December 13, 2022 - Barbara Johns: The US' forgotten civil rights hero

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Barbara Johns: The US' forgotten civil rights hero In 1951, Barbara Johns stepped onto the stage of Robert Russa Moton High School, her segregated school in Prince Edward County, Virginia. The 16-year-old, who had tricked the student body into attending an unauthorised school assembly, spoke with confidence. "There wasn't any fear," she would later write. "I just thought this is your moment – seize it!"  Johns urged her fellow black classmates to join her in protesting conditions at their overcrowded school, which had been built for 180 students but now held more than 475. She called for a student strike to demand a new building. But when she led the parade of teens out of the school's front door, it set off a series of actions that would soon change US history.  Continued here

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US-Africa summit: four things African leaders should try to get out of it Director, African Centre for the Study of the United States, University of Pretoria US president Joe Biden will be hosting African leaders at this week’s summit, as a group. This has its advantages. The 50 African leaders have the opportunity to articulate their common interests and adopt common positions at the gathering in Washington, DC. Continued here

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Sex, comedy and vulnerability: Latecomers on SBS is an important shift in disability representation The SBS drama Latecomers is an insightful, witty and superbly produced exploration of the fragility of human life and the fear of rejection that accompanies the human need for intimacy. Starring Angus Thompson (as Frank) and Hannah Diviney (as Sarah), actors with cerebral palsy, the show’s most distinctive appeal is how it explores the fear of rejection which accompanies all attempts at intimacy: successful or otherwise. Continued here

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How poetry can help address the climate crisis I want to leap up at the three-nation parley In Whitehorse, Yukon, to warn them the radionuclidesabsorbed from the lichen they live on may kill themif they don’t drown in droves in crossings floodedout by hydroelectric stations, or slowlystarve to death behind oil pipelines that positbehavioural barriers they dare not soar overor burst their aortas trying. I want to advise the speciesto set up new herds, to mingle and multiply. The worsening climate crisis is a daunting global problem that requires diverse and innovative solutions. To develop these solutions, scientists need to engage with more diverse audiences. They also need to realise that there is no such thing as a “general public” but rather many different publics, all with their own needs, experiences and beliefs. Continued here

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5 Work Habits That Will Make Any Business Super Productive All Day Meetings that don't revolve around collaboration, ideation, or debate are a waste of time. Continued here

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Canada's space technology and innovations are a crucial contribution to the Artemis missions Fifty years ago this month was the last time humans walked on the surface of the moon, during the Apollo 17 mission. NASA recently took the first major step in returning humans to the moon with the Artemis I mission. Orion is an exploration spacecraft used in the Artemis I mission and is the most powerful rocket ever built. On Dec. 11, the uncrewed spacecraft returned to Earth after 25.5 days in space. Continued here

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Budweiser’s dry World Cup saga - The Hustle Maybe the most shocking result at this year’s World Cup — aside from Saudi Arabia over Argentina — was Qatar declaring its stadiums alcohol-free on the eve of the tournament. In addition to reminding soccer fans of the dictatorial impulses of Qatar’s authoritarian government, the decision put Budweiser in a bind. As The New York Times explained, the exclusive beer sponsor of the World Cup stayed relevant despite not selling a single alcoholic beer at a soccer game. Continued here

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Is it ever okay for journalists to lie to get a story? In a time of falling trust in the news media, it is vital journalists do not engage in news-gathering methods that further harm their credibility. Thanks to the rise of social media, misinformation and disinformation are rampant. Trust in news matters, so we can tell fact from fiction. Without it, democracy suffers. In our new book, Undercover Reporting, Deception and Betrayal in Journalism, we ask whether deception is ever an acceptable method for journalists to use. In other words, is it ever okay to lie to a target to get a story? Continued here

