One city's year of compounding disasters

+ Americans like free speech but struggle with controversial topics US Edition - Today's top story: How back-to-back hurricanes set off a year of compounding disasters for one city − and alarm bells about risks in a warming world [View in browser]( US Edition | 14 August 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [Kamala – an Indian name with meaning in many faiths]( - [Jane Austen’s views on slavery – new research offers clues]( - [Teaching law by studying poetry]( Lead story Hurricane season is picking up. The latest tropical storm, Ernesto, was pounding Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands with heavy rainfall Wednesday morning and was expected to become a hurricane as it headed over warm water on a path toward Bermuda. Busy storm seasons like forecasters expect in 2024 boost the chances that some places will get hit by multiple disasters. When that happens, it significantly complicates the recovery in many ways. Tracy Kijewski-Correa, a Notre Dame University engineer who was involved in a new study on compounding disasters, writes about [the lessons from one hard-hit city]( that couldn’t catch a break and why its experience could be a harbinger of future risks in a warming world. [ [One great story every day, texted right to your phone](. ] Stacy Morford Environment + Climate Editor Recovery from a hurricane gets even harder when more storms follow, as Lake Charles, La., residents saw. Joe Raedle/Getty Images [How back-to-back hurricanes set off a year of compounding disasters for one city − and alarm bells about risks in a warming world]( Tracy Kijewski-Correa, University of Notre Dame A National Academies report finds crucial lessons for everyone’s disaster planning and recovery in a town hit hard by two hurricanes, downpours and deep freezes, all in the midst of a pandemic. International - [Ukraine’s cross-border incursion challenges Moscow’s war narrative – but will it shift Russian opinion?]( Peter Rutland, Wesleyan University The Kremlin has pushed a dual narrative: that the conflict represents an existential battle with the West, but that life goes on as normal for most Russians. - [3 years after fall of Kabul, US Congress has still not acted to secure future of more than 70,000 Afghan evacuees in US]( Kelsey Norman, Rice University; Ana Martín Gil, Rice University Attempts to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act have faltered, leaving tens of thousands of Afghans who fled chaos during the fall of Kabul in limbo. Politics + Society - [Americans love free speech, survey finds − until they realize everyone else has it, too]( John G. Geer, Vanderbilt University; Jacob Mchangama, Vanderbilt University Americans agree that democracy requires freedom of speech. But a large minority also thinks it’s acceptable to bar certain subjects or speakers from public debate. - [Offensive names dot the American street map − a new app provides a way to track them]( Derek H. Alderman, University of Tennessee; Daniel Oto-Peralías, Universidad Pablo de Olavide; Joshua F.J. Inwood, Penn State A newly released app allows users to search for discriminatory roadway names, helping communities grasp the ubiquity of inequalities embedded in everyday spaces and the harm they cause. - [Historians diving for balloons and hoping for hot dish: What Smithsonian curators will be doing at the Democratic National Convention]( Claire Jerry, Smithsonian Institution; Jon Grinspan, Smithsonian Institution; Lisa Kathleen Graddy, Smithsonian Institution Will there be Minnesota hot dish hats worn at the upcoming Democratic National Convention? Curators from the Smithsonian will be there, looking for both routine and unconventional campaign items. Education - [Philly schools are in disrepair − the municipal bond market is 1 big reason]( David I. Backer, West Chester University of Pennsylvania The district spends only 43 cents of every dollar loaned to it. - [Future lawyers learn key lessons from studying poetry in parks in this course]( Patrick Barry, University of Michigan; Steve Friess, University of Michigan Parks around campus at this university become a place for law students to produce prose and draw parallels between nature and the law. Science + Technology - [Fluid keeps your brain from crushing itself and shields your spine from shock – a neurologist explains what happens when it stops working]( Danielle Wilhour, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Cerebrospinal fluid can sometimes leak or collect in the brain without an identifiable cause, leading to symptoms that can be difficult to diagnose. Arts + Culture - [3 of Jane Austen’s 6 brothers engaged in antislavery activism − new research offers more clues about her own views]( Devoney Looser, Arizona State University The author of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and other classic novels used the words ‘slave’ and ‘slavery’ nearly a dozen times in her books. Ethics + Religion - [Kamala, a common name in India, is associated with several deities and is a symbol of wisdom]( Archana Venkatesan, University of California, Davis Kamala, a Sanskrit word for lotus, symbolizes wisdom. Its rooted in the fact that even though the flower blooms in a swamp, it remains untouched by the dirt around it. Environment + Energy - [Repeating aids believing: climate misinformation feels more true through repetition - even if you back climate science]( Yangxueqing Mary Jiang, Australian National University; Eryn Newman, Australian National University; Kate Reynolds, The University of Melbourne; Norbert Schwarz, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences If you come across the same piece of misinformation several times, it will start to feel familiar – and familiar information feels more true. Trending on site - [Could dinosaurs still exist somewhere in the world? A paleontologist explains]( - [If you want Americans to pay attention to climate change, just call it climate change]( - [Wagner Group setback in Mali challenges Moscow’s strategy in Africa and the region’s faith in Russian mercenaries]( Today's graphic 📈 [A recent nationwide survey conducted in the U.S. found that LGBTQ people are far more likely to have been stopped, searched, arrested or held in custody by the police than non-LGBTQ people over the past year, and that their interactions with police have been more negative. Unsurprisingly, LGBTQ people reported they were significantly less likely to call the police if they became victims of a crime.]( From the story, [LGBTQ people have a troubled relationship with police − new survey shows high rates of harassment, abuse and distrust]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? 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