A much-loved Italian city has declared a ‘red zone’ to deal with surging levels of crime. The Provincial Committee for Public Order and Safety (Cosp) announced there was to be a ‘red zone’ established in Pisa, in an area adjacent to the railway station of the city. Authorities in Pisa specified that the city’s airport…
A much-loved Italian city has declared a ‘red zone’ to deal with surging levels of crime. The Provincial Committee for Public Order and Safety (Cosp) announced there was to be a ‘red zone’ established in Pisa, in an area adjacent to the railway station of the city. Authorities in Pisa specified that the city’s airport…
Black Warrant, a new gripping Netflix release, details the story of lives in India’s Tihar Jail, which holds some of the country’s most notorious criminals. The crime drama set in the 1980s traces themes of systemic oppression, political corruption, and the struggle for justice, offering a raw and unflinching look at the harsh realities of India’s penal system. Directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, the show stars Joy Sengupta, Shivam Rathore, and Zahan Kapoor in lead roles.
AdvertismentBlack Warrant is inspired by an eponymous book authored in 2019 by former Tihar Jail superintendent Sunil Gupta and journalist Sunetra Choudhury. Choudhury has also written Behind Bars: Prison Tales of India’s Most Famous, about the lives of India’s ‘VIP inmates’ — the rich and powerful criminals.
Who Is Sunetra Choudhury?
Sunetra Choudhury is an acclaimed journalist who is currently the National Political Editor at Hindustan Times. Born in Shillong, she pursued her education at reputed institutions like the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi; Cardiff University/ Prifysgol Caerdydd, UK; East-West Center; and the University of Chicago.
According to Choudhury’s LinkedIn profile, she started her career at Indian Express in 1999 and became the Deputy Chief Reporter at the young age of 24. In 2000, the publication sent her for Japan’s Foreign Press Centre Fellowship. After working there for three years, she worked at NDTV for over 15 years, before joining Hindustan Times in 2019.
In 2010, Choudhury authored a book called Braking News, about the electoral climate of India ahead of the 2009 elections. She travelled everywhere from bustling cities to remote villages, to capture voters’ insights on Indian politics. She describes it as a ‘Part travelogue, part election special, part candid confessions of an inveterate TV cameratime junkie.’
AdvertismentIn 2015, Choudhury received the Red Ink Award for her story on how disabled children were being adopted by Indian families for the very first time. In 2017, she authored Behind Bars: Prison Tales of India’s Most Famous (2017), published by Roli Books. Two years later, she wrote Black Warrant: Confessions of a Tihar Jailer with Sunil Gupta.
Choudhury earned the Mary Morgan Hewett Award from Friends of East-West Center in 2018. She is known for her expansive reporting career, spanning diverse topics including politics, crime, investigative stories, and natural disasters. Her ability to provide insightful analysis and compelling narratives has earned her a reputation as a trusted voice in journalism.
This is part of Hello, Trumpworld, Slate’s reluctant guide to the people who will be calling the shots now—at least for as long as they last in Washington.
One of the most significant and consequential differences between Donald Trump’s first term and his reelection concerned his relationship with Silicon Valley’s top moneymakers. While Trump had a few such folks on hand in 2016 (e.g., Peter Thiel, Palmer Luckey, Balaji Srinivasan), he had difficulty earning other industry leaders’ consistent support. It didn’t help that the president weaponized his administration’s powers against companies he didn’t like, such as Amazon and Facebook, and publicly disparaged cryptocurrencies as being “based on thin air.” After the Capitol insurrection, even his staunchest tech-world supporters seemed more inclined to place their hopes in Ron DeSantis, who’d hoped to turn his “anti-woke” Florida into a refuge from California liberalism.
But things changed. The Biden administration began trust-busting Big Tech, prosecuting crypto crimes, and hiking interest rates, while DeSantis proved to be a real meatball. Rich techies like Elon Musk grew more resentful in the COVID era as offices shut down, employees protested on behalf of feminist and social justice causes, and global economic weirdness disrupted the move-fast-and-break-things business ethos, which had been better suited for the postrecession, zero-interest-rate period. (And then there are those who just want to say demeaning things without fear of social pushback.) Most tech guys may have previously voted for Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden, but now Donald Trump didn’t seem so bad after all—at least, not for their pocketbooks.
This disaffected executive class, including many of Thiel’s fellow VCs and “PayPal Mafia” alumni, began to influence Trump’s campaign. They fundraised for the candidate and persuaded him to do things like change his mind on crypto, pick Thiel mentee J.D. Vance as his running mate, and give their own weirdo-libertarian political theories around government shrinkage and tech accelerationism a bit more consideration. The effort began paying off right after Trump won, with Crypto.com’s Kris Marszalek and Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse—whose company is represented by a lobbying firm that once employed two incoming Trump administration appointees—meeting with the president-elect to pitch him on their ideas. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, one of this election cycle’s most potent fundraisers, will be joining a presidential dinner during the inauguration. As Trump recently put it: “EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE MY FRIEND!!!”
