South Africa’s Agriculture Faces Sharp Decline
South Africa’s agricultural sector experienced a sharp 28.8% decline in performance in the third quarter of 2024, attributed to a mid-summer drought, with the extent of the decrease surprising analysts. A rapid assessment by the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) revised the year-to-date decline to 5-6%, rather than the official figure of 15.5%, and projected a 4.8% annual contraction for 2024, closer to earlier forecasts. In response the Department of Agriculture will launch a new Agricultural Conditions Assessment Committee in 2025 to improve data quality and provide regular updates on the sector’s performance.
What Causes U.S. Government Shutdowns?
Government shutdowns in the United States occur when Congress fails to pass funding legislation, leading to curtailed services, furloughed federal workers, and halted non-essential operations. First enforced in 1980 due to strict interpretations of the Antideficiency Act, shutdowns have since caused significant economic and societal disruptions, with notable examples in 1995–96, 2013, and 2018–19. Unlike many parliamentary systems where executive and legislative alignment prevents such impasses, U.S. shutdowns reflect deep political divisions, often over budget allocations or policy priorities.
Tackling Climate, Biodiversity, and Food Insecurity Together
A major IPBES report highlights the interconnectedness of climate change, biodiversity loss, and food insecurity, warning that addressing these issues in isolation leads to unintended consequences like biodiversity damage and pollution. The report urges holistic governance to tackle these crises, offering over 70 low-cost solutions, such as combating disease through ecosystem restoration rather than medication alone. It emphasizes that current decision-making prioritizes short-term financial gains, undervaluing nature’s true worth, with unsustainable practices contributing to biodiversity decline and escalating costs of delayed action.
German election 2025 Explainer
Germany’s CDU prioritizes tax cuts, welfare reform, and stricter immigration controls; SPD and Greens focus on supporting low-income households, relaxing fiscal rules, and green initiatives, while all major parties align on industrial cost reductions, NATO targets, and Ukraine aid, with Scholz advocating caution in the conflict.
Induction of Social Contagion
What is social contagion? How does friendship-nomination targeting enhance the spread of health education and behaviors in social networks?
Diversity and Social Mobility in the UK legal profession
I. Stephanie Boyce provides a current snapshot of diversity within the UK legal profession and how to drive inclusion going forward.
Olivier Blanchard on U.S. Pandemic-Era Inflation
Olivier Blanchard discusses the direct and indirect effects of product-market and labor-market shocks on prices and nominal wages. Professor Blanchard suggests most of the inflation surge that began in 2021 was the result of shocks to prices given wages, including sharp increases in commodity prices and sectoral shortages. However, the effects of overheated labor markets on nominal wage growth and inflation are more persistent than the effects of product-market shocks.
Peter Cappelli on the Future of the Office
Peter Cappelli lays out the facts in an effort to provide everyone involved with a vision of their futures.
Freedom’s Dominion
How has the American understanding of “freedom” served as a facade for racial oppression and resistance to federal authority throughout history? Explore the intricate dynamics in Jefferson Cowie’s “Freedom’s Dominion,” a compelling examination of white resistance shaping national policy and personal liberties.
Queer Lasting: Ecologies of Care for a Dying World
What queer modes of resilience and care can teach us about enduring environmental collapse
The First Black Archaeologist: A Life of John Wesley Gilbert
John W.I. Lee discusses the groundbreaking life of John Wesley Gilbert, an African American scholar who rose from slavery to become a pioneering archaeologist, educator, and advocate for interracial cooperation, contributing to archaeology in Greece and missionary work in Africa.
Blood in the Borderlands: Conflict, Kinship, and the Bent Family, 1821–1920
David C. Beyreis provides an in-depth portrait of how the Bent family creatively adapted in the face of difficult circumstances.