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Kenya's Lapsset development corridor: between a bright future and a grim past Part of Theo Aalders' project was funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond by (Sweden) through the “Communication Projects” programme. The Lamu Port-Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport – or Lapsset – corridor is the flagship project of Kenya’s Vision 2030 development agenda. Inaugurated in 2012, the planned corridor includes a railway, highways and an oil pipeline connecting newly discovered oil fields in the north to a new port in Lamu, north of Mombasa. Continued here

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Ghana had a bad time in 2022 – 4 reads to catch up on what happened Ghana, a country with a good reputation for democracy, human rights, governance and economic growth in Africa, endured a difficult 2022. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict inflicted economic pain, leaving the country at the doors of the International Monetary Fund. The year also saw protests over a mobile money transaction levy and a hardline anti-LGBTQI bill. Illegal mining also increased as the government admitted it had lost control of the situation. Continued here

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Making Exit Interviews Count In the knowledge economy, skilled employees are the assets that drive organizational success. Thus companies must learn from them—why they stay, why they leave, and how the organization needs to change. A thoughtful exit interview—whether it be a face-to-face conversation, a questionnaire, a survey, or a combination—can catalyze leaders’ listening skills, reveal what does or doesn’t work inside the organization, highlight hidden challenges and opportunities, and generate essential competitive intelligence. It can promote engagement and enhance retention by signaling to employees that their views matter. And it can turn departing employees into corporate ambassadors for years to come. Continued here

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Who were the 3 wise men who visited Jesus? Christmas Nativity scenes around the world feature a familiar cast of characters: Jesus, Mary, Joseph, an angel or two, some barnyard animals, shepherds and, of course, the three wise men led by a star. Within the New Testament, the story of the wise men is found only in the Gospel of Matthew. It spans 12 short verses, and is simpler than most readers likely remember. The wise men arrive in Jerusalem from an unnamed location “in the East,” led by a star and in search of a new king. They make their way to Bethlehem, where they bow before Jesus and offer gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Then, they return home by a different route. Continued here

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'The most important painting of the 21st Century' In 2016, the Georgia-born artist Amy Sherald was chosen to paint Michelle Obama for The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington. The portrait, which was completed in 2018, sees the former first lady portrayed in Sherald's signature style: a grey skin tone, a simple backdrop (in this case a plain blue one) and a fashionable outfit that exemplifies the sitter's character. The US fashion designer Michelle Smith created the high-neck maxi dress that Obama wears for the painting, with an abstract print that echoes Piet Mondrian's geometric paintings. Discussing her Smithsonian piece in a recent interview, Sherald called Obama an icon. "She represents for me and a lot of women what 21st-Century womanhood looks like," she says. The painting catapulted the artist into a new realm. While the 49-year-old is often seen as an overnight success, in actuality, her star status has come from decades of perfecting her craft. "People think it's this meteoric rise, but in fact, she's been working for 20 plus years," says US art historian Jenni Sorkin, who has written an essay on the artist for the catalogue of Sherald's first European show – at Hauser & Wirth in London titled Amy Sherald: The World We Make. Continued here

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Digital technologies for biodiversity protection and climate action: Solution or COP out? With biodiversity declining at unprecedented rates and less than a decade remaining to avert the worst effects of climate change, world leaders and policymakers are on the hunt for new and innovative solutions. In the halls and meeting rooms of global COP conferences, digital technologies have been heavily promoted to address these interrelated threats to our ecosystem. At the recent COP27 climate conference in Egypt, the Forest Data Partnership — a global consortium co-ordinated by the World Resources Institute (WRI) in partnership with the U.S. Department of State, NASA, Google and Unilever — called for a “global alliance to unlock the value of land use data to protect and restore nature.” The WRI promoted its Land and Carbon Lab to measure carbon stocks associated with land use. Continued here

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Do You Use Product Reviews to Make Purchase Decisions? Science Recently Uncovered Something You Really Need to Know A product with hundreds of reviews? While it might be hard to believe, research shows its reputation and sales can be significantly impacted by the very first review. Continued here