Undoubtedly, the right wing of the tech world has already gained more political influence than it ever had before. Musk and former biotech executive Vivek Ramaswamy are heading up a “department” named after a memecoin, and some of Musk’s pals, like frequent Mar-a-Lago guest Marc Andreessen and disgraced ex–Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, are helping recruit for the effort, urging friends and CEOs to advise their efforts for free. Meanwhile, the president-elect runs his own crypto fund and has announced an official White House crypto council, to be headed up by PayPal Mafioso David Sacks and failed congressional candidate Bo Hines. Bitcoin maximalist Kevin O’Leary is also advising Trump on the whole “annexing Canada” thing.
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Trump has already been more than happy to give all these guys what they want when it comes to both his formal and informal staff. His picks to head the treasury (Scott Bessent), the Commerce Department (Howard Lutnick), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (Paul Atkins) have already been praised by this very brain trust as champions of crypto. Bessent endorsed Trump’s idea of a strategic bitcoin reserve, and industry lobbyist Atkins has promised to lay off the lawsuits and regulations. Lutnick, meanwhile, manages a fund that holds most of the shares for the crypto industry’s most essential (and sketchiest) dollar-backed asset, the stablecoin Tether.
It’s also striking how many of Trump’s appointees have either direct or secondary connections with Peter Thiel, the antidemocratic neoreactionary who recently penned a Financial Times op-ed parroting conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and comparing other nations’ social media regulations to “Orwellian dictatorships.” There’s David Sacks as “White House A.I. and Crypto czar,” former Thiel business partner Michael Kratsios as Office of Science and Technology Policy director, ex–Thiel Foundation Director Jim O’Neill at Health and Human Services, and PayPal alum Ken Howery as ambassador to Denmark. (You can bet that he’ll eagerly wish to pursue Trump’s dream of annexing Greenland.)
But it’s not just patronage driving these appointments—it’s concerted ideology. These right-wing techies all share a hostility to government regulation at any level, a desire to run the White House like a startup, a vision of global American tech hegemony, and a firm conviction that what’s best for Silicon Valley’s wallets is what’s best for the world.
The most self-serving, venal, greedy, and entitled members of Silicon Valley are hoping to reshape American governance in their image, with the help of a willing and pliant Trump. The enshittification of America has begun.
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A recent global survey showcases strong public trust in scientists, emphasizing the public’s desire for scientists to engage more with societal and policy matters.
The largest global study since the COVID-19 pandemic shows scientists are trusted around the world.
An expansive international study involving over 71,000 participants across 68 countries reveals a strong public trust in scientists, with a notable desire for increased involvement in policymaking and societal issues. The survey, led by a global consortium from Harvard University, highlights significant trust levels and an overwhelming consensus on the role of scientists in public engagement, despite some regional variations in trust and expectations.
Global Trust in Science
A new international study on public trust in science, conducted across 68 countries, reveals that most people trust scientists and believe they should play a larger role in society and policymaking. The majority of survey participants expressed support for greater involvement of scientists in shaping public policies.
The research, published today (January 20) in Nature Human Behaviour, was led by TISP, a Harvard University-based consortium directed by Dr. Viktoria Cologna of Harvard University and ETH Zurich, along with Dr. Niels G. Mede from the University of Zurich. The study involved 241 researchers from 169 institutions worldwide, including the University of Bath.
With a total of 71,922 respondents — including 2,008 from the UK — this study represents the most comprehensive global analysis of public trust in scientists since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key Findings
Widespread trust: Across 68 countries, the study finds that a majority of the public has relatively high trust in scientists (mean trust level = 3.62, on a scale from 1 = very low trust to 5 = very high trust). Majorities also perceive scientists to be qualified (78%), honest (57%), and concerned about people’s well-being (56%).
Desire for scientists’ engagement: A large majority (83%) agree that scientists should communicate science with the public. Only a minority (23%) believe that scientists should not actively advocate for specific policies. 52% believe that scientists should be more involved in the policymaking process.
Global Rankings
Most Trusted: Egypt topped the list, followed by India, Nigeria, Kenya, and Australia.
Middle of the Pack: The UK ranked 15th, three spots behind the US, but ahead of Canada (17th) and Sweden (20th).
Least Trusted: At the bottom, Albania ranked 68th, followed by Kazakhstan (67th), Bolivia (66th), Russia (65th), and Ethiopia (64th).
Comprehensive Study Insights
Dr. Eleonora Alabrese, an economist from the University of Bath, collected responses for part of the UK sample. She said:
“The UK has a generally high level of trust in science, ranking above many European countries, including Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and Belgium. Trust in scientists is higher among women, older individuals, and those with more education. Interestingly, a conservative political orientation is linked to lower trust in science in North America and parts of Europe. However, this pattern does not hold globally, suggesting that the political leadership may influence such attitudes in different regions.”
Lead researcher, Dr. Viktoria Cologna from Harvard University and ETH Zurich said: “Our results show that most people in most countries have relatively high trust in scientists and want them to play an active role in society and policymaking.”
Second study lead Dr. Niels G Mede from the University of Zurich said: “The study is the most comprehensive post-pandemic snapshot of trust in scientists, societal expectations of their involvement in society and policymaking, and public views on research priorities.”
