1. You’re Likely to Get the Coronavirus
Among all the articles on the Coronavirus that fought for my attention this week, I found this from The Atlantic the most insightful. The gist:
Within the coming year, 40 to 70 percent of people around the world could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19.
It’s likely that many people will have mild disease, or not even show symptoms.
The most likely outcome of this outbreak is a new seasonal disease. «Cold and flu season» could become «Cold and flu and COVID-19 season.»
Key takeaway at the very end: «Ultimately some pandemic responses will require opening borders, not closing them. The disease must be seen as everyone’s problem.» Read it now.
(if you‘re looking for something in German, this explainer from Die Republik is probably the best)
2. New Zealand’s prime minister is showing the world that leadership isn’t a male trait. It’s a human one
Even in 2020, most countries in the world are governed or ruled by men. And when women are in power, they are usually measured against male ideals of what it means to be a good leader. Jacinda Ardern, the 39-year-old progressive prime minister of New Zealand, is challenging all of this. A very thoughful and and thought-provoking profile from The Correspondent. Read it now.
3. The Search for New Words to Make Us Care About the Climate Crisis
Can new loanwords help us make sense of and talk about the climate crisis? Given that this is a global crisis that needs action and ideas from everywhere, it makes sense to borrow from all languages to put into words what one’s own language might not be capable of. Read it now.
4. Swinging the Vote?
When people talk about social media algorithms that decide what we get to see and what gets buried, they don’t usually think of email. Any yet, email remains one of the most important channels for political communication and Google’s Gmail does have a lot of influence over what people get to see and what gets buried. In one of their first investigations, The Markup signed up for email updates from all candidates for the US presidency. Turns out Gmail’s algorithm liked Pete Buttigieg’s emails best – by far. Read the investigation now.
5. TikTok: It don't stop
You dismissed TikTok when you first heard of it and now everyone is talking about it and you still have no clue? Quartz has a primer for you that is both informative and entertaining. Read it now.
What else?
😢: Both the creator of the Lego Minifigure, Jens Nygaard Knudsen, and the creator of the Konami code, Kazuhisa Hashimoto, have died.
Learned this week: A scar on your body «is an autograph signed to you by a world grateful for your continued willingness to play with her, even when you don’t feel like it.» (from the «Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows»)