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'Complete elation' greeted Plibersek's big plans to protect nature - but hurdles litter the path Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has announced a much-anticipated overhaul of Australia’s national environment law. The plan is rich with welcome new policies – but the path to change is littered with hurdles. The path of this big agenda stretches far beyond the one-term political horizon. I was a senior public servant responsible for managing and reforming the EPBC Act from 2007 to 2012. I’ve seen firsthand the obstacles to ambitious environmental reform. Continued here

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Remote Workers Gained 777 Hours of Free Time This Year (and Spent a Lot of It Sleeping)  A pair of new studies shows the crazy amounts of time people save working from home, and what they use it for. Continued here

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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

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A More Sustainable Supply Chain Increasingly, multinational corporations (MNCs) are pledging to procure the materials and services they need from companies committed to fair labor practices and environmental protections. But the reality is that their suppliers—especially those at low levels of the chain—often violate sustainability standards, exposing MNCs to serious financial and social risks. Continued here

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I'm A Mom And A CEO. Here's What It Means To Me To Have A Productive Weekend How I spend my Saturdays and Sundays. Continued here

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Word from The Hill: 2022 retrospective, and a look at 2023 As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes “Word from The Hill”, where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation politics team. In this podcast Michelle and politics + society editor Amanda Dunn review the year, which is finishing with the surprise recall of federal parliament to pass the Albanese government’s legislation to contain power price increases. They also canvass what’s coming up in 2023, when the government will be grappling with the cost of living crisis, the May budget, and the Voice referendum. Continued here

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6 dead, including 2 police, in Queensland shooting. How dangerous is policing in Australia? On Monday night, two police officers, Constable Rachel McCrow, 29, and Constable Matthew Arnold, 26, were shot and killed, and two other officers were injured, after being ambushed by offenders at a remote property in Wieambilla, in Queensland’s Western Downs. A civilian was also shot and killed. Specialist police then arrived at the scene, where they shot and killed three suspects, two men and a woman. Such events are relatively rare in Australia, and shock us when they occur. So how dangerous is policing in Australia? Continued here

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Delegation Mistakes You Are Most Likely Making By the second, third, fourth or fifth time you delegate something it gets easier and easier. Continued here

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Short bursts of physical activity during daily life may lower risk of premature death – new research Most of us know that regular exercise is important for our health and longevity. But with our busy schedules, many of us struggle to find the time to fit in a workout. Data from our latest study has shown that you don’t need a lengthy workout to get health benefits from exercise. To conduct our study, we recruited 25,241 participants from the UK Biobank study who reported they did not do any leisure physical activity or recreational walking more than once a week. Around 56% of participants were female, with an average age of around 62 years. Continued here

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World Cup 2022: crunching 150 years of big data to predict the winner Perhaps more than any recent World Cup, this year’s competition in Qatar has thrown up considerable surprises. Who indeed, of the analytics crowd, could have predicted Saudi Arabia would defeat Argentina the way it did, or competition-favourite Brazil would end up losing to Croatia? Meanwhile, Morocco has stunned commentators by becomingthe first African nation to reach semi-finals. Now, almost a week away from the final, speculation is about who will win the game is at its apex. Is there any way we could predict the results better than we did by “following the science”? In collaboration with analytics company Alteryx and Stirling University , our team at Audencia has given its best shot by developing a sophisticated World Cup prediction model drawing from 150 years of international football match results, including tournaments and friendly games. Continued here

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3 Strategies to Overcome Imposter Syndrome and Turn it Into Your Greatest Strength Identifying and reframing negative thoughts is the key to believing in yourself and your abilities. Continued here

