As international students flock back, they face even worse housing struggles than before COVID

S33

As international students flock back, they face even worse housing struggles than before COVID Australia is welcoming back international students in much greater numbers this year. Some predict new enrolments in 2023 could even be higher than the pre-COVID record in 2019. Student visa applications in the second half of 2022 were up 40% on the same period in 2019. The downside is many of these students are likely to struggle to find affordable and adequate accommodation. They are facing record low private rental vacancy rates and higher rents than before the pandemic. Continued here

�

S1

5 Science-Backed Tips to Protect Yourself from the Office Know-it-All Do these things to guard yourself against the braggart in the (Zoom) room. Continued here

�

S2

5 Ways to Deal With Fear of Failure Worry about not measuring up can hold you back as a leader. Continued here

�

S3

My Startup Got a 95 Net Promoter Score and That’s a Problem Experience tells me that I've got a good problem to have. Continued here

�

S4

Using Screens to Distract Kids Makes Their Behavior Worse Long-Term, New Research Warns Entrepreneur parents relaxed screens time limits during the pandemic, but a new study warns that there still is such a thing as too much digital distraction for young kids. Continued here

�

S5

How Business Owners Can Ease the Effects of Long-Term Inflation Your business needs to be prepared for long-term inflation.Here's how you can thrive while others stagnate. Continued here

�

S6

6 Habits of People With Exceptional Mental Focus Here's how to stay focused and increase your attention span in a demanding digital age. Continued here

�

S7

Science Says Use the 'Relaxing Breath' Method to Fall Asleep Faster, Starting Tonight Dr. Andrew Weil calls it a 'natural tranquilizer.' And even if you don't fall asleep right away, science says you'll immediately feel less anxious and stressed. Continued here

S8

Embrace These 7 questions to Strengthen Your Leadership How self-reflection can make you a better leader. Continued here

S9

What’s Holding Back Manager Effectiveness, and How to Fix It Organizations are facing an unusual set of challenges brought on by the combination of a tight labor market and the widespread expectation of a recession. Companies need to cut costs, enable teams to deliver results more effectively, and keep employees engaged and satisfied, or they risk the very real possibility of losing them. The latest job figures show that the number of employees quitting continues to vastly outnumber those being laid off, with 1.7 job openings for every unemployed person. For the new RedThread Research study "Managing Better in 2023," we conducted a deep dive into the factors that make managers more or less successful in guiding their teams. What we found is likely to serve as a wake-up call for companies: When it comes to the practices that managers themselves engage in to ensure that their work is effective, little has changed in recent years. But when it comes to certain practices that organizations are responsible for — practices to support managers — there has been a marked decline over the past year. We surveyed more than 700 employees representing a wide range of industries and asked them about how effective their managers are and how things have been evolving within their organizations. We asked respondents to detail various practices that are important for managers to engage in. Using regression analysis, we then identified seven practices that are most important in driving manager effectiveness. (See "Seven Factors Drive Manager Effectiveness.") Continued here

S10

Why indecision makes you smarter In the TV series The Good Place, the character Chidi Anagonye is defined by his inability to make even the simplest of decisions – from choosing what to eat, to proclaiming love for his soulmate. The very idea of making a choice often results in a serious stomach-ache. He is stuck in continued ‘analysis paralysis’.  We meet Chidi in the afterlife, and learn that his indecisiveness was the cause of his death. While standing in the street, endlessly equivocating on which bar to visit with his best friend, an air-conditioning unit from the apartment above falls on his head, killing him instantly.  Continued here

S11

Alchemist: Is this the world's most creative restaurant? From the moment the heavy bronze doors swing open, inviting you in from a rough, post-industrial street to a dark space filled with wonders, the experience of entering Copenhagen's two Michelin-starred restaurant Alchemist is like falling down a rabbit hole. In the luxurious lounge where guests are served their first few courses, a window to the kitchen-laboratory illuminates jars of ingredients on the back wall. Then you are whisked to a domed space where plastic bags dance like jellyfish in the "ocean" above you, and a further 40 or so head-spinningly strange mouthfuls of food arrive. Continued here

S12

The 20 best films of 2022 Delightfully bonkers on the surface, this inventive extravaganza from the directing team called Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) has a deep layer of family feeling and a well-earned emotional pull at the end. Michelle Yeoh is ideal and comically straight-faced as Evelyn, a harried laundromat owner with tax problems who enters a multiverse of alt-Evelyns. Exploding with colour, at times the film is a phantasmagoria of morphing identities and shifting universes – in one Evelyn does laundry, in another she's a movie star ­– yet it always remains true to its believably humane characters. It's the rare art film that can make audiences cry, and also rake in a ton of money, taking in more than $100 million at the box office worldwide. (CJ) A belated sequel to 1986's Top Gun seemed like a bad idea. But when Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) returned to the US Navy's elite fighter-pilot school, the resulting blockbuster wasn't just a thrilling showcase for some spectacular aerobatic displays, but a touching, bittersweet drama about getting older. It was also the year's most successful film. So... how did Cruise and co do it? Simple, really. They brought back all the elements from the original Top Gun, and then they improved every single one of them. Of course, it helps that Cruise looks better today than he did in 1986. (NB) Continued here

