OZY Daily Dose

Hollywood might be America’s greatest soft power export, but when it comes to the depiction of Latin America and its culture, the mega film industry has largely served to harden shallow stereotypes about a diverse region and its people. Which is why, to truly get Latino culture, you need to tune out of popular — and often sadly inaccurate — American tropes and tune in to today’s Daily Dose. Indigenous rappers, quinoa sushi and cannabis-infused teas are transforming Latin America’s cultural and gastronomic landscape even as brave activists work to preserve the region’s astonishing natural beauty. Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by diving deeper than salsa rhythms, Caribbean beaches and pisco sour for a sensorial journey to a stunning part of the world that’s in flux.

Sleep, exercise, therapy and antidepressants are some of the top remedies prescribed to assist the 1 in 4 Americans who struggle with mental health issues. But while these are all critical and effective tools, are they enough? After all, suicide is among the leading causes of death in the U.S., especially among the younger population. Perhaps it’s time we tried something different.

Like superheroes, supervillains also love their toys . . . because even those bent on sowing mayhem have preferences Criminals choose these items for their utility, symbolism or, believe it or not, even as product placement.

College sports are back. Take it from fans of the Virginia Tech Hokies. On Sept. 3, close to 70,000 of them screamed out the team’s entrance song, “Enter Sandman” by Metallica, at the 2021-22 season opener against the UNC Tar Heels. The Virginia Tech crowd was so amped up that their rendition of the rock classic registered as a seismographic activity for Blackburn, Virginia. But there are other tremors reshaping college sports. How will the U.S. Supreme Court’s summer ruling allowing student-athletes to make money from sponsorships play out on campuses? From colleges rethinking the role of sports to game-changing legal cases, this Daily Dose gives you a courtside view of the shifts that could fundamentally alter the relationship between the NCAA, school campuses and athletes.

Soon after our reporter Sohini Das Gupta turned 8, she stopped eating fish. In her Bengali household — a famously fish-eating lot — it was quite the scandal. Sighs were sighed and investigations launched, as her parents tried to figure out what could have gone wrong. Then, at the pinnacle of her fish resistance, her grandmother cooked doi maach: tender pieces of freshwater fish, soused in a yogurt-based gravy of robust east Indian spices. I polished off every last bit. If anyone could achieve the dubious union of fish, curd and an unlikely surprise ingredient she’s not at liberty to disclose right away, it had to be her thammi (Bengali for grandma). This quality extends to grandmothers everywhere: Bustling Italian nonnas or plate-piling Somali bibis, they possess the superpower of turning humble ingredients into morsels most magical. Join us today for classic food stories from kitchens made redolent by grandmothers, from America to Japan with delicious pit stops in between. Pstt: We even managed to source some pantry tricks from grandmas of our own OZY tribe! From Sohini Das Gupta

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.

When I first became a correspondent in Washington, D.C., it took me weeks just to find the Capitol Hill bathrooms. The learning curve hasn’t been so steep for a set of fresh-faced Washington politicos. Among them are a former nurse-turned-pastor behind the extension of the eviction moratorium, a sexagenarian leading the conservative response to crypto regulation and the Cuban-born face of a Biden administration shipping Cuban refugees back to sea. Meet the most diverse class in congressional history that’s already wielding outsized influence just eight months into office.

American biologist E. O. Wilson once said: “If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed 10,000 years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.” As the global climate continues to warm due to human actions, Wilson’s words are proving prescient. But the impact of climate change on insects is wide ranging. In some instances, warmer temperatures have decimated populations of creepy-crawlies. But that’s not the whole story. Today’s Daily Dose shows you how, when it comes to insects and the warming of the planet, there will be both winners and losers — only, the victors often appear to be the bugs we’d rather be rid of.

Marking National Grief Awareness Day, today’s Daily Dose looks at how to grieve when we can’t congregate, the importance of closure and what we can learn from cultures around the world when it comes to saying goodbye.

Putting aside the medical world, has any aspect of life been as dramatically affected by the pandemic as schooling? Now, after 18 months of hybrid teaching, endless hand-washing and mind-numbing headaches for parent and teacher alike, classrooms are beginning to reopen en masse across America. But as they do, starting this week, the dynamics around what that ought to look like are shifting. Again. Some districts are mandating masks for children riding the school bus, but not in class. In parts of the country, Republican-dominated state legislatures are threatening to withhold pay for school administrators who insist that students mask up. Anger is mounting on many sides as political ideologies, poor planning, and new policies pit parents against schools and local authorities. Read on for our deep dive into the state of play — plus the creative solutions these unique times are forcing upon all involved.

Researcher Dave Shealy claims to have seen the ever-elusive Florida legend, Skunk Ape, in 1974. He founded the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters/tourist trap to capitalize on the lore of Florida’s giant, hairy man-beast. But don’t get it twisted; those who believe in skunk apes say the creatures have four toes, not five like the Pacific Northwest’s Sasquatch. The skunk ape also, apparently, prefers hanging out in trees to lumbering around on the ground. Welcome to Florida, where a skunk ape sighting is just one of a host of crazy events that defined life in the Sunshine State during the 1970s. Disney World opened in 1971. Drug trafficking soared as cocaine dominated the hedonistic Miami party scene. Ted Bundy was finally apprehended in Pensacola in 1978 after escaping prison in Colorado. Join us for a dive into the best stories illustrating the mayhem that was Florida during this turbulent time.