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The millennials in sexless marriages “The first [several] years of our marriage we had an amazing sex life … and as he got older (he’s 30 now), he just doesn't seem interested in sex anymore.” This is one of many comments floating around the r/DeadBedrooms subreddit on the social-media platform Reddit – a self-described “discussion group for Redditors who are coping with a relationship that is seriously lacking in sexual intimacy”. Frustrated anecdotes like these abound from people who are in low- or zero-sex relationships. “Why does he prefer his own hand over having sex with me?” one poster asks. The subreddit’s outlook is relatively bleak: “Advice is always appreciated,” reads its description, “just don't be surprised if we've heard it all.” 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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Breast cancer patients in South Africa may find it hard to stick to treatment: here's what they told us Specialist Consultant / Head: Breast and Endocrine Surgery Unit, Stellenbosch University Worldwide, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer. It’s also the leading cause of cancer-related death among women. The incidence of breast cancer is expected to rise, with the majority of breast cancer cases occurring among women in low- and middle-income countries such as South Africa, where adherence to treatment remains a challenge. For example, outcomes are dependent upon patients following the recommended chemotherapy protocols and getting the recommended drugs at the right time. Continued here

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About one-third of the food Americans buy is wasted, hurting the climate and consumers' wallets You saw it at Thanksgiving, and you’ll likely see it at your next holiday feast: piles of unwanted food – unfinished second helpings, underwhelming kitchen experiments and the like – all dressed up with no place to go, except the back of the refrigerator. With luck, hungry relatives will discover some of it before the inevitable green mold renders it inedible. U.S. consumers waste a lot of food year-round – about one-third of all purchased food. That’s equivalent to 1,250 calories per person per day, or US$1,500 worth of groceries for a four-person household each year, an estimate that doesn’t include recent food price inflation. And when food goes bad, the land, labor, water, chemicals and energy that went into producing, processing, transporting, storing and preparing it are wasted too. 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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Cassettes are back - The Hustle If you’re old enough, you likely remember waiting hours for your favorite songs to come on the radio so you could add them to your mixtapes. Between 1963 and 1988, 3B+ tapes were sold. But by the ‘90s, CDs had mostly replaced cassettes, followed by digital music libraries. Continued here

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Japan's Laughing Buddha Hotei is merging into Santa Claus -- both are roly-poly sacred figures with a bag of gifts As Christmas approaches, children in many parts of the world look forward to a visit from the potbellied Santa Claus, who comes down chimneys carrying a sackful of gifts over his shoulder. In Japan, some children also wait for Hotei, a jolly Japanese god with a rotund frame who carries a similar bag full of treasures. Hotei’s visit, however, coincides with the new year. As a scholar of East Asian religions who studies deities’ transformations over time, I’ll often explain to my students that cross-cultural encounters produce new understandings and images of gods. Continued here

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Do accents disappear? In Boston, there are reports of people pronouncing the letter “r.” Down in Tennessee, people are noticing a lack of a Southern drawl. And Texans have long worried about losing their distinctive twang. Indeed, around the United States, communities are voicing a common anxiety: Are Americans losing their accents? Continued here

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China's loosened COVID-19 policies – following years of aggressive lockdowns and quarantines – have left the country vulnerable After nearly three years of aiming to eliminate COVID-19 through mass lockdowns, robust contact tracing programs and international travel bans, the Chinese government has announced it is rolling back the “zero-COVID” policies that helped suppress the spread of the coronavirus in the country. The Chinese Communist Party announced these changes on Dec. 7, 2022, as rates of COVID-19 are on the rise in major cities, following protests demanding the end of zero-COVID policies. The situation in China stands in stark contrast to the trajectory of the pandemic in the U.S. SARS-CoV-2 emerged with a bang, but thanks to a strong vaccination effort and the fact that a large portion of U.S. residents have been infected with the coronavirus, COVID-19 cases seem to be reaching somewhat of a steady state and normal life has mostly resumed. Continued here

