Weekend Reading
Long reads at the End of the World
“The largest coral ever recorded has been found by scientists in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The mega coral - which is a collection of many connected, tiny creatures that together form one organism rather than a reef - could be more than 300 years old. It is bigger than a blue whale, the team say. It was found by a videographer working on a National Geographic ship visiting remote parts of the Pacific to see how it has been affected by climate change. ‘I went diving in a place where the map said there was a shipwreck and then I saw something,’ said Manu San Felix. He called over his diving buddy, who is also his son Inigo, and they dived further down to inspect it. Seeing the coral, which is in the Solomon Islands, was like seeing a ‘cathedral underwater’, he said. ‘It's very emotional. I felt this huge respect for something that's stayed in one place and survived for hundreds of years,’ he said. ‘I thought, 'Wow, this was here when Napoleon was alive',’ he added. Scientists on the expedition measured the coral using a type of tape measure under water. It is 34m wide, 32m long and 5.5m high … Corals are made of hundreds of thousands of living organisms called polyps, each with its own body and mouth, which grow together as a colony. Some corals grow hard, outer skeletons and when many of these fuse together they form a coral reef. Some of these reefs can extend for huge distances, forming vast structures where fish and other species live. Coral reefs also underpin the livelihoods of one billion people including by supporting tourism or fishing, according to the World Economic Forum.” (Georgina Rannard/BBC)
“I mean, we have a two-party system, and -- especially for the 21st century -- we should stop calling them ‘winners’ and start calling them ‘not-losers.’ In nine of the last 10 elections, they've thrown out either the president or the party controlling the House or the Senate. That never came close to happening with that regularity before. Americans are just fed up with a political system that's not responsive to their actual needs, or understands the challenges in their lives, or speaks to them, and they're caught between two bad alternatives, in their minds, and this is the politics we get. All this stuff about, after the fact, doing a head count on this demographic group and that demographic group and all of that is confusing what the effective cause is. If it is a general phenomenon, then of course people in all these demographic groups are going to seem to move. But there's not evidence that they're moving to [Trump] or MAGA. As I said, for the most part, there weren't that many voters who had voted for Biden, who had been Democrats, but were now joining the Republican coalition. Pick any group you have heard about "moving right," say noncollege voters. The category, noncollege voters, in 2024 is not the same set of individual noncollege Americans who cast ballots in 2020. A very disproportionate share of those 2020 noncollege Biden voters stayed home. They didn't move right; they moved away from the political process altogether. The inevitable effect of that is that the noncollege voters in 2024 were more Republican, simply because fewer noncollege Democrats bothered to vote.” (Andrew Perez/Rolling Stone)
“Last spring, Donald Trump presided over a meeting with the country’s top oil executives at his Mar-a-Lago resort. According to The Washington Post, Trump promised to fulfill a wish list of policies sought by their industry—while explicitly soliciting $1 billion in campaign contributions from them. Trump made similar promises to other ultrawealthy donors, vowing to keep their taxes low while urging them to cut large campaign checks. Now that Trump has won the presidency again, it’s worth revisiting these episodes as a guide to what might be coming. It’s often said that Trump campaigned expressly on a platform of authoritarian rule, but this also applies to corruption: He didn’t disguise his promises to govern in the direct interests of some of the wealthiest executives and investors in the country—and he won anyway. Trump and his allies will likely interpret this as a green light to engage in an extraordinary spree of unrestrained malfeasance. Now that Trump has won the presidency again, it’s worth revisiting these episodes as a guide to what might be coming. It’s often said that Trump campaigned expressly on a platform of authoritarian rule, but this also applies to corruption: He didn’t disguise his promises to govern in the direct interests of some of the wealthiest executives and investors in the country—and he won anyway. Trump and his allies will likely interpret this as a green light to engage in an extraordinary spree of unrestrained malfeasance.” (Greg Sargent/TNR)
“Kevin Roberts, the head of the influential rightwing thinktank the Heritage Foundation, told a Guardian reporter to ‘go to hell’ at the launch of Roberts’s new book on Tuesday night, then threw the reporter out of the venue, apparently in response to reporting on the organization. The Guardian was invited last week to Roberts’s book events in New York and Washington DC. They were billed as an opportunity ‘to celebrate Dawn’s Early Light: Taking Back Washington to Save America’ – Roberts’s new book, which features a foreword by the vice-president-elect, JD Vance. Roberts, the chief architect of Project 2025, the infamous rightwing plan for Donald Trump’s presidency which would crack down on immigration, dismantle LGBTQ+ and abortion rights and diminish environmental protections, spoke briefly at the event, held in the lavish Kimberly Hotel in midtown New York City, before mingling with the crowd. Approached by the Guardian, a staff member at the Heritage Foundation said Roberts would be available for a brief interview. The Guardian waited patiently before being introduced to Roberts, who was tidily dressed in a suit, tie and cowboy boots. ‘You’ve got two minutes with our best friend Adam from the Guardian,’ the Heritage Foundation employee told Roberts. Roberts said to the Guardian: ‘Make it good, the first one [question], otherwise you’re going to pound sand.’ It was quite loud in the venue and the Guardian misheard the word ‘sand’. Asked for clarification, Roberts repeated the phrase. The Guardian said: ‘I don’t know what that means,’ which seemed to upset Roberts. He reacted angrily. ‘It means you’re a bunch of liars, is what it means. So make it good or we’re done,’ Roberts said. The Guardian asked if Roberts could elaborate on his ‘liars’ comment, which seemed to upset the Heritage Foundation president further. ‘No, we’re done, I’m not talking to you,’ Roberts said.” (Adam Gabbatt/The Guardian)