S13

The Last of Us review: 'The best video game adaptation ever' Live-action video game adaptations are hardly renowned for being serious works of art. At best, the last decade has produced well-crafted family fare, such as Sonic the Hedgehog and Detective Pikachu; at worst, the genre has found itself defined by a string of cynical mediocrities and unwatchable failures. The challenge tends to be two-fold. Video games themselves – while capable of telling compelling stories on their own terms – do not translate naturally to movies and TV shows; while the people in charge of financing or making those movies and TV shows have been known to have little respect for what makes them worth adapting in the first place. Neither of which is the case for HBO's remarkable nine-part adaptation of The Last of Us, generally regarded as one of the greatest video game stories ever told. More like this: – 11 TV shows to watch this January– How the apocalypse is being reimagined– The most controversial show of 2022 Originally released in 2013, The Last of Us is set amidst the ravages of a post-apocalyptic US, 20 years after a parasitic fungus called Cordyceps has turned most of the population into mindless monsters. It follows a hardened smuggler named Joel, played in the show by Pedro Pascal, who has been tasked with escorting across the country Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a teenage girl with an apparent rare immunity to the infection. In an interview with The New Yorker, creator Neil Druckmann recalled how, in 2014, a film adaptation fell through because executives wanted to make it bigger and "sexier", like the Brad Pitt film World War Z. The game, however, offers a more intimate story. It is a character study of astonishing depth, offering around 15 hours of gameplay. It burns dark, violent, slow; thick with an atmosphere of melancholy and dread; heavily influenced by the aesthetics of prestige television and cinema. Druckmann himself has referenced the Coen Brothers film No Country for Old Men as a touchstone.  Continued here

S14

Are dogs left- or right-handed? What the science says The vast majority of people use one hand or the other for most things – and for nearly 90% of the human population this is the right hand. Some 10% to 13% of humans are left-handed, with men being three times more likely to be left-handed than women, though very few people are ambidextrous. Until relatively recently, it was assumed that “handedness” was unique to humans, but studies of animals suggest that “handedness” may be a fundamental feature of all mammals. What is less clear is how this is displayed in animals and whether this is the same as human handedness. Continued here

S15

Kenya and South Africa are working to address trade barriers: where to start Trade volumes between Kenya and South Africa have always been minimal compared to each country’s engagement with its other major trading partners. But in recent years, leaders of the two countries have been taking steps to stimulate trade. South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa was on the same mission late last year when he addressed the Kenya-SA Business Forum in Nairobi. We asked trade and foreign policy analyst Paul Odhiambo and economist XN Iraki about the trade obstacles between the two countries and how these can be overcome. Paul Odhiambo: Kenya’s exports to South Africa (in 2020) included gold, soda ash and cut flowers. In 25 years, the exports of Kenya to South Africa increased at an annualised rate of 0.49%, from US$30.7 million in 1995 to US$34.6 million in 2020. Continued here

S16

First study to estimate 'blue carbon' storage in South Africa is useful for climate strategy Marine ecosystems have a valuable role to play in mitigating the effects of climate change. That’s because such ecosystems – and, particularly, vegetated tidal ecosystems like mangroves and salt marshes – capture and store a significant amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂). CO₂ has accumulated in Earth’s atmosphere at unprecedented levels since the industrial revolution. Scientific evidence shows this is the primary driver of climate change. “Blue carbon”, the term used to describe CO₂ absorbed by marine ecosystems, was an important topic of discussion at last year’s COP27 talks in Egypt. Continued here

S17

30 years on, Czechoslovakia's 'velvet divorce' is not a model for Scottish independence from the UK Had Scottish nationalists got their way, 2023 would have seen the country head to the polls in a second referendum over independence from the United Kingdom – and they might have won. Whereas the first attempt in 2014 resulted in 55% voting “no,” polls suggest that after Brexit, a majority of Scots might now favor secession. But that plan for a fresh referendum was scuppered in November 2022, when the U.K. Supreme Court decided that Scotland could not hold such a vote without the consent of the Westminster Parliament. And that permission seems unlikely given that the governing Conservative Party believes the 2014 referendum settled the debate “for a generation.” Even a change of government is unlikely to matter, with the opposition Labour Party indicating that it too is not inclined to allow a second vote. Continued here