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We're entering a new phase of COVID, where we each have to assess and mitigate our own risk. But how? The Australian government’s latest COVID management plan, released yesterday, maps how the nation will learn to live with COVID. This means transitioning from the emergency phase of the pandemic response, to responding to it in a similar way to other respiratory diseases. However, as part of this transition, we are still going to need to respond to COVID waves which, although expected to be less destructive, are likely to occur for some time to come. Continued here

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How Companies Like Square, Priceline, and Slack Make the Most of Economic Volatility For entrepreneurs, a downturn can mean big opportunities. Continued here

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Queensland shootings highlight increase in anti-police sentiment around the world In an horrific incident on Monday night, two police officers and a member of the public were fatally shot in an ambush attack in Queensland. Another two officers were injured in the attack. Data prior to the COVID pandemic revealed that civil unrest had doubled globally in the past decade, including an increase in violent riots and demonstrations. This tension between authorities and the public is thought to have intensified further during the COVID pandemic. Continued here

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To Hire, Stop Thinking Like a Recruiter. Think Like a Candidate If you're struggling to fill key roles, it may be you need to flip your thinking, or hire a new recruiter. Continued here

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With so many GPs leaving the profession, how can I find a new one? Perhaps you have been happily attending the same GP for many years. They know your medical history better than anyone. Then all of a sudden they retire, or the practice closes, or it gets taken over by a bigger company and everything at the practice changes. Or maybe you’ve just had an unexpected visit to hospital and they ask who your GP is on discharge, then you realise you’re in need of one. More than 80% of Australians visit a GP each year and those with chronic medical conditions will attend multiple times within the same period. It’s important to have a good GP who can coordinate your care. So how do you find a new one to develop a trusted relationship with? Continued here

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How are books made? Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. Books are material things – usually made of paper, ink, thread and glue – but a lot of work goes into making them before they get assembled into something you might find at a library or bookstore. Most of this work has to do with a book’s content, the writing and art on its pages. Continued here

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The Prime Minister's Literary Awards have proved contentious, but this year's winners are worth celebrating The winners of the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards were announced this morning at a ceremony in Launceston. This year’s shortlists presented a challenge for the judges, who selected 30 titles from more than 540 eligible entries. Non-fiction: Rogue Forces: An explosive insiders’ account of Australian SAS war crimes in Afghanistan – Mark Willacy (Simon & Schuster) Continued here

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UK strikes: why the government must start mediating talks, according to negotiation experts The UK government is to hold an emergency planning meeting this week to prepare for the impact of strike action across multiple sectors including transport, healthcare, Royal Mail and many others. Relevant departments and their ministers will meet to discuss a response to the ongoing industrial action. Specifically, they are organising military personnel training on ambulance driving and drafting in civil servants to cover border force duties. But union leaders – particularly the head of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Pat Cullen, whose members are due to strike on December 15 and 20 – are suggesting government ministers should be meeting with them rather than each other this week. Continued here

