All posts filed under: Debate

Debate

Meet mandla—A Self-Professed Liar

Meet mandla—A Self-Professed Liar

We spent a day together in Manchester. The cloudy sky threatened rain as we walked throughout the postindustrial city, discussing mandla’s multidisciplinary practice, the collaborative energy of the local queer arts community, the potential of museums, and the realities of citizenship … or lack thereof. Mandla was born in Zimbabwe and now lives in the UK—a seemingly unending journey across continents, histories, and legalities that have shaped the infinitely complex and visceral storyteller who walked beside me. I found myself compelled to ask, “so, Manchester is home? It’s good here?” which mandla eagerly affirmed with “good for now.” Over coffee, we discussed mandla’s expansive practice, which includes poetry, scriptwriting, songwriting, and stage performance, all intertwined and individually profound. mandal: as british as a watermelon, 2022. Language has always been a preoccupation for the artist: mandla received a degree in English literature and creative writing from the University of Westminster, and has been writing since adolescence. She speaks multiple languages, including English and sleight of hand. Speaking English is more than simply learning grammatical rules and …

Cannabis and alcohol use patterns linked to couples’ relationship quality

Cannabis and alcohol use patterns linked to couples’ relationship quality

A recent study published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence found that heavy cannabis users tend to experience a drop in relationship satisfaction when combining cannabis with alcohol, while alcohol use alone appears to have a positive effect on next-day relationship satisfaction. In contrast, light cannabis users did not show any significant changes in their relationship satisfaction based on their own or their partner’s cannabis and alcohol use. These findings suggest that the way partners use substances can impact the quality of their relationship in measurable ways. In recent years, cannabis use has become increasingly accepted, with more states in the United States allowing recreational and medical use. This shift in public perception has brought with it a need to understand how cannabis, like alcohol, might affect interpersonal relationships, especially within the context of romantic partnerships. Previous research has shown that substance use—particularly alcohol—can both strengthen and strain intimate relationships. Light or moderate drinking may reduce stress and support positive social interactions, but heavy or problematic use has been linked to relationship dissatisfaction and even aggression. …

The Return of Trump—IV | Paisley Currah, Trevor Jackson, Kim Phillips-Fein, Ian Frazier, Adam Gaffney, Madeleine Schwartz

The Return of Trump—IV | Paisley Currah, Trevor Jackson, Kim Phillips-Fein, Ian Frazier, Adam Gaffney, Madeleine Schwartz

Paisley Currah • Trevor Jackson • Kim Phillips-Fein • Ian Frazier • Adam Gaffney • Madeleine Schwartz Paisley Currah This is what Donald Trump could do to transgender people during his second presidency: discharge all trans service people from the military; impose a nationwide ban on medical care for trans youth; prevent Medicaid and Medicare from paying for transition-related care even for adults; permit private health providers to exclude transgender-related coverage; ban all trans girls from playing on any girls teams regardless of age, sport, or level of competition; deny federal funding to schools that support youth with gender dysphoria; end all programs at federal agencies that “promote” the concept of gender transition, at any age; and, generally, require all federal agencies to recognize only sex assigned at birth. Parents who support their child’s trans, nonbinary, or gender-nonconforming identity would be prevented from doing so. The Trump campaign even promised to stop anyone under eighteen from “assuming” a gender identity—one’s internal sense of being male, female, neither, or in-between—to which their parents do not consent. …

11 Book Club Picks For November 2024

11 Book Club Picks For November 2024

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Welcome to The Best of Book Riot, our daily round-up of what’s on offer across our site, newsletters, podcasts, and social channels. Not everything is for everyone, but there is something for everyone. This month’s collection of book club picks include historical fiction set in pre-Civil War New Orleans, a translated South Korean novel, a memoir about leaving the Evangelical church and creating new community, a missing person mystery set on a reservation, historical fiction set in 1960s New York following the residents of a women’s hotel, a new mystery novel by the author of The Girl on the Train, a memoir by an Indigenous activist, a novel set over decades in England and Lagos inspired by Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, a darkly funny novel with a messy main character, and a dual timeline historical love story. Follow four girlfriends in the Bronx as they contend with everyday life struggles with the support of their friends and self-care; an ex-yakuza …

Winners of the European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2024

Winners of the European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2024

The German Society for Nature Photography (GDT) recently announced their winning images from the European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2024, selected from nearly 18,000 entries from 38 countries in 11 categories. This year’s overall winner was Jaime Rojo, with a remarkable photograph of Monarch butterflies clustered in trees in Mexico’s El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary. Competition organizers were kind enough to share some of the winning and honored photographs with us here. To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. Source link

Donald Trump Put Elon Musk on the Phone With Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Donald Trump Put Elon Musk on the Phone With Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Apparently you can buy anything, if you’re rich enough. Dialing In During his call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just one day after the election, president-elect Donald Trump decided to include his number one campaigner: Elon Musk. First reported by Axios, this three-way call was apparently less tense than one might expect. According to insiders Axios spoke to, Zelenskyy was reassured by what he heard from the billionaire pair amid speculation about how a second Trump presidency will affect the United States’ relations with Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing invasion. One of those sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity so they could discuss the matter freely, said that it “didn’t leave Zelenskyy with a feeling of despair.” In particular, the Ukrainian president was heartened that the call happened so soon after the election, one of Axios‘ anonymous sources claims. Notably, the Zelenskyy call occurred days before Trump spoke to Putin — and during that exchange, which seems to have happened without Musk, he advised his Russian counterpart not to escalate his years-long incursion in Ukraine. From Russia …