“Last Thursday, footage and reports emerged regarding violence against Israeli fans of football club Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam, with some assailants asking people if they were Jewish and making antisemitic statements. The most disturbing video I saw was of a man being beaten up while repeatedly pleading ‘I’m not Jewish, I’m not Jewish.’ Seeing this inevitably brings with it trauma for many Jewish people, particularly given the history of European antisemitism. Almost immediately, pro-Israel Jewish groups and the Israeli president himself started making analogies to the Holocaust and called the incident a ‘pogrom.’ One image circulating on social media is particularly stark: it depicts a young Anne Frank with a yellow star titled ‘1939’ and another young girl wearing the Maccabi Tel Aviv logo, which happens to be a yellow star, reading ‘2024.’ Below the image is text that reads ‘Never again is Now!.’ The clear implication is that this is yet another example of Jewish people facing the same type of persecution as they did in 1939 Europe. However, these analogies to pogroms and the Holocaust obscure reality. And this incident is another crucial reminder that until global leaders and the media are honest about the truth of events such as this, both anti-Palestinian racism and antisemitism will continue to flourish.” (Sara Schwartz/Crikey)
“Donald Trump’s re-election brings sweeping international consequences, especially for Iran, which endured four years of his “maximum pressure” policy the last time he was in office. Within Iran, reactions among political figures and analysts are sharply divided: some see the outcome as an opportunity, while others view it as a looming threat to Iran’s foreign policy, governance, and future prospects. The key question for Iran is whether Trump will intensify the maximum pressure campaign of sanctions as some of his associates have suggested, whether he will seek a new deal with Washington’s sworn enemy in the Middle East or try to do both. Although Trump has repeatedly stated he has no problem negotiating with the Islamic Republic of Iran, any new agreement would likely require Israeli buy-in and a meaningful regional pullback by Tehran, including reduced support for militant anti-Israel groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. Based on public statements from Iranian officials, there appears to be little willingness in Tehran for such negotiations at this time but that could change. A key impediment to talks is Iranian fury at Trump for ordering the assassination of Iran’s most celebrated general, Qassem Soleimani, in Baghdad in early 2020. The killing followed an increase of tensions between Iran-backed Iraqi militias and Americans in Iraq after Trump’s 2018 decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and reimpose sanctions. This prompted Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to adopt a ‘no war, no negotiations’ policy toward the Trump administration. In 2019, Khamenei reinforced this position by rejecting Japan’s offer to mediate talks with Trump, telling the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, ‘I have no answer for him, nor will I respond to him in the future.’” (Mohammad Mazhari/Stimson)
“Maybe streaming isn't such a bad business, after all. Major media companies have lost billions of dollars in the turbulent transition to streaming business models. But this month Disney, Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery (CNN's parent) all reported profitable quarters for their streaming divisions. NBCUniversal made year-over-year progress narrowing Peacock's loss, as well. The Information's Martin Peers heralded the results this way: ‘Video streaming is finally becoming a money-making business!’ Disney's earnings release on Thursday also projected $1 billion in operating profit from entertainment streaming in 2025. "Disney's streaming business seems to have turned the emerging media corner to cement itself as a maturing growth driver for the future," Mike Proulx, the head of Forrester's CMO research team, told the AP.” (Brian Stelter/Reliable Sources)
“On Friday, boxer Mike Tyson is returning to the ring for a livestreamed Netflix fight with YouTuber turned pugilist Jake Paul. In a sit-down with actor Rosie Perez conducted for Interview, Tyson said that he had a simple reason to agree to a bout with Paul: clout. ‘You got a YouTuber that has 70 million fans,’ Tyson explained. “No champion has that many fans. And I’m the greatest fighter since the beginning of life, so now what does that make? That makes an explosion of excitement. And that’s what life is about: making the biggest impact before you die.’ The 58-year-old fighter began his boxing career in 1985 at the age of 18, and officially retired in 2005 … Tyson also talked to Perez about hallucinating from toad venom, biting Evander Holyfield’s ear, and what he perceived was a brush with death. ‘Hey, life isn’t over yet. We’re still fighting. We only make it out on the day of our death,’ he said. ‘There’s no way I should be here talking to you right now. All my friends are dead. They OD’d, they had AIDS. Me and my friend both had sex with this girl at the same time and they both died of AIDS. I didn’t catch AIDS. Raw, too.’ Perez responded with awe. ‘That’s crazy,’ she said. ‘You have a spirit hovering over you.’” (Erin Vanderhoof/Vanity Fair)