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Why the News Is Not the Truth The news media and the government are entwined in a vicious circle of mutual manipulation, mythmaking, and self-interest. Journalists need crises to dramatize news, and government officials need to appear to be responding to crises. Too often, the crises are not really crises but joint fabrications. The two institutions have become so ensnared in a symbiotic web of lies that the news media are unable to tell the public what is true and the government is unable to govern effectively. That is the thesis advanced by Paul H. Weaver, a former political scientist (at Harvard University), journalist (at Fortune magazine), and corporate communications executive (at Ford Motor Company), in his provocative analysis entitled News and the Culture of Lying: How Journalism Really Works. Continued here S57 Immigrants could be the solution to Canada's labour shortage, but they need to be supported Immigration is largely accepted as one of the best strategic responses to Canada’s declining birth rates, aging population and labour market shortages. In many ways, immigrants are now positioned to be the saviours of Canada’s post-pandemic recovery. Even with steadily rising numbers and the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians are more favourable towards immigration than ever before. Continued here S68 Hotel booking sites actually make it hard to get cheap deals, but there's a way around it Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The first thing many of us do is open a site such as Wotif, Hotels.com or trivago (all of which are these days owned by the US firm Expedia), or their only big competitor, Booking.com from the Netherlands. Continued here S31 Local nonprofits play a key role in recovery from disasters – while also having to get back on their own feet When hurricanes, floods and other kinds of disasters throttle a community, people from all over often rush to give those in need money, bottled water, diapers and all sorts of goods. These donations often land at the doorsteps of local nonprofits that are then tasked with distributing them. But while these groups help their communities recuperate, they have to get back on their feet too and can falter if they don’t get what they need. Continued here S16 The young workers flocking to 'career influencers' Standing in a towel in her bathroom, Emily Durham, a Toronto-based career coach, brushes her hair while doling out advice. “Your company will work you to the bone if you allow it ... There’s always going to be something, and it’s always going to be you doing it,” says Durham, brandishing the hairbrush, in an Instagram video. “Boundaries, baby.”  With a quarter of a million followers on the platform, 26-year-old Durham is one of many social-media influencers who have risen to prominence by sharing tips about work with a casual, accessible tone. Many of these influencers reside in the US, but others span the globe: ​​Mehar Sindhu Batra, with nearly 400,000 followers, is based in London, but says most of her audience is in India; another popular career coach with a quarter of a million followers, who goes by “Rosie”, is New Zealand-based. Continued here S18 Vasectomy: The US men embracing permanent birth control On a Friday in January, Lyon Lenk will go to his urologist’s office in Kansas City, Missouri, US. He’ll be given a local anaesthetic, and the doctor will cut a tiny incision in Lenk’s scrotum, locate his vas deferens – the tube that carries sperm through the penis – cut it, and seal the ends. The incision will be closed, and Lenk will go home, take some over-the-counter painkillers and as long as there are no complications, be free from discomfort within a week or so. Lenk, 35, and his partner have no children, and want to keep it that way. When the United States Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization that there is no constitutional right to an abortion – overturning Roe v Wade, the decision that protected abortion rights since 1973 – he scheduled a vasectomy. Continued here S48 NZ's proposed pumped storage hydropower project will cost billions – here's how to make it worthwhile Greater electrification of the economy is an essential part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s climate policy, as set out in the emissions reduction plan. But the national electricity system depends heavily on the fluctuating storage capacity of hydropower lakes, which makes the country prone to energy shortages during dry years. Continued here S39 Brittney Griner's case was difficult for US negotiators for one key reason: She was guilty The release from Russian prison of WNBA star Britney Griner has been greeted with general delight in the United States. Announcing the deal that saw her freed on Dec. 8, 2022, President Joe Biden lauded the “painstaking and intense negotiations” that made it happen. Others may have legitimate concerns over the equivalence of the exchange, which saw convicted arms merchant Viktor Bout returned to Russia. Continued here S23 Cathie Wood’s bold bets have yet to pay off - The Hustle For a while there, many felt like Cathie Wood’s bold bet on a trendy group of disruptive tech companies was one of the best in recent investing memory. In a trend pattern that very closely resembles the tortoise and the hare: If five years ago you had invested in Wood’s