S18

Remote work has made developing relationships with colleagues harder - here's what workers and bosses need now Having good relationships with colleagues is key to building a rewarding and effective work experience. Employees who are engaged with their co-workers, such as reporting “a best friend at work” in Gallup’s well-regarded survey, are more likely to be productive, to stay with their organization and to contribute to the organization’s performance. But the surge in pandemic-induced remote work is changing these relationships and has made it more challenging to establish connections in the first place. To succeed, both employees and leaders must understand what each group is seeking to achieve and how they can benefit from the changing workplace. Continued here

S19

God and guns often go together in US history - this course examines why Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching. As a religion professor, I’ve come to know many students from other countries who identify as Christian. I realized they were puzzled at some of the things Americans often bundled into their faith – things these international Christians didn’t consider relevant to their own religious identity. Continued here

S20

Human actions created the Salton Sea, California's largest lake - here's how to save it from collapse, protecting wild birds and human health Robert Glennon was a member of the California Salton Sea Management Program’s Independent Review Panel. The Salton Sea spreads across a remote valley in California’s lower Colorado Desert, 40 miles (65 kilometers) from the Mexican border. For birds migrating along the Pacific coast, it’s an avian Grand Central Station. In midwinter tens of thousands of snow geese, ducks, pelicans, gulls and other species forage on and around the lake. Hundreds of other species nest there year-round or use it as a rest stop during spring and fall migration. Continued here

S21

Organ-on-a-chip models allow researchers to conduct studies closer to real-life conditions - Preclinical trials, or studies that test a drug’s efficacy and toxicity before it enters clinical trials in people, are mainly conducted on cell cultures and animals. Both are limited by their poor ability to mimic the conditions of the human body. Cell cultures in a petri dish are unable to replicate every aspect of tissue function, such as how cells interact in the body or the dynamics of living organs. And animals are not humans – even small genetic differences between species can be amplified to major physiological differences. Fewer than 8% of successful animal studies for cancer therapies make it to human clinical trials. Because animal models often fail to predict drug effects in human clinical trials, these late-stage failures can significantly drive up both costs and patient health risks. Continued here

S22

The safer you feel, the less safely you might behave - but research suggests ways to counteract this tendency Jesus M. de la Garza is a subject matter expert for ARTBA’s Safety Certification for Transportation Project Professionals (SCTPP) program. Interventions designed to keep people safe can have hidden side effects. With an increased perception of safety, some people are more likely to take risks. Continued here

S23

China now publishes more high-quality science than any other nation -- should the US be worried? China is not the only nation to drastically improve its science capacity in recent years, but China’s rise has been particularly dramatic. This has left U.S. policy experts and government officials worried about how China’s scientific supremacy will shift the global balance of power. China’s recent ascendancy results from years of governmental policy aiming to be tops in science and technology. The country has taken explicit steps to get where it is today, and the U.S. now has a choice to make about how to respond to a scientifically competitive China. Since 2000, China has sent an estimated 5.2 million students and scholars to study abroad. The majority of them studied science or engineering. Many of these students remained where they studied, but an increasing number return to China to work in well-resourced laboratories and high-tech companies. Continued here

S24

People of colour: there's a bias in how pictures are used to depict disease in global health publications Photography is a powerful tool in storytelling and scientific communication. But it can also cause harm when used unethically. We started to realise how photographs can send the wrong message when we were approached, as a group of infectious disease specialists, to develop a presentation on resistance to antibiotics. Our audience was a clinical group in east Africa. Continued here

S25

Global economy 2023: what happens next with industrial action Enseignante. Chercheuse au LEREDS, Directrice practice Chez Alixio, Université de Lille Director del Instituto Universitario de Análisis Económico y Social, Universidad de Alcalá Continued here

S26

Spare: how the soap opera around Prince Harry's memoir will affect the royal brand As one of the world’s most famous brands, the British royal family has a strong, tailored narrative of patronages, pageantry and people. The monarchy has long demonstrated its value in contemporary consumer culture, and kept its buyers engaged. But what sets the royal family apart from other corporate brands is its individual, and often uncontrollable, human elements. The narratives that they (or the media) create can produce what then Prince Charles once referred to as a “soap opera”. Continued here

S27

Richard Price: how one of the 18th century's most influential thinkers was forgotten Huw L Williams works for Cardiff University who are a lead partner in the 'Price 300' project celebrating Richard Price's tercentenary in 2023. His work as a philosopher is part-funded by the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, a government-funded body responsible for promoting academic activity and teaching through the medium of Welsh. He is the President of the Adran Athroniaeth Cymdeithas Cynfyfyrwyr Prifysgol Cymru that promotes philosophy through the medium of Welsh and Welsh-language philosophy. According to the eulogies and obituaries written at the time of his death in 1791, Richard Price’s name would be remembered alongside figures such as Benjamin Franklin, John Locke, George Washington and Thomas Paine. Continued here

