OZY Daily Dose

In the more than four years that our editor Kate Bartlett worked as a journalist in Cambodia, she can’t say she covered many happy news stories. So she well remembers the ones she did, and the return of the Angkorian-era statues from the Koh Ker temple, looted during the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, was among them. It was a proud moment for the impoverished country, which had sued New York-based auction house Sotheby’s over the stolen antiquities and won. Now, more and more nations that saw their invaluable artifacts pilfered under colonization, conflict or unrest are demanding the items be repatriated, and museums and auction houses in the West are under pressure to comply. But the era of tomb raiders is far from over. Pandemic-related lockdowns and empty heritage sites have proved a boon for traffickers. This Daily Dose dives into ancient mysteries that make Indiana Jones movies seem dull, examines current controversies around repatriations and gives you a peek at the world’s most sought-after plunder.

Street protests are a part of Latin America’s DNA, whether it’s over corruption, authoritarianism or basic human rights being trampled by the region’s elite. But something smells different this time. Independent sparks in different nations are coalescing to form a raging fire of change that’s spreading across one of the world’s most unequal regions. From a young trans woman demanding social justice in Chile and Indigenous communities winning a criminal lawsuit in Ecuador to a friend of the pope who’s seeking radical land reform in Argentina, a new tide of peoples’ movements is surging across Latin America. That’s bad news for the right, but it’s not great news for the old, discredited left either. Today’s Daily Dose gives you a front-row view of dramatic changes that could redefine the political landscape in the region.

So you’ve got a little extra cash, but it’s sitting in your bank account doing absolutely nothing. You haven’t the time or, to be honest, the interest to dabble in the complicated world of stocks and shares. But with inflation rising and interest rates set to remain at rock bottom, you feel like you should do something — only what? In today’s Daily Dose, esteemed reader, we’re sharing the surprising new places for you to invest your stash of cash and make a pretty penny while you’re at it. From parking spots to hurricane betting, here are 12 alternative homes for your nest egg.

It’s here. On our streets and in our neighborhoods. From traffic control to CCTVs to water-monitoring systems, artificial intelligence and machine-learning technologies are already among us. But, as the song goes, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Many argue that smart technology is making our cities safer from crime, with facial detection able to spot and locate wanted criminals and those who violate public health restrictions. Others believe the enormous scale of CCTV cameras on the streets of many modern cities, from London to Beijing, amounts to intrusion on a massive scale. Either way, the role played by AI in shaping our urban environments is only going to grow and spread. In today’s Daily Dose, we look at global cities that are offering us an early glimpse of what that future might look like.

For our generation, 9/11 was a Sputnik moment. Just as the launching of the satellite in October 1957 focused the West’s attention on the emerging threat posed by the Soviet Union, the attacks that sunny September morning jarred the world off its axis. Nothing would be the same again. Militant Islam became the vogue topic on TV and in classrooms. Terms such as the “Sunni Triangle” and WMDs became common parlance. The West lived in fear even as thousands died in the Middle East. Ahead of the 20th anniversary of those horrific attacks, today’s Daily Dose highlights some of the pivotal moments — many of them largely forgotten today — and shifts that came to define the War On Terror, and what could come next.

When online retailer Shein started selling a phone case earlier this year that featured an art piece depicting Mike Brown’s murder without permission from the artist, social media erupted in outrage. The design depicts a black man lying on the ground, outlined in chalk. Designer Jean Jullien created the image in 2014 in response to the murder of Mike Brown and the Ferguson protests. Jullien’s design had been poached by fast fashion, the name given to this industry that employs exploitative practices to rapidly and cheaply produce clothes and accessories. This season’s hottest trend is giving credit where credit is due. So, join us as we explore the surprising history behind your favorite contemporary trends, discover how small designers are holding fast fashion accountable and highlight the inspiring movement to un-whitewash sustainable fashion.

Billionaires have been feeling generous during the pandemic, donating billions of dollars to charities in America and beyond, and the likes of Elon Musk — ​​the second richest man in the world — swearing by frugal living. But with the size of their bank accounts growing almost as fast as the number of poor people in the world, the big question is: Can big money ever really be ethical? As it turns out, the answer is not as simple as a straight no. Tune in today’s Daily Dose to find out why.

Think science and art are two divergent disciplines? Not necessarily. There are plenty of polymaths in the world who have taken to combining the two, from Leonardo da Vinci and his 15th-century “ornithopters,” to contemporary Korean American “bacteria” artist Anicka Yi. In our brave new COVID-19 world, both science and art can offer us comfort — the former through the solutions and medical treatments it provides, the latter as a kind of emotional balm, a way of helping us understand the tumult all around. Graffiti artist Banksy famously painted a poignant illustration of a nurse in a superhero cape at an English hospital during lockdown in that country in spring 2020. The mysterious painter isn’t alone: Many artists across the world have taken inspiration from the pandemic. In today’s Daily Dose, you’ll meet the people who are as adept in the art of science as they are in the science of art.

As the Paralympic Games draw to a close this weekend following a summer of spectacle from Tokyo, we profile the young Japanese athletes taking the world by storm on sports’ biggest stages.

Disruption is the story of our time. Millions killed across the globe by a novel virus in under 18 months. Our home and working lives upended. The world shaken beyond imagination. So disruption — through the prism of companies fueling pathbreaking change — is the theme we’re running with in today’s Daily Dose. Firebrand organizations are embarking on ambitious new initiatives to change our lives as we know it, for the better. From food scientists in Silicon Valley to Indian startups leveraging the power of 3,000-year-old science to Berlin coders bringing Greek mythical figures to life, read on for key insights into the disruptor companies upending how we see and experience the world.