high-flying ARK Innovation ETF — which holds shares in pandemic darlings like Zoom and Teladoc Health, and at one point skyrocketed 300% — you would now be down on your investment. Continued here S66 The High Court and the Ombudsman have found fault with NZ’s MIQ system – should the government apologise? Although it has yet to begin work, the first finding of the forthcoming royal commission into New Zealand’s COVID-19 response has probably just been written by Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier. The royal commission will likely agree with his finding: while it was justifiable for the government to restrict and control the flow of people coming into the country during the global pandemic, this should have been done with more finesse and empathy than actually occurred. Continued here S11 Use the Power of Time Pressure in Negotiations Take advantage of the "Get 'Em While Theyre Hot" mentality. Continued here S50 When Geraldine Brooks writes about Tim Winton, you can hear the axes grind The earthiness of Tim Winton’s homegrown language and storytelling has its share of critics, but also plenty of fans – enough to sustain 40 years or so of professional writing. His works are a feast of strange words and characters. There is a lot to admire, and a few butterfly wings to pick off if you like that kind of thing. Winton wrote about axes in one of his early short stories: My Father’s Axe, from the 1985 collection Scission. The axe is symbolic of the relationship between the young protagonist, who wields the axe, and his absent father: Continued here S55 How FTX Australia was able to get away with claiming it was 'ASIC-licenced' When cryptocurrency exchange FTX Group collapsed in the Bahamas last month, its local subsidiaries FTX Australia Pty Ltd and FTX Express Pty Ltd fell over too. The Australian companies were placed into administration on November 11 and within days the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) had suspended the Australian financial service licence FTX Australia had held since March 2022. Continued here S38 Lab-grown blood used in transfusion for first time – here are three other ways that making organs could change healthcare Human volunteers have received the first-ever transfusion of lab grown red blood cells in a groundbreaking scientific first. Volunteers received about 5ml-10ml of blood (around 1-2 teaspoons), which contained around 15 billion red blood cells. So far, volunteers who received the lab-grown blood cells are reported to be in good health. While this is the first time blood has ever been grown in the lab, it certainly isn’t the first lab-grown innovation. Scientists have used laboratory-based models for years to investigate everything from organ and tissue function, to understand disease processes and to test new treatments. Continued here S20 Trompe l'oeil and the images that fool the mind In Which Is Which? (1890) by the little-known US artist Jefferson Chalfant, two identical postage stamps sit side by side above a faded newspaper clipping. The artwork looks like a collage, but one of the stamps is authentic, the other a painted replica. And the clipping, which reads, "Mr Chalfant pasted a real stamp beside his painting" – true enough – is a self-referential fiction that never appeared in any newspaper. This one small work "proffered two new conceits: faux collage and fake news", the curator Emily Braun writes in a catalogue essay for Cubism and the Trompe l'Oeil Tradition, a ground-breaking exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Hanging next to the Chalfant in the show is Juan Gris's Cubist collage, Still Life: The Table (1914), also full of sly jokes about art, illusion and reality. A clipping from the masthead of the newspaper Le Journal is folded so it appears as Jou, from the French jouer, to play. Beneath that a headline reads, "Le vrai et le faux," the true and the false. Gris couldn't be plainer about the teasing mind game he is setting up. Continued here S17 The bosses who silently nudge out workers When marketing manager Eliza returned from holiday, she received an email from her boss asking her to arrive at work early the next day. “I instantly feared the worst,” she explains. “I knew the job wasn’t the best fit. I’d had my probation previously extended; there was an expectation of weekend working and post-work drinking that didn’t suit me. I thought he’d used my time off as an opportunity to fire me.” However, when Eliza arrived at her boss’s office, she wasn’t immediately let go. Instead, she was informed of a company restructure – her job description was being completely rewritten. Someone else would take over her tasks, and she would be expected to work remotely in a new admin role.  