Hiding in Plain Sight: American Slavery. Finns Ain’t What They Used To Be. Cheese-Eating Depression Beaters, Plus More! #196
Grüezi! I’m Adrian Monck – welcome!
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1️⃣ America’s Forced Labourers
Somehow the old South never forgot its appetite for slavery.
An extraordinary AP investigation reveals how America’s supermarket shelves are stacked with the products of forced labour. Everything from cereals to soda.
Here’s one woman prisoner, paid in toilet roll and toothpaste for her 21C work:
“I was in a field with a hoe in my hand with maybe like a hundred other women. We were standing in a line very closely together, and we had to raise our hoes up at the exact same time and count ‘One, two, three, chop!’”
The ‘Land of the Free’ jails about two million of its citizens. They can be forced to work under pain of solitary confinement. They’re not covered by safety standards and they can’t complain.
As the AP’s report notes:
“Some prisoners work on the same plantation soil where slaves harvested cotton, tobacco and sugarcane more than 150 years ago, with some present-day images looking eerily similar to the past.”
One prisoner who spent over 17 years forced into field work, said simply:
“You can’t call it anything else. It’s just slavery.”
The whole report from Robin McDowell and Margie Mason is well worth your time, as are the takeaways.
⏭ Here’s what the ILO says about Forced Labour.
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2️⃣ Why Fewer Finns is a Wakeup Call for the World
Family-friendly Finland’s birth rate is Hel-sinki-ing.
📉 Finland’s fertility conundrum has experts like Anna Rotkirch scratching their heads. Despite top-notch family policies, the Finnish birth rate is plummeting.
“It’s not primarily driven by economics or family policies. It’s something cultural, psychological, biological, cognitive.”
In an interview with the FT she explained why it’s not just a Nordic puzzle; it’s global.
🔍 Millennials put a premium on independence and stability before even thinking about kids. Gone are the days when starting a family was insurance against old age and insecurity. Now, it’s the opposite.
🚫 75% of Finland’s fertility decline is due to rising childlessness, including nearly 40% of less-educated men. But childlessness is also increasing among stable, middle class couples. Many start trying too late. And biology may play a part.
👵💻 Ultimately Rotkirch doesn’t want a future of lonely old people living “alone on screens.” She thinks flexible working and the prospect of #AI relieving workforce pressures could encourage parenthood.
🔄 Rotkirch’s call to action? A societal value shift. It’s about synching up society with women’s biology not about expecting women to adapt to the economy.
Finland’s story is a wake-up call. It’s not just policies but our collective cultural script that needs a rewrite if we’re to see fertility numbers climb. Thoughts?
⏭ You can’t even pay people to have kids. #FertilityCrisis #CulturalShift
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3️⃣ Beat Depression. Eat Cheese.
Finally psychiatry has something good to tell us.
Crass over-simplifications aside, cutting carbs and raising fat in your diet is showing promise for a range of mental health problems.
NPR has the story of Scottish scientist Iain Campbell who stumbled into low-carb diets and found his mental health symptoms easing, sparking a radical idea: could cutting carbs lift depression?
Enter the keto diet, once a treatment for epilepsy, now eyed for tackling depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.
Researchers think swapping glucose for ketones might just reboot your brain’s health, slashing inflammation and balancing neurotransmitters.
It’s not all plain sailing. How sustainable is a diet of cheese and avocado omelettes long-term? And which illnesses see the most benefit?
Still, a dozen clinical trials are in the pipeline, so watch this space.
⏭ Keto diets aren’t helping your heart...
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4️⃣ Grit and Graft Beat Genius Says Adam Grant
Character will take you to the top says the psychiatrist celeb.
⏭ Does happiness research stand up to scrutiny?
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5️⃣ Half The Planet Goes To The Polls in 2024
Just don’t expect an upset in Moscow South.
⏭ Where exactly is voting happening in “Super Election Year”?
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6️⃣ Another Great Shipping Canal in Trouble
The Panama Canal isn’t facing terrorism – it’s Mother Nature.
⏭ More on what’s happening to the world’s second great canal.
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7️⃣ The Future of TV – Soap Opera For Snowflakes
Chinese micro-dramas are coming to a screen near you.
If you like dramas with actors who’d be beaten to an Oscar by a mahogany block, China’s micro-drama craze has you covered.
SixthTone reports that ReelShort, a Chinese micro-drama app, outperformed TikTok in downloads across the US last November.
With titles like “Mr Williams, Madame is Dying!” and typical production costs of $300-700k the emphasis is on quantity rather than quality.
But that could be changing as Chinese celebrities get in on the act. AI is playing its part too.
⏭ The rise of the micro-drama.
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If you enjoy this – please recommend it!
Best,
Adrian
