One of cricket's fiercest rivalries comes to the US

+ textbook case of demagoguery US Edition - Today's top story: Why India and Pakistan's T20 cricket showdown in New York is such a big deal [View in browser]( US Edition | 8 June 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( On Thursday, the U.S. national cricket team pulled off a shocking upset by defeating Pakistan at the T20 World Cup. The success of Team USA couldn’t have come at a better time for American promoters of the game. The biennial tournament, which features national teams playing a shorter version of cricket, is being held in the U.S. and the West Indies for the first time. Pakistan, meanwhile, has had only a couple of days to regroup before its big match tomorrow against its longtime rival, India. For cricket fans among North America’s South Asian diaspora, it’s the sporting event of the year, and ticket prices have been going for as high as $50,000. A group of scholars of culture, communication and sports [explore the roots of this historic rivalry](, which transcend the pitch and tell a story of colonization, religion and politics. This week we also liked articles about how [Alaska’s Yakutat people]( are coping with seal scarcity, [partisanship in school board elections](, and what to look for in [prenatal supplements](. [ [The latest on philanthropy and nonprofits. Sign up for our weekly newsletter, Giving Today.](] Nick Lehr Arts + Culture Editor Virat Kohli of India celebrates after the final run is scored during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup match between India and Pakistan in October 2022. Darrian Traynor/ICC via Getty Images [Why India and Pakistan’s T20 cricket showdown in New York is such a big deal]( Umer Hussain, Wilkes University; M. Fahad Humayun, University of Evansville; Simran Kaur Sethi, University of Oklahoma; Steve Bien-Aime, University of Kansas Tickets are going for as high as $40,000 on the secondary market. Ancestral seal hunting happened at the edge of the Sít Tlein (Hubbard) glacier. Emily Kearney-Williams © Smithsonian Institution [Scientists and Indigenous leaders team up to conserve seals and an ancestral way of life at Yakutat, Alaska]( Aron L. Crowell, Smithsonian Institution; Judith Dax̱ootsú Ramos, University of Alaska Southeast Collaborative research by archaeologists, environmental scientists and tribal elders combines science and Indigenous knowledge to tell the story of centuries of life at a glacier’s edge. Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower in New York on May 30, 2024, after being found guilty on 34 felony counts. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images [Trump’s rhetoric after his felony conviction is designed to distract, stoke fear and ease the way for an anti-democratic strongman]( Karrin Vasby Anderson, Colorado State University Donald Trump’s reaction to his conviction provides a textbook case of demagoguery – which erodes democratic institutions and can prime an audience for violence. His followers went right along. - [School boards, long locally focused and nonpartisan, get dragged into the national political culture wars]( Kathleen Knight Abowitz, Miami University A tradition of nonpartisanship on locally elected school boards is changing, following a national shift toward divisive political partisanship. - [Prenatal supplements fall woefully short in providing crucial nutrition during pregnancy – and most women don’t even know it]( Mary Scourboutakos, Eastern Virginia Medical School Many prenatal supplements don’t have enough folate, choline and omega-3 fatty acids. - [Scientists call the region of space influenced by the Sun the heliosphere – but without an interstellar probe, they don’t know much about its shape]( Sarah A. Spitzer, University of Michigan An interstellar probe could help scientists answer fundamental questions about how the Sun influences Earth, space and other planets in the solar system. - [Why the future of democracy could depend on your group chats]( - [Colorado to tighten regulations on funeral homes after multiple scandals − here’s what this means for families]( - [What the statue of a kneeling enslaved man in the Emancipation Memorial of 1876 tells us about its history − an art historian explains]( - [Summer reading: 5 young-adult fiction novels that explore LGBTQ+ teen lives]( - [Sargassum is choking the Caribbean’s white sand beaches, fueling an economic and public health crisis]( - [Pregnancy is an engineering challenge − diagnosing and treating preterm birth requires understanding its mechanics]( The Conversation News Quiz 🧠- [The Conversation U.S. weekly news quiz]( Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation Here’s the first question of [this week’s edition:]( This iconic image turns 40 years old this week. Whose backside are we looking back at? [Man wearing sleeveless white t-shirt tucked into blue jeans, viewed from behind.] - A. Rocker Bruce Springsteen - B. Country star Ricky Skaggs - C. President Ronald Reagan - D. The cowboy from The Village People [Test your knowledge]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? You might be interested in our weekly and biweekly emails: • [Weekly Highlights]( • [Science Editors' Picks]( • [Giving Today]( [New!] • [This Week in Religion]( • [Politics Weekly]( • [Global Perspectives]( • [Global Economy & Business]( Follow us on social media: • [Bluesky]( • [Mastodon]( • [Threads]( • [Nostr]( • [LinkedIn]( • [Instagram]( • [Facebook]( • Or [get a daily text from us]( - - About The Conversation We're a nonprofit news organization dedicated to bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to [help you make sense of our complex world](. We can give away our articles thanks to the help of foundations, universities and readers like you. 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