Continued here S60 Get ready, a spectacular meteor shower is hitting our skies in the next few days Senior Curator (Astronomy), Museums Victoria, and Honorary Fellow, The University of Melbourne It’s the most wonderful time of the year… not because Christmas is coming, but because it’s time for the Geminid meteor shower – an annual spectacle to bring joy and good cheer to all! Continued here S64 Artworks are more than just plot clues in The White Lotus season 2 – they are the show’s silent witnesses In Western art history, a mise en abyme is a technique of placing one image inside another, or a story inside a story. It serves the purpose of illuminating the hidden meaning in an image. This can also be thought of as an allegory. To say this technique is being used in The White Lotus, season 2 would be an understatement. Continued here S53 For the first time ever, we have a complete skull description of a true fossil giant wombat Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in the animals that would have roamed the plains and inhabited the forests of the continent. Huge marsupials ruled the land, including giant kangaroos, giant koalas and giant wombats. In a study published today in Papers in Palaeontology, we describe the most complete skull of one of these giant wombats, a hitherto poorly known species called Ramsayia magna. This marsupial bore more than a passing resemblance to a giant beaver crossed with a modern hairy-nosed wombat. Continued here S35 Fed wants inflation to get down to 2% – but why not target 3%? Or 0%? What’s so special about the number 2? Quite a lot, if you’re a central banker – and that number is followed by a percent sign. That’s been the de facto or official target inflation rate for the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and many other similar institutions since at least the 1990s. Continued here S41 Procrastination: the cognitive biases that enable it – and why it's sometimes useful Are you procrastinating? I am. I have been delaying writing this article for the last few days even though I knew I had a deadline. I have scrolled through social media, and I have gone down a rabbit hole looking up houses on Rightmove – even though I do not need a new house. I have also re-watched the video Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator by Tim Urban, one of the best Ted Talks I have seen. I found it especially comforting to learn that even pigeons procrastinate. Continued here S54 Seeing a psychologist on Medicare? Soon you'll be back to 10 sessions. But we know that's not often enough David John Hallford is a practising clinical psychologist and regularly sees Australians who utilise the Better Access scheme. He is also a member of the Australian Clinical Psychology Association and is one of their representatives on the 2022 Better Access evaluation stakeholder engagement group. From January 1 the number of psychology sessions covered by Medicare will be reduced to ten per year, down from the 20 the government has been subsidising during the pandemic. Continued here S42 Married to the mob: what the lives of two Camorra women tell us about how to challenge the power of the mafia I told the judge: “Dottore, I’m on the first floor. If they want to retaliate again, they know where to find me … All the lives they’ve taken from me – they took my brother, they took my husband. I don’t think there’s anything else. Lucia has had a harsh life. A petite and elegant 80-year-old woman with piercing brown eyes that are starting to fail and a melancholic smile, she lives on her own in a middle-class neighbourhood of Naples near the Maradona stadium. Lucia may look like your typical well-kept Neapolitan grandmother, but there is much more to her than meets the eye. Continued here S56 Disappointed by your year 12 result? A university expert and a clinical psychologist share advice on what to do next Over this week and next, year 12 students around Australia will receive their exam results. This is a time of great expectations and intense pressure for many young people. For some, their individual subject marks and university admission rank (ATAR) will be a cause for celebration. But others will be dealing with disappointment and perhaps concern, if they didn’t receive what they were hoping for. Continued here S58 Elon Musk's archaic management style prioritizes profit over people Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter has been rocky, to say the least. Since taking over the company on Oct. 28, Musk has made a number of changes to the platform, resulting in widespread chaos and turmoil within the company. Within days of taking over Twitter’s operations, Musk fired top executives and half of the company’s 7,500 employees, ignored advice to not disproportionately fire employees representing diversity and inclusion and has likely violated employment labour laws and breached employee contracts. Continued here S43 TikTok’s use of music poses a threat to artistic diversity – an expert explains why It has been another bumper year for TikTok. The short-form video service has earned US$12 billion (£10.5 billion) in advertising revenue in 2022, with many of its most popular videos featuring music – available to use for free – through its audio library. Viral TikTok videos have meant success for new and established artists alike. Take a look at any week of the Official Charts and you’re bound to see some songs that started their rise on TikTok. Continued here S59 Congress aims to close off presidential election mischief and fraud with simple and bipartisan solutions All 50 states and the District of Columbia hold simultaneous elections in November. The states and the district certify those results. When people cast votes, they’re actually voting for a group of people called “electors.” Groups of these presidential electors meet in December. They send their votes along to Congress, which counts them in January. The presidential candidate who gets the majority of electoral votes is, finally, declared the winner. 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