S28

The humanities should teach about how to make a better world, not just criticize the existing one This coming spring, a new group of students will think about choosing university majors when they apply to campuses across North America. In all likelihood, fewer of those students will choose humanities subjects — traditionally understood to include history, literature, philosophy, languages and the arts — as their major, than in past years. Continued here

S29

Funding electric public transit can reduce emissions and address economic inequality Chueh-Ching (Janet) Chen is a member of IIBA (International Institue of Business Analysis) Rohan Shanker is a Canadian Marketing Association and Canadian Public Relations Society member. Continued here

S30

How a proposed app called TaxTrack could make taxes more democratic As tax season approaches in Canada, it’s worth asking: How can we democratize how taxes are spent? In 2021, the Canadian government collected $316.4 billion in tax revenue while the United States brought in $4.3 trillion. Continued here

S31

How autofiction turns the personal into the political Ernaux has spent decades writing about her personal experience, moulding aspects of her life into literature, and projecting them into public space. Her work is part of a broader trend in global literature – that of “autofiction”. You may have read more autofiction than you imagine. Perhaps you have come across authors such as Karl Ove Knausgaard, Teju Cole, Ocean Vuong, Chris Kraus, Sheila Heti, Rachel Cusk and Deborah Levy. Less commonly talked about in the anglosphere are writers such as Fatima Daas, Yūko Tshushima and Shahriar Mandanipour. Continued here

S32

Why do our dogs and cats bring us dead animals? What do a little penguin, a baby rabbit, a black rat and a Krefft’s glider have in common? They’ve all been presented to me (when dead) by my animal companions. Chances are, if you live with a cat or dog, you’ve also been brought something similar. The first thing to consider is whether your canine or feline companion is actually bringing you the dead animal, or are you just in the space they have also come to? Continued here

S34

The rent crisis is set to spread: here's the case for doubling rent assistance For many Australians, the rent crisis is just starting. Advertised rents have been soaring, but mainly for new rentals – so called “asking rents”. The broadest measure of rents actually paid – the rents on the 480,000 or so capital city properties the Bureau of Statistics uses to calculate the consumer price index – has climbed only modestly, increasing 3.5% in the year to October. Continued here

S35

DOJ probes Biden document handling - what is classified information, anyway? The U.S. Department of Justice is reviewing the discovery of classified documents found in an office no longer used by President Joe Biden at a think tank in Washington, D.C. There are superficial similarities linking what was described by Biden lawyers as “a small number” of documents found at Biden’s former office and the hundreds of classified documents kept by former President Donald Trump after he left office. The Trump case has prompted a major Department of Justice investigation into the former president’s potential mishandling of classified materials. Continued here

S36

Atmospheric rivers over California's wildfire burn scars raise fears of deadly mudslides - this is what cascading climate disasters look like Rivers of muddy water from heavy rainfall raced through city streets as thousands of people evacuated homes downhill from California’s wildfire burn scars amid atmospheric river storms drenching the state in early January 2023. The evacuations at one point included all of Montecito, home to around 8,000 people – and the site of the state’s deadliest mudslide on record exactly five years earlier. Continued here

S37

After Bolsonaro supporters' siege in Brasilia, Lula must reunite society - and his approach could not be more different than his predecessor's On 8 January, thousands of supporters of Brazil’s defeated former president, Jair Bolsonaro, stormed the country’s Congress, Supreme Court, and presidential offices, rallying against what they falsely claim was a rigged election. The scenes, which took place almost exactly two years after the US Capitol attack on 6 January 2021, when thousands of Donald Trump backers illegally entered the Washington building, are a sign of the immense challenge that Lula faces as he seeks to reunite a sharply divided society just a week into administration. In his inauguration speech on 1 January, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spoke alongside an Indian chief, a disabled boy and a metal worker, explicitly and implicitly putting inclusion and social unity at the centre of his agenda. As a scholar studying intergroup relations and discrimination in Brazil, I can attest that Lula’s approach will radically differ from Bolsonaro’s. Continued here

S38

Brazil insurrection: how so many Brazilians came to attack their own government The storming of the three main symbols of the Brazilian republic – the supreme court, the national congress and the presidential palace – is the kind of event that could shape the country’s history. While Brazil has gone through military coups and social turmoil since it became independent in 1822, never before have Brazilians witnessed such widespread disregard for political institutions. This is a story that starts around 2018, when Jair Bolsonaro – then a lacklustre congressman known for supporting the military dictatorship and publicly praising notorious torturers – launched his presidential candidacy. In the name of God, the fatherland and traditional family values, the retired army captain vowed to “drain the swamp” of politics and usher in a new era for Brazil. Continued here

