What should we do about those scooters? (The Conversation)
by Ryan Muldoon
Dockless scooters have been responsible for a lot of injuries. Self-driving cars will undoubtedly cause many more. But, a philosopher argues, that’s not a good reason to preemptively ban them.

Why the Amazon is on fire (Vice)
by Madeleine Gregory
There’s nothing natural about the fires raging through the Amazon rainforest. Humans have caused them indirectly, through climate change—and also by directly setting them in a bid to clear land for agribusiness.

Hong Kong’s secret weapon (The Washington Post)
by Andrea Binder
China has a history of brutal crackdowns on dissidents, but the story in Hong Kong may be different. That’s because the semiautonomous territory shields an enormous amount of wealth for Chinese elites.

Who’s afraid of apocalyptic catastrophes? (The New York Times)
by Bryan Walsh
In any given year, there’s a 1 in 730,000 chance that a supervolcano will explode at Yellowstone National Park, potentially destroying life as we know it. Just how much should we care about unlikely, but not impossible, existential threats?

The tricky ethics of brain stimulation (Aeon)
by Jonathan Pugh
Deep brain stimulation can treat debilitating conditions. It also sometimes seems to change patients’ personalities, leading to compulsive gambling, sexual inhibition, or a sudden, intense devotion to the music of Johnny Cash. How can doctors ensure that patients truly consent to ongoing treatment when the treatments may have already changed them?

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