Preeti Aroon: “The New Population Bomb: The Four Megatrends That Will Change the World,” by Jack A. Goldstone in Foreign Affairs. In the coming years, it’s not the total world population that will matter so much, but its distribution and composition, as in: 1) a drop in the developed world’s population relative to the developing world’s, the aging populations in developed countries, the increase in undereducated, unemployed youth in developing (and in particular, Muslim) countries, and the booming of overcrowded megacities in the developing world.
Elizabeth Dickinson: Jeune Afrique released its list of the top 100 players of the year for African news late last week. The tally includes both familiar faces and new up-and-coming newsmakers. Presidents of South Africa, Senegal, Angola, and Cameroon make the list, as well as the next top bankers (like Yves Michel Fotso), communications entrepreneurs (take Marouane Mabrouk), and writers (Senegal’s Boubacar Boris Diop scores high).
Joshua Keating: "Obsessed with the Internet" by Christopher S. Stewart in Wired. Stewart uses the tragic death of a teenager at an internet addiction camp to look at how the supposed dangers of online gaming have become a national obsession in China, leading to the emergence of a small industry of poorly-regulated rehab facilities that use methods like forced marches, sedation, and electroshock therapy to cure young web addicts.
Britt Peterson: Again, my entry this week is more aspirational than actual. I’m obsessed with the LRB personals, which I follow on Twitter while cackling outlandishly (random example from today: “‘Shame’ and ‘terror’. The words that most adequately sum up my sexual performances. If yours are ‘banter’ and ‘pot-roast’, write. F, 36.”). And there’s a new collection out next week, Sexually, I’m More of a Switzerland , to follow up on their earlier collection, They Call Me Naughty Lola. I’m also working my way through VQR’s North Africa issue , including this gorgeous and painful story from Nigerian writer Helon Habila (subscription req.).
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