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Curated May 2025

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Stunts, Spectacle, and the Mission That Became Tom Cruise

ENTERTAINMENT

Sam Stashower

Tom Cruise running in a cityscape, pursued by a low-flying plane. Skyscrapers, including a tall tower, dominate the grayish-blue background.

When Nations War, the Planet Pays

CLIMATE

Arianna Feola

Janelle Monáe: Dirty Computer

VINYL

Pandora's Vinyl

Janelle Monáe in a chain headpiece with sparkling gems, eyes closed. Vibrant halo effect in background, text "Dirty Computer" and "Janelle Monáe".

Policies You Should Know About: Global Oceans Treaty

CLIMATE

Tatenda Dlali

Abstract underwater scene with fish, two jellyfish, turtle, and corals in dark blue water. Text "P" in the lower right corner.

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Stunts, Spectacle, and the Mission That Became Tom Cruise

The gravitational pull of Cruise’s star power and the enticing spectacle of watching him do his big stunts warped the franchise into being predominantly about those two things — Cruise and his stunts.

3 hours ago

Lorde with braids holds sunglasses in one hand, wearing a brown jacket over a blue checkered shirt. Background shows blurred figures and sculptures.

How Lorde Changed Pop Music

When Ella Yelich-O'Connor uploaded a handful of songs to SoundCloud in November 2012, one could hardly have anticipated the shockwaves she was about to set off in the then-manicured landscape of pop music.

Jun 27

Two people are arranging small animal figures and leaves on a world map with a brown, patterned background. The scene feels creative and engaged. Illustration for The Ecology of Uprooting, Forced Migration and the More-Than-Human World.

The Ecology of Uprooting, Forced Migration and the More-Than-Human World

Lexi travels the streets of Hong Kong, dodging cars and bright lights in the night’s pleasant breeze. Hong Kong used to be colder, but Lexi moved here for the warmth. Lexias pardalis, or the Archduke butterfly, originally hails from India. As a second-generation immigrant to Hong Kong, she comes from a family that has been moving everywhere in search of warmth.

Jun 24

When Nations War, the Planet Pays

In 2019, before the war, Israel was responsible for 0.2% of the global carbon emissions. However, as Nina Lakhani reports for The Guardian (2025), since the start of the conflict in 2023, Israel has been responsible for 99% of the 1.89m tCO2e (metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent) produced during the confrontation, primarily because of its aerial bombardment and the ground invasion of Gaza.

2 days ago8 min read

Policies You Should Know About: Global Oceans Treaty

In February 2025, Malawi became the first landlocked and the third African country to ratify the Global Oceans Treaty. This was a significant move as it demonstrated the importance of the oceans to places even beyond coastal regions. At the time the treaty had 112 signatures and 18 ratifications.

Jul 43 min read

A large hand tilts an hourglass in a desert. Water drips onto a person holding a bucket. Sparse trees and cracked ground in background.

Water Weaponization in Ethiopia and Eritrea’s Regional Struggles

Water is a fundamental feature of the African continent, and it is often unequally distributed. As noted by the WWF, countries around the African continent normally share important water basins, yet the increasing construction of dams and reservoirs exacerbates droughts and floods, and centralizes water collection and supply.

Jun 186 min read

Ons Jabeur kneels on grass court, head down, racket beside her. She's in a white shirt, black shorts, and sneakers, expressing emotion.

Equal Pay, Unequal Play: The Visibility Politics of Women’s Tennis

Former World No. 2 Ons Jabeur expressed her disappointment in response to the comments made by French Tennis Federation (FTF) President Gilles Moretton. As reported by The Athletic, Moretton had justified the French Open not scheduling any night matches for Women by saying that the scheduling was made with the “spectator’s preferences” in mind.

Jun 179 min read

Politics

Culture

Trump’s Tariffs and the Costs to the Global Energy Transition

Trump’s tariff-based approach will be counterproductive: it will fail to block Chinese products and will undermine domestic solar panel production through higher input costs.

Jun 3

Dalit-Queer And Necropolitics: Simultaneous Co-Option And Marginalisation of the Dalit-Queer Community

With standardisation comes homogeneity, and homogeneity creates anomalies who do not fit into the mould and therefore need to be discarded on the margins. These beings on the margins, who do not fit sanitised and legally-enforced definitions created by states and adopted by nations, are at the centre of the discussion. Dalit-Queer folx (people who are both Dalit and Queer) inhabit the "death worlds" that Achille Mbembe discusses in his theorisation of Necropolitics.

May 15

Panel of nine people sit at a table with "Permanent Peoples' Tribunal Rojava vs. Turkey" text on a screen and banner. Conference setting.

Putting Aggression on Trial: The Rojava Verdict

Against the quiet backdrop of a people's tribunal, away from the formal corridors of The Hague or the official offices of global diplomacy, justice and calls for accountability diverged from traditional legal channels.

Apr 28