supreme court, the national congress and the presidential palace – on January 8 further exposed the deep divide that the nation’s new government has to address. Newly elected president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, now faces even greater challenges than he might have expected. Lula’s slogan – “union and reconstruction” – already recognised this divide. Continued here S26 Curating early Black experiences in Kingston, Canada's first capital, a city long defined by histories of whiteness Associate Curator Arts of Africa, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen's University, Ontario Nineteenth century Black history is missing from the mainstream story of Kingston, Ont., but traces of this history in the city’s archives show that it undoubtedly had a Black presence. Continued here S27 The rising Canadian obsession with SUVs is disrupting our climate goals When it comes to vehicular popularity, SUVs are winning in Canada. Eighty per cent of new vehicles sold in Canada in 2020 and 2021 were SUVs and pickup trucks. These sales levels were only 55 per cent a decade ago. Unfortunately, the trend comes at the expense of the climate. In Canada, SUVs produce around one-third more greenhouse gas emissions per kilometre than cars on average. Over the past decade, our fuel economy standards have been improving the efficiency of new vehicles, but the switch towards SUVs, pickups and minivans has been counteracting those efforts. From 1990 to 2019, emissions from SUVs and other trucks more than doubled in Canada, leading to a 40 per cent increase in total passenger vehicle emissions during that period. Continued here S44 3 ways Indonesia could make 2023 a turning point in its clean energy transition Denny Gunawan is also affiliated with the Indonesian Students' Association in Australia (PPIA). 2023 begins with some hope that Indonesia is speeding up its transition away from fossil fuels, towards cleaner, renewable energy sources. Continued here S23 Social welfare services are being cut across the world, but providing them is about more than just money - podcast Science + Technology Editor & Co-Host of The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The Conversation Associate Science Editor & Co-Host of The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The Conversation Continued here Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) Followers Blog Archive ►  2025 (2) ►  January (2) ►  2024 (4) ►  December (4) ▼  2023 (542) ►  December (2) ►  November (33) ►  October (27) ►  September (37) ►  August (45) ►  July (30) ►  June (73) ►  May (3) ►  April (33) ►  March (17) ►  February (84) ▼  January (158) A Physical Theory For When the Brain Performs Best... January 31, 2023 - Strike action over Macron’s p... 'Tomb Raider' is Becoming a TV Series -- 'The Last... 9 Strategies to Improve Business Team Collaboratio... January 31, 2023 - Australia and France agree arms... Does the Best Workout Exist? 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