Mathematicians Reveal Why Humans Keep Becoming Cannibals ScienceAlert (Chuck L)

The Secret Lives of Insects JSTOR (Micael T)

The myth of medieval childhood Works in Progress (Micael T)

Up Close and Personal: How Music Was Heard in the 18th Century Art of Listening (Micael T)

The number of words we speak daily seems to be dropping by more than 300 each year. Some researchers blame the internet; others blame the erosion of small, everyday interactions with strangers. https://t.co/j6OWM14q8k

— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) July 23, 2026

On sampling bias Chris Dillow (Micael T)

The Decline in the Transmission of Scientific Ideas NBER (resilc)

The Science of Using Drugs and Not Dying Playboy (resilc)

Where You Carry Your Body Fat Is Directly Linked to Brain Aging in First-of-Its-Kind Study ScienceAlert (Chuck L)

Climate/Environment

Earth is heating up faster than at any time in its history New Scientist

Super El Niño Forecast Pushes Toward Record Strength as Winter 2026/2027 Signals Emerge Severe Weather Europe

El Niño Worsens Plight of Asia’s Rice Belt After War Price Shock Bloomberg

Trump ally floats Republican pitch for sun-blocking technologies EENews

China?

From the weekend, still germane:

🇨🇳🇪🇺 EU imposed sanctions on 14 Chinese & Hong Kong firms over the trade with 🇷🇺Russia 👉 in response, China blacklisted 14 EU companies & institutions

‼️ the answer came within 24 hours — TOTAL BAN on exporting Chinese-origin dual-use goods, tech & rare earth materials

The ban… pic.twitter.com/fWDac7UDHv

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) July 26, 2026

China takes satellite race with SpaceX to sea Asia Times (Kevin W)

China fights back in AI spat with claim US AI companies distil Chinese models The Register

A new note for CGD: Beyond Belt and Road: Responding to the Evolution of China’s Financing for Infrastructure.

China has pretty much given up on finance for publicly owned infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/h6iHyejsxM

— Charles Kenny (@charlesjkenny) July 27, 2026

Oman is cozying up to China as US throws Mideast into disarray Responsible Statecraft (resilc)

Japan

Can Japan avoid a Liz Truss-style shock as its PM embarks on a giant spending spree? Guardian

Japan advances Pacific rare earth push after deep-sea discovery BNE

Koreas

Rival Koreas race to build nuclear-powered submarines Financial Times

India

‘This is just the start’: India’s Gen Z protesters force out a minister, but what next? BBC

India’s Cockroach movement threatens to restart protests after mass student arrests Guardian (resilc)

Africa

Sudan civil war: Civilians used as ‘human shields’ DW

Niger coup promises fade as insecurity, hardship persist amid political stagnation Eastleigh Voice

Why Mali’s northern conflict has entered a dangerous new phase Aljazeera

South of the Border

‘We count every litre’: how Cuba’s energy crisis sparked a daily struggle for water Guardian

European Disunion

Freedom of speech dying a slow death in Europe Forvm Geopolitica (Micael T)

France, Germany seek grand bargain on cars and ‘Made in Europe’ Politico

France and Spain brace for more extreme heat as wildfires rage Financial Times. Lead story.

‘A warzone’: Aerial images reveal devastation of massive Bordeaux wildfire as officials claim it could still be burning in November Daily Mail. Lead story.

‘Without us, they are doomed’: volunteers save fish from French rivers drying up in heatwaves Guardian

French firefighters face ‘pyrocumulonimbus’ for first time France24 (Rolf A)

70% of Germans don’t believe army can protect the country – YouGov poll RT (Robin K)

Old Blighty

The UK’s Grid Is Wilting in the Heat Wave Bloomberg

“We might as well not bother growing things and leave the farms empty.” BBC

Burnham to tell schools in England to adapt teaching to local business needs Guardian (Kevin W). God forbid that schools produce students capable of independent thought.

