The trouble with refugee law (Pacific Standard)
by Jack Herrera
International law about refugees was written in a very specific moment, when the world’s greatest fear was powerful totalitarian states oppressing minority populations. It doesn’t fit a landscape where gangs can be more powerful than governments, and climate change may become the greatest cause of displacement.
What kind of art is the video game? (Nautilus)
by Brian Gallagher
Psychologically, video games offer emotional satisfactions that movies and other media can’t match: The chance to co-create a story, social connections, and feelings of accomplishment or guilt.
Performance and publicity in the 19th century (Vox)
by Sharon Marcus
Long before Marilyn Monroe or Beyoncé, stage actor Sarah Bernhardt became an international household name through talent, audacity, and the skillful manipulation of media and new technology.
AI reminds us that authorship is complicated (Public Books)
by Sarah Allison
Artificial intelligence offers a new way to try to figure out who really wrote a particular text. But that process also reveals the limits of assigning authorship of a work to one person.
Drinking seawater is dangerous (Yale Environment 360)
by Jim Robbins
As access to fresh water becomes a bigger problem, cities around the world are turning to desalinization of ocean water. But it’s an energy-heavy, ecologically destructive process.
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