S39

Taking fitness outside: 9 tips for becoming more active through the Canadian winter If you made a New Year’s resolution about physical activity, you are not alone. Many Canadians make resolutions, and most focus on moving more. Despite best intentions, it can be difficult for people to maintain New Year’s goals; in fact, nearly half fail to achieve their resolution. There are many reasons for this, and one is that physical activity goals are hard to achieve, regardless of the time of year. One way to increase variety and enjoyment might be choosing outdoor physical activities. And it seems Canadians (with and without chronic conditions) desire outdoor activity, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Continued here

S40

Global economy 2023: COVID-19 turned global supply chains upside down - 3 ways the pandemic forced companies to rethink and transform how they source their products This is the sixth and final installment in our series on where the global economy is heading in 2023. It follows recent articles on industrial action, inflation, energy, food and the cost of living. The global supply chains that modern companies depend on were turned upside down three years ago after COVID-19 emerged in China. The spread of the new respiratory illness and efforts to slow it resulted in shortages of everything from toilet paper and prescription drugs to refrigerators and semiconductors. Even today, retailers continue to struggle to keep some products, including household items like Tylenol and eggs, in stock. Overall stress in supply chains remains high. Continued here

S41

18 huge, billion-dollar disasters: Climate change helped make 2022 the 3rd most expensive year on record U.S. weather disasters are getting costlier as more people move into vulnerable areas and climate change raises the risks of extreme heat and rainfall, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned as it released its annual billion-dollar disasters report on Jan. 10, 2023. Even with an average hurricane season, 2022 had the third-highest number of billion-dollar disasters in the U.S. since 1980. Continued here

S42

Are stingrays actually dangerous? 3 reasons you shouldn't fear these sea pancakes To beat the summer heat, many of us in the Southern Hemisphere are hitting the beach – and this raises our chances of encountering potentially dangerous marine life beneath the waves. So should we be worried about stingrays? You might still think so, even if it’s been 16 years since the death of wildlife icon Steve Irwin. Continued here

S43

New Zealand does not offer tenure to academics, but a recent employment dispute shows it's more than a job perk Jack Heinemann is a member of the Tertiary Education Union and the network of scholars called Academic Freedom Aotearoa. He is an expert witness on academic freedom in the Employment Court. This work is his opinion and does not represent the opinion of the University of Canterbury. Late last year, the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) initiated a process to eliminate 170 academic jobs to cut costs. The Employment Relations Authority (ERA) found AUT’s approach breached its collective employment agreement with staff and their union and ordered it to withdraw the termination notices. Continued here

S44

Is it OK to kick a robot dog? Last Saturday night, a young woman out on the town in Brisbane saw a dog-shaped robot trotting towards her and did what many of us might have felt an urge to do: she gave it a solid kick in the head. After all, who hasn’t thought about lashing out at “intelligent” technologies that frustrate us as often as they serve us? Even if one disapproves of the young woman’s action (or sympathises with Stampy the “bionic quadruped”, a model also reportedly used by the Russian military), her impulse was quintessentially human. Continued here

S45

How does methadone work as a heroin-replacement therapy? And what about the longer-acting buprenorphine? Around 1% of Australian adults have tried heroin in their lifetime and 2.7% have used pharmaceutical opioids for non-medical purposes in the past 12 months. These drugs attach to the opioid receptors in the brain, creating feelings of relaxation, wellbeing and reduced pain. Continued here

S46

George Pell: a 'political bruiser' whose church legacy will be overshadowed by child abuse allegations Former senior Vatican figure George Pell has died in Rome from complications following hip surgery. He was 81. Pell, often described as a conservative Catholic, was jailed for 13 months for child sexual abuse in Australia in 2019 but maintained his innocence and was acquitted the following year. Continued here

S47

Why do musicians like Elton John find retirement so tough? A music psychology expert explains Course Director, Music Psychology in Education, Performance and Wellbeing, University of Sheffield With his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, Elton John confirmed his latest plans for retirement. The final show of the tour in July 2023 will be his last. However, deja vu suggests this might not be the last we see of Elton. Continued here

S48

Mountain environments are key to biodiversity - but the threats to them are being ignored Mountains are home to more than 85% of the world’s amphibian, bird and mammal species. Lowland slopes are rich in animal and plant species. And rugged, high-elevation environments, although lacking such biological diversity, play a key role in maintaining biodiversity in the wider mountain catchment area. The variation in mountain ecosystems also allows humans to extract multiple benefits from them. These include food, building materials, water, carbon storage, agricultural pasture and nutrient cycling. Continued here