Israel v. The Resistance

A dog saved Houssein Hamze from a bomb. When war returned, he stayed to care for Lebanon’s animals Guardian (resilc)

Human Rights Watch doesn't have a single Palestine researcher (out of 500 people!) because the entire "Israel/Palestine" team quit in disgust, due to censorship of their reports. https://t.co/bmj234Di8Q

— Zo Brown (@receipts_lol) July 25, 2026

With a voice filled with anguish, this Palestinian describes how the Israeli army bombed his bookstore for the third consecutive time in Gaza City. pic.twitter.com/3lyPoMrpSA

— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) July 26, 2026

Israeli crackdown in occupied West Bank intensifies, settlers cause mayhem Aljazeera

Is the Department of War Covering Up the True Extent of US Casualties? Larry Johnson

In 1978, as Iran trembled on the edge of revolution, Michel Foucault arrived not as a tourist or diplomat but as a theorist in search of confirmation. The French philosopher—celebrated for his analyses of power, discourse, and the hidden machinery of Western institutions—traveled… pic.twitter.com/DnQByZ4KQ1

— Archaeo – Histories (@archeohistories) July 26, 2026

Syraqistan

Iraq Faces Deepening Financial Crisis as Lawmaker Warns Government May Borrow to Pay Salaries BasNews

Thousands march in Pakistan-administered Kashmir amid election unrest Aljazeera

Kuwait Ratifies Landmark Defense Agreement With Pakistan Sputnik (Kevin W)

New Not-So-Cold War

Establishment Gloats Over Ukraine’s Pivot to Civilian Targets, as Putin’s Rhetoric Heats Up Simplicius

July war deepdive Events in Ukraine

Türkiye is preparing to threaten Russia from the Northwest Vzglayd via machine translation (Micael T). Whoa!

Russia and Ukraine trade attacks, killing 10, including child in Chernihiv Aljazeera

EU Allows Sale of Seized Russian Oil Without Compensation

The European Union has approved a mechanism that allows the sale of seized Russian oil without requiring mandatory compensation payments to its former owners. The corresponding decision was published in the Official… pic.twitter.com/5zFUfbQO5l

— 𝕊𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕻𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤 (@SprinterPress) July 27, 2026

Russia says its ban on gasoline exports will be extended to end of 2026 Anadolu Agency

Some of Putin’s Words to the Duma Karl Sanchez

North Korea sending 30,000 troops to Russia is a ‘win-win’: analysts South China Morning Post. Note that Alexander Mercouris is not convinced that this is happening but is instead scare-mongering by Zelensky. But he concedes this would be a plus for North Korea and not bad for Russia.

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

A Whole Bunch of People’s Claude Chats Are Publicly Accessible Online, and There’s Some Wildly Private Stuff in There Futurism

Imperial Collapse Watch

Asia DESTROYES US Pacific Hegemony. End of Alliances | Prof. Jomo Kwame Sundaram Neutrality Studies, YouTube (Robin K). An excellent talk on international movements, the questionable prospects for BRICS, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the impact of the Iran war.

Everyone's seen the old Harvard entrance exam, but how would you do at the 1878 exam to join the British Indian Civil Service? pic.twitter.com/0Obl3wiGds

— Pieter Garicano (@pietergaricano) July 24, 2026

Ron Paul on The Silver Lining In Trump’s Iran Debacle Antiwar.com (resilc)

Narratives of Moral Conflict: Karim Khan and Delcy Rodriguez Craig Murray (Lucy K)

US walks out on France at UN meeting to protest ally’s criticism of America’s human rights record Associated Press (Kevin W)

U.S. Patriot Missiles Are Already Failing Badly: New Cheaper PAC-3 ACE Variant May Be Near Useless Military Watch

Trump 2.0

GOP senators warn confidence in Hegseth eroding as Iran war drags on The Hill

Trump Administration Demands Hospitals Share Emergency Room Records KFF Health News (Kevin W)

Trump’s data center boosterism is a gift to Democrats MS Now

Saudi Arabia stares down Trump whiplash on nuclear deal The Hill. BWAHAHA

Trump’s selling Wall Street early access to his Truth Social posts is ethically repugnant, but might be legal Mike Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times