“Historically, white voters have favored Republican candidates in every presidential election since Richard Nixon ran in 1968, including the seven elections since 2000. The highest Republican white vote margin in the latter period occurred in 2012, favoring Mitt Romney over Barack Obama, and in 2016, favoring Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton. Republicans’ white vote margins in 2020 and 2024 were actually smaller than in those two elections. In contrast, Black voters have a long history of favoring Democratic candidates, dating back to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s second term in 1936, but at especially high levels in the post-Civil Rights era beginning in 1964 with the Lyndon B. Johnson-Barry Goldwater election. Democrats’ strongest recent Black vote margins (R-D margins of -91 and -87) occurred in the two Obama elections of 2008 and 2012. And although those margins have shrunk slightly since then, they remained at a solid -75 in both 2020 and 2024. Democrats’ Latino or Hispanic vote margins are not as strong as the Black margins, but have remained favorable to Democrats since at least 1972. The greatest in recent decades occurred in 2012, Obama’s second term, at -44, though remained in -30 range in all recent elections except 2004 (-9), when George W. Bush ran against John Kerry. However, it is true that Vice President Kamala Harris’ Latino or Hispanic margin of -6 is the smallest in over 30 years. Whether it represents a blip, like the 2004 election, remains to be seen.” (William H. Frey/Brookings)
“For years, YouTube has been the undisputed king of online video, but this week Spotify rolled out some changes that might challenge its throne. At a podcast star-studded event in Los Angeles on Wednesday (the Hawk Tuah girl was there along with a slew of big YouTubers), Spotify announced its new ‘Spotify Creators’ program, which will allow content creators who upload video shows to Spotify to earn money based on how many views they amass on the platform. Previously, video podcasts on Spotify could only monetize through ads running during their shows. ‘By giving you guys, the creators, another path to monetization beyond ads, we’re freeing you up to do what you like doing, which is to create,’ Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said on stage. Beginning January, Spotify Premium subscribers will no longer have podcasts interrupted by ads. ‘Your fans, they love watching video podcasts,’ Ek told creators, ‘but they don’t love the industry shift to a heavy load of third-party ads… We know that people like listening to their favorite artists without interruption, so why shouldn’t they be able to watch your videos in the same way?’ For creators, these changes mean that fans will be able to get a seamless, bingeable experience that mirrors what YouTube Premium offers, but on Spotify. Spotify’s numbers alone are enough to make content creators take notice. Over 250 million users have streamed video podcasts on Spotify, and the platform’s video podcast user base has exploded, growing by more than 60% year-over-year. Currently, more than 1 in 3 U.S. podcast users engage with video, and Spotify’s video library now includes over 300,000 video podcast shows. These stats clearly show an opportunity for Spotify to lure creators (and their fans) away from YouTube.” (Taylor Lorentz)
“Eight years ago, after the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, the mood in Moscow was one of lucky disbelief. In Donald Trump, Russian officials saw a transactional businessman who spoke in the language of national interests, not values—Vladimir Putin’s kind of leader. Margarita Simonyan, the head of RT, the Russian state channel, declared that she would drive around the streets of Moscow waving an American flag. A nationalist politician threw a party in the offices of the Duma, with champagne toasts. For Russia, however, Trump’s first term turned out to be a disappointment: the U.S. introduced more sanctions, expelled Russian diplomats, closed Russian consulates across the U.S., and delivered antitank Javelin missiles to Ukraine.” (Joshua Yaffa/TNY)
“‘It’s happening, I’m crashing out. I’m done! Okay?’ the model and influencer Esha Javed says in a TikTok she posted earlier this week. Javed, who has more than 786,000 followers on her main account @vixenesha, tells the camera that since she joined the platform when she was a teenager, ‘life has hit me like a fucking truck,’ and she is ‘no longer the stupid brainwashed liberal that I used to be.’ ‘I’m done. I’m so tired of my old fan base,’ she concludes. ‘I don’t give a fuck about your identity politics. I voted for Trump. And’ — she adds, inexplicably — ‘I hate fat people!’Javed’s video was seemingly prompted by backlash she faced from her followers: Before posting her TikTok, she tweeted that she lost more than a thousand Instagram followers because she publicly supported Trump. (Javed, like most of the other influencers in this story, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.) But among conservatives, the reaction to her TikTok was rapturous. The video was widely shared by thousands of Trump supporters, who viewed Javed’s rant as emblematic of a larger shift in the Gen-Z social-media ecosystem. They aren’t entirely wrong. Since Donald Trump won the presidential election last week, more lifestyle influencers like Javed — who until now has mostly posted Russian manicure vlogs, TikTok Shop spon-con, and pelvic floor workout videos — are revealing themselves to be full-throated Trump supporters.” (EJ Dickson/NYM)
Thank you!