Nothing as It Seems

Here are some interesting articles I've read over the past week I think are worth checking out. Gideon Rachman , “ Alexei Navalny is a real threat to Vladimir Putin . ”  25 Jan ,  Financial Times .  "The Russian state’s machinery of repression is swinging into action. But beneath the tough exterior, the underlying fragility of President Putin’s regime is once again apparent." Enrico Bonadio and Andrea Borghini ,  “ Vegan ‘dairy’ products face EU ban from using milk cartons and yoghurt pots – and UK could be next . ”  25 Jan,  The Conversation .  "As for the dairy lobby’s arguments about confusing consumers, they are in danger of looking out of date, given the tremendous changes in eating habits that have taken place in recent years."  Ralph Leonard,  “ Why the West isn’t racist . ”  28  Jan,  UnHerd .  "Radical Enlightenment values are still the best tools humanity has crafted to create a better world. The challenge then is not to negate them but to build u

Here are some interesting articles I've read over the past week I think are worth checking out. Sam Bowman , “ The eight biggest Covid-sceptic myths – and why they’re wrong . ”  21 Jan ,  New Statesman .  "There has been a huge amount of misinformation during the pandemic. Much of it was unavoidable, especially at the start as we dealt with a new virus, but some myths are persisting a year into the pandemic." Tom Chivers ,  “ What Covid tests can we trust? ”  20 Jan,  UnHerd .  "One group of scientists thinks the widespread use of lateral-flow testing is the answer, and believe it can save lives and reboot society. The other thinks that it is little short of recklessness, that it could kill many more people that it saves." Peter Singer,  “ The Ethics of Prioritizing COVID-19 Vaccination . ”  19  Jan,  Project Syndicate .  "Now that COVID-19 vaccines are being rolled out, policymakers are wrestling with the question of how to distribute them quickly and equi

Here are some interesting articles I've read over the past week I think are worth checking out. Diarmaid Ferriter , “ Efforts to avoid ‘public scandal’ created the greatest scandal of all . ”  15 Jan , Irish Times .  "It is so cruelly ironic that the concerted and co-ordinated efforts to avoid 'public scandal' created the greatest scandals of all." Dylan Matthews ,  “ The F Word: the debate over whether to call Donald Trump a fascist, and why it matters . ”  14 Jan,  Vox .  "Back in 2015, no fascism expert would use the word to describe Trump. In October 2020, they were inching closer, but most dismissed the term as likely an exaggeration or distraction." Greg Miller,  “ The enduring allure of conspiracies . ”  14  Jan,  Knowable Magazine .  Are conspiracy theories more prevalent and influential today, or does it just seem that way? Stuart Ritchie ,  “ Do you know how Covid really spreads? ” 15 Jan,  UnHerd.   "Endlessly repeating an outdated slogan

Here are some interesting articles I've read over the past week I think are worth checking out. Kenan Malik , “ Is the world waking up to collective action's possibilities? ”  3 Jan ,  The Observer .  "In a year that saw the consolidation of authoritarianism across the globe, events from Argentina to India revealed the potency of collective action. Signs of hope for 2021." Julian Baggini ,  “ It ain’t easy being natural . ”  4 Jan,  The Philosophical Inquirer .  "I have come to believe that the conceptual confusions surrounding naturalness are largely the result of a deep-rooted separation of humanity and the rest of nature in Western thought. If we see human beings as being fully part of nature, then we lose the motivation to determine where the boundaries of the natural are. Instead, we might think of the contrast between what enhances or brings out the best on the natural world and what makes it worse. With this as our priority we might prefer modern medicines

  Here are some interesting articles I've read over the past week I think are worth checking out. Michael Clifford , “ Irish laws on drugs need to grow up . ”  26 Dec ,  Irish Examiner .  "Criminalising possession of a small amount of cannabis in today’s world serves no purpose other than to take a sledgehammer to the cornerstone of the drug war." W. D. Budinger,  “ 'Nuclear' Shouldn't Frighten You . ”  29 Dec, Persuasion .  "Some environmental campaigners still insist on a decades-old horror of reactors that traces back to a justified hatred of nuclear bombs. But that has never been warranted for energy plants. If they -- and all of us -- are to find a way out of our climate crisis, we must recognize that we already have a large part of the solution." Julia Hollingsworth,  “ Coronavirus has been with us for a year. Here's what we still don't know . ”  29  Dec, CNN .  Good overview of what we know (and don't know) about Covid-19. Zeynep T