Society Explainer
Wichita State ends its philosophy major: what the Regents’ test counts
A two-year Regents process ended in a closure. Wilhelm von Humboldt’s idea of the university shows what a head count cannot measure.
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Explainer
Philosophy Explainer
UCT weighs expelling Oppenheimer: what Mill’s harm principle says
A retired judge found a University of Cape Town council member breached the council’s code and recommended expulsion. What the report says, what the council has not yet decided, and where Mill’s harm principle helps and stops.
Economy Explainer
Is India becoming a capital exporter? What the RBI's 4.2 ratio shows
The Reserve Bank says Indian outward investment is closing on inward investment, but inward stock is still about four times larger. What the ratio measures, what it hides, and where Adam Smith's home preference helps and where it breaks.
World Explainer
Climate finance before COP31: $300bn pledge repeats the $100bn design
Rich countries promised $100bn a year by 2020 and reported meeting it in 2022, partly, a think tank says, by relabelling aid. Ahead of the COP31 leaders' summit in Antalya, Hardin's commons problem and Ostrom's answer to it suggest the $300bn goal has the same weak point.
World Explainer
How Novaya Gazeta is being closed without a ban
Novaya Gazeta was due to shut its servers on 9 November after a lease was ended and, its editor says, banks fell into line. Milton fought licensing in Areopagitica. His argument fits the method, not the legal form.
Technology Explainer
Section 79 safe harbour: should India curb platform immunity?
The IT ministry is reported to be weighing curbs on platform immunity. The idea is early, unconfirmed and needs Parliament. Mill explains the argument but does not settle it.
Philosophy Explainer
Should a theory of justice have a list? Nussbaum vs Sen
Martha Nussbaum names ten central capabilities; Sen refuses a pre-determined list. The dispute is about paternalism; the Library of Congress named her the 2026 Kluge Prize recipient on 22 September 2026.
Society Explainer
What is the Supreme Court being asked in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy?
Two Catholic preschools want into Colorado's state-funded programme without accepting its nondiscrimination rules. The Court heard argument on 3 November 2026 and has not decided. What it must answer is narrower than the debate around it, and Locke explains only part of it.
History Explainer
What did the Inca capacocha mummies' hair show about drugs?
Cocaine turned up in the hair of six Inca children sacrificed on Andean volcanoes. Calm and endurance is the authors' inference, and hair testing cannot show doses, single events or consent.
Economy Explainer
Asia's chip rout ran deeper than Wall Street's: narrow indices
The Kospi and Nikkei fell about 6% on 6 November, against 4.4% for the S&P 500 a day earlier. The Taiex lost 12.2% in the week. Index concentration is our explanation for the scale.
World Explainer
Who governs South Africa's councils now that most are hung?
After the 4 November 2026 election, 139 of 213 councils have no single-party majority. Arend Lijphart's work on democratic design helps explain why the rules matter as much as the result.
Society Explainer
Why are US measles cases at their highest since 1991?
The United States has logged 5,182 measles cases this year, more than double 2025. The number tells us less about one virus than about a community rate that no single family sets, and the ethics fight over exemptions turns on that point.
Society Explainer
Does Mexico's school phone rule work? What Mill and the evidence say
Since 3 November 2026, personal phones are kept out of Mexican basic-education schools for the whole school day unless a teacher has planned their use. The rule sets no specific sanctions, and the evidence that such rules help is thin.
Economy Explainer
What is happening to the Cuban peso, and why does it matter?
The informal dollar rate in Cuba has reached about 900 pesos, and the state now lets businesses take dollars. We weigh the embargo case against the money policy, and what it means for ordinary Cubans.