Hot girl summer? According to climate change research, yes.
… plus curiosities from South Africa, a collective euphoria, and more.
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Without further ado, here’s what’s on deck this week:
🇦🇷 Argentina’s economy at the brink
📷 a vintage Met Gala photo of Fran Lebowitz
🧠 The brain science of collective euphoria
But first, here’s a closer look at what’s been going on around the world in the last week or so:
30 years — The amount of time that has passed since the end of South Africa’s apartheid and the start of its democratic government. On Saturday, the country celebrated Freedom Day to mark the milestone. But the same party that Nelson Mandela brought to prominence is facing rocky waters as the country confronts what experts are calling its most important election since the start of its democracy in 1994: Polls signal that the African National Congress (ANC) party is losing popularity amid a staggering unemployment rate of 32% — one of the highest in the world. South Africans blame the party for not delivering on its mission to provide more jobs and basic services, and their voices may be heard loud and clear in the polls come May 29.
~900 — The total number of Samaritans living on Earth today. This ethno-religious group of Jews lives in Israel and is considered the country’s smallest minority population. On Monday, the community took part in a Passover pilgrimage to West Bank's Mount Gerizim. Take a closer look:
3.8 billion — The number of people – half the world’s population in all – who experienced extreme heat for at least one day in 2023, with numerous heat waves on nearly every continent. (And 2024 promises to be an even hotter year.) In response, USAID and the Red Cross, two of the world’s biggest aid agencies, convened on Sunday for an inaugural global summit on extreme heat. The takeaways? New — and fast — solutions need to be made worldwide to protect communities from mounting heat. But here’s my favorite tidbit: We may begin naming heatwaves the same way we label typhoons or hurricanes in order to give extreme heat more global importance. (Sure, I never saw myself as a purveyor of hotness, but “Heat Wave Kelly” has a nice ring to it.)
4 months — The amount of time that the international fast fashion company Shein has to submit a risk assessment report to the European Commission amid the EU’s new spate of regulations announced Friday targeting counterfeit fashion and illegal goods. Shein will need to prove it will introduce measures against “the listing and sale of counterfeit goods, unsafe products, and items that infringe on intellectual property rights,” per the EU.
And now for the main course: Last week, we introduced to you Melisa Trad’s emotional piece about four women who survived Argentina’s 1974-1983 dictatorship. Amid an upswell in protests across the country against the self-proclaimed “anarcho-capitalist” leader Javier Milei’s economic and education policies, we’re bringing this story back with new eyes.
The four women — Diana Kurbán, Lida Papparelli, María Victoria Benítez, and Margarita Camus — worry about a resurgence of the far right due to Milei’s election victory. While Milei won the run-off election with a 56% vote share last November, experts say no Argentinian president has had less clout in Congress since the country’s dictatorship.
The biggest and loudest protests of late have been organized by labor unions — as many as 800,000 citizens in all — who have taken to the streets to contest a controversial labor reform bill which calls for privatizations and tighter fiscal policy and was approved by the House on Tuesday. Don’t worry; we’ll keep an eye on it for you and share updates as they come.
The libertarian leader campaigned on a platform that promised a free-market revolution to resuscitate Argentina from its worst economic crisis in 20 years. Instead, the country has faced an even harsher economic situation, according to economic experts and opinion polls.
Take a look at our story from last week, which offers a prescient view of Argentinian politics and history:
In the “coming weeks” — (Okay, we’re bending the rules here for this item, but we think it’s important for you to know!) The United States and China will hold their first-ever talks on artificial intelligence, the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the press on Friday. Will the potential TikTok ban be a topic of discussion at all? Apparently, no. The chat will mostly concern risks and safety as AI technology proliferates at a stunning pace.
On Sunday, May 5 — Golden Week ends in Japan. The week-long holiday is marked by festivals and activities across the country as citizens embark on a well-deserved break to take in the spring season. This year’s holiday is the first since the country lifted its strict COVID-19 travel restrictions last May and promises to be its busiest in a while.
On Monday, May 6, — The Met Gala occurs in New York City, with Oscar-nominated actress and “Killers of the Flower Moon” star Lily Gladstone among the few making a debut appearance. I’m not a fashion fanatic myself, but I am a sucker for vintage photographs. Thusly, I encourage you to check out this snapshot of an old Met Gala from Getty’s archives:
On Tuesday, May 7, — Eurovision begins. The annual song contest will broadcast live from Malmö, Sweden, this year. It’s one of the world’s longest-running and most-watched non-sporting events, where 37 countries compete by submitting and performing an original song which competing countries vote for to determine an overall winner. In 1956, during Eurovisions first-ever contest, Lys Assia sang the song “Refrain” for Switzerland and became the first winner. Queue yet another stunningly vintage photo:
When I listen to live music I feel more connected to people around me, and sometimes experience a kind of collective euphoria. Researchers have found that this interconnection when listening to a performance exists at a deep, biological level. They call it induction synchrony.
Induction synchrony is a socio-biological phenomenon that occurs when people’s physiological responses sync up when listening to the same music. Researchers in Switzerland and Germany found that listeners of three classical music concerts in 2020 had similar heart rates, respiration rates, and skin conductance. The more the listener was moved emotionally and inspired by the music, the more likely they were to sync up with others. People’s personalities play into induction synchrony as well — the more open or agreeable a person was, the more likely their bodies were to sync up with those around them.
When you’re in a groove at a future show, it’s cool to remember that your heart rate is probably beating together with a bunch of people around you.
PS I wrote about a similar idea, collective effervescence, in a Concepts earlier this year.
— Ben
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