S49

China: the rise of gen Z will have massive consequences for business and politics As China prepares to celebrate new year on January 22, luxury brands are gearing up for the year of the rabbit with an array of luxury rabbit-themed goods: a £29,000 gold and diamond-encrusted rabbit watch by Dior, perhaps, or an £850 floppy-eared hat from Burberry. Japanese streetwear brand Ambush has reportedly sold out of its £380 pink bunny balaclavas. The target market? China’s 400 million-strong army of young consumers, who have the power to make or break foreign brands seeking their fortune in China. Continued here

S50

Speculum: the creepy history of this ancient gynaecological device and why it's still feared today Women’s health is in crisis. In many places, gynaecology waiting lists are rising or are even at record lengths. Even when a woman sees a specialist, there are terrifying accounts of what human rights body the Council of Europe defines as “gynaecological violence”. That includes not just performing diagnostic procedures without adequate pain control, but also a lack of compassion for the patient. Such reports are shocking, but perhaps not surprising when you consider how little some aspects of women’s medicine have changed in hundreds of years – and the unpleasant history they carry. Continued here

S51

Chinese workers on Africa's infrastructure projects: the link with host political regimes China has rapidly become Africa’s most important infrastructure builder, and the footprint of Chinese construction companies is seen in cities, towns and villages across the continent. With the launch of Beijing’s “Go Global” policy in 2000, and President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, the volume of roads, bridges, railways, power stations and other infrastructure built by China has increased markedly. The number of overseas contracts signed by Chinese companies more than doubled from just under 6,000 in 2004 to almost 12,000 in 2019. Continued here

S52

Chinese imports could undermine Ethiopian manufacturing - leaving women workers worst off China is now the African continent’s largest trading partner, accounting for US$254 billion in 2021. It’s also the main country of origin for African manufacturing imports, providing 16% of Africa’s total in 2018. In most African countries the influx of Chinese products has become a major concern because of the implications for industrialisation. Continued here

S53

The Banshees of Inisherin: competing concepts of justice wage war in Martin McDonagh's Irish tragicomedy Countries at war can reach settlements, civil war factions can proclaim truces and paramilitaries can be accommodated at the negotiating table. But it can sometimes be more difficult to find a way to cease hostilities in battles between friends, partners and family members. This is the territory of writer and director Martin McDonagh’s black comedy The Banshees of Inisherin. The film is set on an island off the west coast of Ireland in 1923, towards the end of the gruesome civil war that pitched friends and siblings against each other. But its focus is more domestic. Continued here

S54

Trump Claims That Biden Having Classified Documents Is Worse Because He Reads PALM BEACH (The Borowitz Report)—Donald J. Trump alleged that President Biden’s possession of classified documents from his Vice-Presidency is “way worse” than his own hoarding of top-secret materials at Mar-a-Lago because “Joe actually reads.” “What would you rather have—classified documents in the hands of someone who reads, or someone who never reads?” Trump asked. “Hands down, the reader is way more dangerous.” Continued here

S55

What a Ban on Non-compete Agreements Could Mean for American Workers Last week, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a new rule that would ban the use of non-compete clauses in employment contracts. Companies would also be forced to inform current employees that any previously signed non-competes were no longer binding. The clauses, which typically prevent workers from joining competitors or starting their own company for a certain period of time after their employment, are already banned or largely unenforceable in a small number of states; many others place restrictions on their use, including for certain categories of employee. Still, about one in five American workers have signed them, and the F.T.C. has claimed that the countrywide elimination of these clauses would generate extra job opportunities for as many as thirty million workers, and raise wages by three hundred billion dollars. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups have said that the rule exceeds the F.T.C.’s authority; it is likely to face legal challenges. To talk about non-compete clauses and how they affect workers, wages, and the broader economy, I spoke by phone with Evan Starr, an economist at the University of Maryland who has studied them extensively. During our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity, we discussed how non-compete agreements have become so entrenched, the stifling effect that they can have on employees, his responses to the best arguments against the F.T.C.’s proposal, and why various industries may actually benefit from the new rule. Continued here