What do voters in each congressional district think about Trump? Immigration? The midterms? G. Elliott Morris

Immigration

White House wants veterans to replace truckers who lose licenses in crackdown Associated Press (Robin K)

Tariffs

Trump’s tariff addiction Wolfgang Munchau, Unherd

Our No Longer Free Press

'The worst media scandal in my lifetime'. Adam Elmahrek was a reporter at the LA Times.
After refusing to believe the story about the 40 beheaded babies and refusing to accept other stories without vetting he received death threats. He was also criticized in the newsroom for…… pic.twitter.com/oVB5xj63Rt

— William Peynsaert (@PeynsaertBill) July 27, 2026

Economy

Japan and China’s roles decline, who is funding America’s deficit now? IDN

Japan Backs Overseas Oil Pipelines to Reduce Hormuz Dependence OilPrice. resilc: “Worthless with drones and missiles now.”

U.S. Jet Fuel Costs Soar as Iran War Hits Airlines Again OilPrice

Everything you think you know about Economics is wrong Steve Keen (Chuck L)

Mr. Market Should Be More Worried

JUST IN 🚨: South Korean Stocks plunge nearly 11%, their third biggest loss in history 📉 📉 pic.twitter.com/QIZWlRMSjO

— Barchart (@Barchart) July 28, 2026

Why is the #KOSPI crashing, and why is it dragging the Nasdaq and silver lower?

The KOSPI is down more than 8%, but South Korea itself isn’t the root cause. The selloff is centered on the global AI semiconductor sector.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which together make up a… pic.twitter.com/acHOTr0ToT

— TheApeOfGoldStreet (@TheApeOfGoldST) July 28, 2026

Nasdaq futures slide as chip sell-off continues, but strong earnings bolster rest of market: Live updates CNBC

Big Tech Debt Flood Is Taking Over Risk In Market: Credit Weekly Bloomberg

The US bond market hasn’t been this calm since the dot-com bust and the financial crisis. History warns of a rude awakening MarketWatch

NYSE margin debt jumps to historic levels SeekingAlpha

AI

I saw a post on Reddit that said that “The underlying purpose of AI is to allow wealth to access skill while removing from the skilled the ability to access wealth.” And I don’t think I’ve ever seen AI described so incisively.

— ‏ً (@omgsidewalks) July 26, 2026

Would I be too cynical in thinking that the whole thing might fall apart if Nvidia wasn’t subsidizing? 🤔 https://t.co/GkkbkFDiWw

— Gary Marcus (@GaryMarcus) July 27, 2026

The AI Bubble Is Bigger Than Ever And The Cracks Are Starting To Show Seeking Alpha

Circular financing ain’t what it used to be Gary Marcus

OpenAI’s ads are failing and it can’t survive without them | Ed Zitron Tech Report, YouTube

AI companies spend record sums on Washington lobbying Financial Times. Quelle surprise!

Prove You’re Human: AI, Chinese Illustrators, and Becoming Tokenizable ChinaTalk

Class Warfare

The Global South is being forced to choose creditors over children Aljazeera

Taxpayers spend about $2 billion annually on Medicaid for Amazon and Walmart employees Popular Information

Are You a Jerk or a Sucker? New York Times. On the American Dream.

America’s Big Cities Are Rapidly Losing Kids Wall Street Journal

‘Ice cold’: A Cleveland family’s heat-wave hustle Signal (Carla R)

Antidote du jour (via):

And a bonus (Robin K):

Just chilling..🦆🐾😍 pic.twitter.com/9cFCDHa4yb

— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) July 25, 2026

A second bonus (Robin K):

洪水の中、電柱に逃げたアライグマの親子を救出！ pic.twitter.com/j0KXRJY60c

— 猫報道 (@5chmatme) July 26, 2026

And a third:

Bull sees a show-jumping horse and decides he can do it too pic.twitter.com/7SWUdVrtG0

— Nature Unedited (@NatureUnedited) July 26, 2026

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.