1. Bitcoin: 'A weapon for us to fight oppression: Senegalese app developer Fodé Diop sees bitcoin as a way to end "monetary colonialism" in the developing world. When France ratified the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1945, it gained control over the currencies of 14 African nations, including Senegal. Through bitcoin and ubiquitous smartphones, Diop thinks it's possible to build a new free-market monetary system that will finally liberate Senegal and other African countries from the last vestiges of colonialism.
2. The rise and fall of the pedestrian mall: Car-free shopping streets swept many US cities in the 1960s and '70s, but few examples survived. Predecessors inspired the trend in European cities, but unlike in Germany and Denmark, the American-style versions sought to revitalize downtowns. The idea was to leverage the popularity of the suburban shopping mall by mimicking its layout and design.
3. Geoengineering: Quick way to avert a climate catastrophe? Gernot Wagner is a climate economist at New York University. He points out that there are two ways to slow climate change. 1) Reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is compelling but expensive and slow, or 2) solar geoengineering, which is fast, cheap, but imperfect. Even if the economics of solar geoengineering doesn't make it a certainty, the politics of decarbonization make it look likely. It is a case of "when not if," the questions Wagner raises are going to be asked ever more urgently.
4. James Beard Awards: Chefs need to show social-justice commitment: For the first time, winning James Beard Awards, long known as the top honors in the restaurant and food media world, won't just depend on someone's skull with a whisk or with words. The WP reports that the organization that doles out the prestigious annual awards has retooled its criteria. Now, it will also base decisions on whether candidates have shown a "demonstrated commitment to racial and gender equity, community, environmental sustainability, and a culture where all can thrive."
5. FIFA versus UEFA: A proposed FIFA plan to hold a biennial World Cup is part of a struggle over whether the big clubs or national teams will be pre-eminent. Reports suggest there is strong support in Africa and Asia for a World Cup every two years, where many countries want more chances to participate in the showpiece tournament. Europe and South America, where opposition is strongest. The 2018 World Cup final between France and Croatia had a global audience of 1.1 billion. The tournament held in Russia generated an estimated $6 billion in revenues from broadcasting, sponsorship, and ticketing.