S56

“M3GAN,” Reviewed: A Clever, Hollow A.I. Spin on “Frankenstein” The essence of genre is effects without causes—things showing up to fulfill expectations rather than dramatic necessities. "M3GAN," a science-fiction-based horror caper, provides a clever batch of these effects in this gleefully clever twist on the "Frankenstein" theme, and its director, Gerard Johnstone, seems to be laughing up his sleeve throughout. It's that very knowingness, the deftness with which the film gets a rise from viewers, which makes a good time feel hollow. There's a different, far more substantial movie lurking within, yet the virtues of efficiency, clarity, surprise, and wit that enliven the one that's actually onscreen leave its merely implied substance tantalizingly unformed. Allison Williams plays Gemma, a type-A robotics engineer with a big toy company in Seattle, Funki, that prospers by selling cheesily interactive furry toys called PurrPetual Petz. Gemma has bigger ideas. She has been working in secret, along with a pair of colleagues (Jen Van Epps and Brian Jordan Alvarez), on a boldly ambitious, potentially transformative project: a lifelike, life-size robotic doll equipped with A.I. that will serve children as a ready-made and full-time friend on demand. While Gemma is working, tragedy strikes: her sister and brother-in-law are killed in a car crash. Her young niece, Cady (Violet McGraw), survives with only slight injuries, and Gemma becomes her legal guardian. Gemma, who lives alone, has little talent for parenting; on Cady's first night in her aunt's pristine house, Gemma reminds the child to put her bedside water glass on a coaster lest it stain the wood of the table. Continued here

S57

An Octogenarian Tackles Her Bucket List in “FLOAT!” Cohen tried editing herself out of the film, but that version felt too sterile: "So much of [my bubbe's] comedy is her relationship with me, and how she treats me as a granddaughter." When the filmmaker Azza Cohen asked her grandmother to be the star of her latest documentary, she knew she wanted to tell a story of an older person not looking back at their life but forward. Cohen had grown up interviewing her grandparents just for fun, asking questions about their lives growing up in Chicago and how they got engaged (which yielded two different stories). When she asked her eighty-two-year-old bubbe what was on her bucket list, the answers surprised her—her bubbe wanted to learn how to swim and ride a bike. "Swimming spoke to me on an emotional level because I think it is scary," Cohen told me. For many, swimming lessons are associated with childhood. "What would it look like to have my bubbe in her wetsuit, with her neck brace?" Continued here

S58

Bog bodies reveal a gruesome trend through history Due to their unique environment, peat bogs naturally preserve human remains and keep them in remarkable shape for hundreds to thousands of years. Continued here

S59

JWST images turn up galaxy-sized sonic booms disrupting gas clouds in distant cluster One of the James Webb Space Telescope’s first color image targets has a turbulent inner life. A party-crashing spiral galaxy is plowing headlong into Stephen’s Quintet at nearly 3 million kilometers per hour, causing a shock wave the size of the Milky Way. Continued here

S60

'Vikings: Valhalla' Season 2 shares a brutal theme with 'House of the Dragon' Frida Gustavsson, Jeb Stuart, and more discuss the bloody period drama's highly-anticipated return with Inverse. HBO shows are no strangers to gore, but House of the Dragon took the premium cabler’s signature on-screen bloodshed one step further by making the birthing room a battlefield. Continued here

S61

How 'Knock at the Cabin' became M. Night Shyamalan's next movie [Interview] Already a best-selling horror author, Tremblay’s path to Hollywood has been slow, if not particularly steady. In 2015, his novel, Head Full of Ghosts, was optioned by Robert Downey Jr., but production hit a wall when the world shut down in March 2020. Three years later, an entirely different adaptation is thrusting Tremblay into the spotlight in the form of M. Night Shyamalan’s next mind-bending thriller: Knock at the Cabin, based on the 2018 novel The Cabin at the End of the World. “I think every writer dreams of when a movie is made and what it would feel like,” Tremblay tells Inverse. “You build it up in your head and it just becomes this day-to-day thing. But, at the same time, there are these cool moments where you pinch yourself, and the first moment for me was talking to M. Night Shyamalan on the phone. It was pretty wild.” Continued here

S62

You need to watch the most manic sci-fi movie on Netflix ASAP It’s not a movie to take relationship advice from, but the fights still thrill and the jokes still land. Cast your mind back to the mist-shrouded days of 2010. The MCU had swollen to a staggering three films, Avatar’s theatrical run lasted through August, and Call of Duty: Black Ops shattered sales records. Lest dweebs celebrate too much, they also had to suffer through a terrible Prince of Persia movie and an even terribler installment in the Resident Evil hextology. The old nerd culture was dying, and the new one was struggling to be born. Continued here

S63

'Shin Ultraman' review: A fun, frantic Japanese superhero movie with too much style to spare At first, it was hard to take Shin Godzilla seriously when the creature that emerged from the radioactive slime looked more like a Looney Tunes lizard that had been squeezed so hard its eyes bulged out. But then Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi’s 2016 movie evolved into a scathing criticism of the Japanese government and the perils of red tape, all while delivering one of the best Godzilla movies in decades. Now the duo is back to continue the series with Shin Ultraman. Set in the same universe as Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman picks up several years later, after an indiscriminate number of kaiju, giant monstrous lifeforms that seem to exclusively attack Japan, have invaded. In response, the Japanese government established the S-Class Species Suppression Protocol (SSSP) to deal with kaiju threats. On their latest mission to contain an energy-zapping kaiju attacking a remote countryside power plant, the team is suddenly interrupted by a giant alien that emerges from the sky. Awestruck, they watch the silver giant battle the kaiju, annihilating it with a powerful beam shot from its hands before disappearing. They dub him Ultraman. Continued here