Challenges and Concerns
The findings also highlight some areas of concern. Globally, less than half of respondents (42%) believe that scientists pay attention to others’ views. The findings also show that many people, in many countries, feel that the priorities of science do not always align well with their own priorities. Participants assigned high priority to research dedicated to improving public health, solving energy problems, and reducing poverty. Research on developing defense and military technology was assigned a lower priority. In fact, participants explicitly believe that science prioritizes developing defense and military technology more than they desire.
Recommendations and Forward Actions
The consortium of academics recommends that scientists take these results seriously and find ways to be more receptive to feedback and open to dialogue with the public, consider ways in Western countries to reach conservative groups, and, in the fullness of time, consider their role in setting priorities aligned with public values.
Dr. Eleonora Alabrese said: “While trust in science remains generally high, even a small decline in trust from a minority could influence how scientific evidence is used in policymaking. These findings are crucial for scientists and policymakers working to maintain public trust in science.”
Reference: “Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries” 20 January 2025, Nature Human Behaviour.DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-02090-5
A recent global survey showcases strong public trust in scientists, emphasizing the public’s desire for scientists to engage more with societal and policy matters.
The largest global study since the COVID-19 pandemic shows scientists are trusted around the world.
An expansive international study involving over 71,000 participants across 68 countries reveals a strong public trust in scientists, with a notable desire for increased involvement in policymaking and societal issues. The survey, led by a global consortium from Harvard University, highlights significant trust levels and an overwhelming consensus on the role of scientists in public engagement, despite some regional variations in trust and expectations.
Global Trust in Science
A new international study on public trust in science, conducted across 68 countries, reveals that most people trust scientists and believe they should play a larger role in society and policymaking. The majority of survey participants expressed support for greater involvement of scientists in shaping public policies.
The research, published today (January 20) in Nature Human Behaviour, was led by TISP, a Harvard University-based consortium directed by Dr. Viktoria Cologna of Harvard University and ETH Zurich, along with Dr. Niels G. Mede from the University of Zurich. The study involved 241 researchers from 169 institutions worldwide, including the University of Bath.
With a total of 71,922 respondents — including 2,008 from the UK — this study represents the most comprehensive global analysis of public trust in scientists since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key Findings
Widespread trust: Across 68 countries, the study finds that a majority of the public has relatively high trust in scientists (mean trust level = 3.62, on a scale from 1 = very low trust to 5 = very high trust). Majorities also perceive scientists to be qualified (78%), honest (57%), and concerned about people’s well-being (56%).
Desire for scientists’ engagement: A large majority (83%) agree that scientists should communicate science with the public. Only a minority (23%) believe that scientists should not actively advocate for specific policies. 52% believe that scientists should be more involved in the policymaking process.
Global Rankings
Most Trusted: Egypt topped the list, followed by India, Nigeria, Kenya, and Australia.
Middle of the Pack: The UK ranked 15th, three spots behind the US, but ahead of Canada (17th) and Sweden (20th).
Least Trusted: At the bottom, Albania ranked 68th, followed by Kazakhstan (67th), Bolivia (66th), Russia (65th), and Ethiopia (64th).
Comprehensive Study Insights
Dr. Eleonora Alabrese, an economist from the University of Bath, collected responses for part of the UK sample. She said:
“The UK has a generally high level of trust in science, ranking above many European countries, including Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and Belgium. Trust in scientists is higher among women, older individuals, and those with more education. Interestingly, a conservative political orientation is linked to lower trust in science in North America and parts of Europe. However, this pattern does not hold globally, suggesting that the political leadership may influence such attitudes in different regions.”
Lead researcher, Dr. Viktoria Cologna from Harvard University and ETH Zurich said: “Our results show that most people in most countries have relatively high trust in scientists and want them to play an active role in society and policymaking.”
Second study lead Dr. Niels G Mede from the University of Zurich said: “The study is the most comprehensive post-pandemic snapshot of trust in scientists, societal expectations of their involvement in society and policymaking, and public views on research priorities.”
Challenges and Concerns
The findings also highlight some areas of concern. Globally, less than half of respondents (42%) believe that scientists pay attention to others’ views. The findings also show that many people, in many countries, feel that the priorities of science do not always align well with their own priorities. Participants assigned high priority to research dedicated to improving public health, solving energy problems, and reducing poverty. Research on developing defense and military technology was assigned a lower priority. In fact, participants explicitly believe that science prioritizes developing defense and military technology more than they desire.
Recommendations and Forward Actions
The consortium of academics recommends that scientists take these results seriously and find ways to be more receptive to feedback and open to dialogue with the public, consider ways in Western countries to reach conservative groups, and, in the fullness of time, consider their role in setting priorities aligned with public values.
Dr. Eleonora Alabrese said: “While trust in science remains generally high, even a small decline in trust from a minority could influence how scientific evidence is used in policymaking. These findings are crucial for scientists and policymakers working to maintain public trust in science.”
Reference: “Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries” 20 January 2025, Nature Human Behaviour.DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-02090-5
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