In The News

Pokémon Go: Overnight Sensation Was 20 Years in the Making

Alex Hern July 25, 2016
Pokémon Go, an augmented reality computer game that aims to catch cute characters superimposed on surrounding scenery, has gone viral. Alex Hern of the Guardian profiles Dennis Crowley, whose career centers on location-based games like Pac-Manhattan, Dodgeball and Foursquare, and reminds that the game was 20 years in the making. Pokémon Go blends a popular game of the 1990s with Ingress, “a...

Global Elites Must Heed the Warning of Populist Rage

Martin Wolf July 21, 2016
Dissatisfaction runs high in many of the world’s most advanced economies – and many voters are turning to leaders who encourage nationalism, protectionism and other extreme policies, explains Martin Wolf in the Financial Times. He points to studies showing “Stagnant incomes bother people more than rising inequality.” Economic recessions, aging populations, rising inequality, immigration and...

The Failure of Free Migration

Robert Skidelsky July 20, 2016
One immigrant’s brutal crime – using a truck to kill 84 people and injure hundreds during Bastille Day festivities in Nice, France – heightens mistrust for all immigrants and boosts support for a swift crackdown. “Throughout the Western world, a toxic mix of physical, economic, and cultural insecurity has been fueling anti-immigration sentiment and politics precisely at the moment when the...

Chinese Language Newspapers in Australia

Kelsey Munro and Philip Wen July 13, 2016
China controls the Chinese-language media in Australia – and also in other nations – in subtle and explicit ways. Editors that don’t comply with guidelines from the Chinese government and Communist Party can expect pulled advertising or reporters blocked from public events. Chinese firms purchase the media outlets, and hotels and other businesses admit to being pressured to discontinue...

Black Lives Matter Is a Global Cause

Ishaan Tharoor July 13, 2016
The United States is in turmoil over gun rights, police shootings, and racial and political divides during a heated presidential campaign. Protesters associated with the Black Lives Matter movement gathered around the nation after police shootings of two black men in Louisiana and Minnesota. During a protest in Dallas, a sniper targeted police, killing five officers and injuring 11 others, and...

Want Better Cities?

Liz Stinson July 8, 2016
As the global population swelled, people have gravitated to cities. More than half the world’s population now lives in cities, compared to 3 percent in 1800, according to the United Nations. Researchers at Yale and University of Canterbury have plotted 6000 years of urbanization history in an online database with details on size of cities as well as how, when and where they emerged, reports Liz...

Youth to Foot Bill for Baby Boomer Budget Incompetency

Jessica Irvine July 1, 2016
Young adults must become engaged in politics or risk living in poverty. “Borrowing rates are historically low,” explains Jessica Irvine for the Sydney Morning Herald. “But eventually the books should balance, and when they do, they will do so on the shoulders of future generations who will pay higher taxes than otherwise.” Her objections to rising debt and increased costs for education, housing...