S64

Wireless TVs won CES 2023 LG's new Signature OLED TV, which receives signals wirelessly, is the perfect mix of futuristic and practical. Despite the name, CES isn’t just about consumer electronics — it’s about ideas, man. Continued here

S65

'Beau is Afraid' trailer: Ari Aster's new movie is weirder than you imagined Ari Aster is the master of throwing a curveball — anyone who’s seen the opening moments of Midsommar or that car ride scene in Hereditary can tell you that. His latest film, Beau is Afraid (recently changed from original title Disappointment Blvd.) seems to be no different. Fans didn’t know what to expect, but a new trailer released today proved that whatever they thought, this is something completely different. Check out the trailer — and our best guess at what it could possibly be about — below. Beau is Afraid has quite the task ahead of it. Not only is it Ari Aster’s third attempt after two horrific hits in Hereditary and Midsommar, it’s his first collaboration with Joaquin Phoenix, the enigmatic icon who fell in love with an AI in Her and turned the Joker into a haunting Scorsese-esque figure in Joker. Continued here

S66

13 years ago, Square Enix released the riskiest video game prequel ever Over 20 years filled with three mainline games (with a fourth on the way) and multiple spinoffs, the Kingdom Hearts franchise has become one of the most beloved series in gaming. The strange but successful merging of Square Enix JRPG extravagance and Disney properties feels special compared to any medium. With so many high points amongst its twisting narrative, one piece of the Kingdom hearts puzzle may have been overlooked by many fans: the 2010 PSP game Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. 13 years later, this spinoff still stands up to scrutiny as one of the best games in the entire series. New faces, new places — Start a new Kingdom Hearts game as a main character other than Sora with zero explanation once, shame on me. Start a new Kingdom hearts game as a main character other than Sora with zero explanation twice, shame on you. Yet even though Birth by Sleep begins in a similar way to Kingdom Hearts II by dropping players into the station without any context, it doesn’t take long to get attached to the new world. Continued here

S67

'Horizon 3' needs to avoid 'Zero Dawn' and 'Forbidden West's biggest mistake Timing is everything. Horizon Forbidden West, the sequel to 2018’s acclaimed Zero Dawn, was one of 2022’s best games. Inverse awarded it a 9/10, praising its stunning visuals, robust accessibility options, and immersive narrative. We’ll no doubt get a sequel at some point in the future, but moreso than the visuals and mechanics, Sony has an even more important issue to address for the third outing in the series: its release date. Horizon Zero Dawn suffered from launching so close to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Zero Dawn came out a mere three days before Nintendo’s blockbuster and the Switch console on March 3, 2017. If Zero Dawn had been released at another time, it likely would have sold more copies, rather than getting lost in Zelda’s shadow. Continued here

S68

Is Pokémon coming to Fortnite? An investigation into those collab rumors Epic Games is the king of in-game collaborations as evidenced by the sheer volume of licensed characters available in Fortnite. Famous examples include Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Marvel, and Star Wars. Recently, a Fortnite video appeared online featuring none other than Ash, Pikachu, and Charizard from the Pokémon series. This video is fan-made but has sparked speculation about whether Pokémon will actually come to Fortnite one day. While it’s certainly not impossible, it’s very unlikely a Pokémon Fortnite collab will happen, at least anytime soon. Here are three reasons why it could, and three reasons why it likely won’t happen. The most obvious argument is that a Pokémon Fortnite collaboration would likely make an obscene amount of money for all involved. Selling cosmetics from the Fortnite Item Shop is a major source of revenue for Epic Games, and given Pokémon’s popularity, there’s no doubt it would be profitable. Continued here

S69

3 titles joining Xbox Game Pass in January 2023 — and 6 leaving Like most of us, Game Pass is off to a slow start after the holidays, adding just three games in January. Before you check out the trio of absolute bangers, there’s still time to play one of the excellent games leaving Game Pass this month. Continued here

S70

This GameCube controller for Nintendo Switch is basically drift-proof Nyxi’s Wizard Joy-pad controller uses Hall Effect joysticks to drastically reduce the chances of stick drift. The perfect Nintendo Switch controller doesn’t exi–. We finally have a controller solution that addresses joystick drift while still being able to split apart and attach to a Switch. Nyxi released its Wizard Wireless Joy-pad controller designed specifically for the Switch. Continued here