The Elias Network by Simon Gervais

The Elias Network by Simon Gervais

In his latest thriller, “The Elias Network,” Simon Gervais masterfully weaves together espionage, romance, and political intrigue to create a compelling narrative that keeps readers guessing until the very end. Drawing from his extensive experience in law enforcement and close protection operations, Gervais brings authenticity to this high-stakes tale of two spies living double lives. Plot Overview: A Dance of Secrets The story follows Caspian Anderson, a seemingly unremarkable UN translator who harbors a deadly secret – he’s an elite assassin working for a clandestine program within the Department of Homeland Security. When a mission in Switzerland puts him on a collision course with a human trafficking ring, Caspian finds himself entangled in a web of international conspiracies. Meanwhile, his girlfriend Liesel Bergmann, a forensic accountant, has secrets of her own as an undercover operative for German intelligence. Character Development: Beyond the Surface What sets “The Elias Network” apart is Gervais’s nuanced character development. Caspian isn’t your typical action hero – he’s thoughtful, measured, and surprisingly relatable despite his lethal skillset. His struggle to maintain …

People with psychopathic traits fail to learn from painful outcomes

People with psychopathic traits fail to learn from painful outcomes

A recent study published in Communications Psychology reveals that individuals with higher psychopathic traits show reduced sensitivity to pain, which affects their ability to learn from painful consequences. The researchers found that people with elevated psychopathic traits tend to revert quickly to initial beliefs after experiencing pain. This new insight could help us understand why individuals with these traits often struggle to adapt their behavior despite negative consequences. People with psychopathic traits frequently ignore the negative consequences of their actions, likely due to differences in how they process punishment. Past studies have indicated that psychopathy is associated with both an insensitivity to punishment and an excessive drive toward reward, but this study aimed to explore the computational learning processes specifically related to pain. Pain can serve as a powerful teaching signal, so understanding how reduced pain sensitivity influences learning in people with psychopathic traits could shed light on the mechanisms behind their often harmful decision-making. “One of the hallmarks of psychopathy is aggressive, exploitative behavior with little regard for the wellbeing of others,” said study …

Bertrand Russell’s 10 Commandments for Living in a Healthy Democracy

Bertrand Russell’s 10 Commandments for Living in a Healthy Democracy

Image by J. F. Horra­bin, via Wiki­me­dia Com­mons Bertrand Rus­sell saw the his­to­ry of civ­i­liza­tion as being shaped by an unfor­tu­nate oscil­la­tion between two oppos­ing evils: tyran­ny and anar­chy, each of which con­tains the seed of the oth­er. The best course for steer­ing clear of either one, Rus­sell main­tained, is lib­er­al­ism. “The doc­trine of lib­er­al­ism is an attempt to escape from this end­less oscil­la­tion,” writes Rus­sell in A His­to­ry of West­ern Phi­los­o­phy. “The essence of lib­er­al­ism is an attempt to secure a social order not based on irra­tional dog­ma [a fea­ture of tyran­ny], and insur­ing sta­bil­i­ty [which anar­chy under­mines] with­out involv­ing more restraints than are nec­es­sary for the preser­va­tion of the com­mu­ni­ty.” In 1951 Rus­sell pub­lished an arti­cle in The New York Times Mag­a­zine, “The Best Answer to Fanaticism–Liberalism,” with the sub­ti­tle: “Its calm search for truth, viewed as dan­ger­ous in many places, remains the hope of human­i­ty.” In the arti­cle, Rus­sell writes that “Lib­er­al­ism is not so much a creed as a dis­po­si­tion. It is, indeed, opposed to creeds.” He con­tin­ues: But the lib­er­al …

‘SNL’ Isn’t Bothering With Civility Anymore

‘SNL’ Isn’t Bothering With Civility Anymore

Voters gave America’s rudest man permission to return to the White House; what else have they given permission to? Michael Che has one idea. “So y’all gonna let a man with 34 felonies lead the free world and be the president of the United States?” he asked during last night’s “Weekend Update.” “That’s it. I’m listening to R. Kelly again.” The joke captured a feeling that’s been circulating in America ever since last Tuesday’s election: silver-lining nihilism, a relief that we can stop trying to be good. Kamala Harris lost probably because of the economy, but the Republican campaign did effectively leverage widespread exhaustion with identity politics, inclusive speech, and perhaps even civility itself. Some of Trump’s supporters have celebrated by crowing vileness such as “Your body, my choice.” Some of Harris’s fans have openly denigrated the minorities who voted for Trump. Eesh. But if this is, as my colleague Thomas Chatterton Williams posted on X, the “post-woke era,” then perhaps at least comedy—the entertainment form that’s grouched the most about progressive piety—will be funnier …