DeSantis' migrant flights echo 'reverse freedom rides'

+ trash on Mars US Edition - Today's top story: Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott pull from segregationists' playbook with their anti-immigration stunts [View in browser]( US Edition | 20 September 2022 [The Conversation]( For weeks, Governors Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas have been flying and busing undocumented immigrants to Democratic-run states and cities, such as New York and Washington, D.C. Outside of the right-wing media ecosystem, the trips have mostly flown under the radar – that is, until DeSantis’ Martha’s Vineyard-bound flight of Venezuelan immigrants made headlines around the world. It’s tempting to dismiss it all as a mere political stunt. But historian Greta de Jong sees disturbing parallels – in action and rhetoric – to the way some Southern segregationists dealt with Black citizens during the civil rights era. As part of a broader effort to purge their communities of Black Americans, segregationists put them on buses with one-way tickets to Northern cities in what were called “reverse freedom rides.” “Then, as now,” [de Jong writes](, “the message was, ‘Here, you love them so much, you take care of them.’” Also today: - [India’s ancient stalagmites offer a warning]( - [How to spot audio deepfake imposters]( - [The problem with book bans for children]( Nick Lehr Arts + Culture Editor An undocumented immigrant from Venezuela kisses the forehead of another immigrant on the island of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. Dominic Chavez for The Washington Post via Getty Images [Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott pull from segregationists’ playbook with their anti-immigration stunts]( Greta de Jong, University of Nevada, Reno In the civil rights era, ‘reverse freedom rides’ were more than just a political stunt. They were part of a systematic effort to deprive Black Americans of their livelihoods and force them out. Ethics + Religion - [Westminster Abbey has witnessed nearly a millennium of British history – but many rituals, like those at royal funerals, aren’t so old]( Paul Hammer, University of Colorado Boulder A scholar of British history explains how the church and its significance to the monarchy have changed over centuries. - [Book bans reflect outdated beliefs about how children read]( Trisha Tucker, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences The US is seeing more campaigns to ‘protect’ children by barring controversial books. But research shows children’s reading experiences are complex and unpredictable, explains a literature professor. Science + Technology - [Deepfake audio has a tell – researchers use fluid dynamics to spot artificial imposter voices]( Logan Blue, University of Florida; Patrick Traynor, University of Florida AI-generated voice-alikes can be indistinguishable from the real person’s speech to the human ear. A computer model that gives voice to the dinosaurs turns out to be a good way to tell the difference. - [Mars is littered with 15,694 pounds of human trash from 50 years of robotic exploration]( Cagri Kilic, West Virginia University Discarded pieces of landing gear, crashed spacecraft and wear and tear have produced a lot of debris that is now scattered around the Martian surface. Economy + Business - [India’s economy has outpaced Pakistan’s handily since Partition in 1947 – politics explains why]( Surupa Gupta, University of Mary Washington Economic growth picked up significantly for both India and Pakistan after independence, but they’ve chosen very different paths since. Environment + Energy - [1,000-year-old stalagmites from a cave in India show the monsoon isn’t so reliable – their rings reveal a history of long, deadly droughts]( Gayatri Kathayat, Xi'an Jiaotong University; Ashish Sinha, California State University, Dominguez Hills As water dripped in a remote cave, it left behind evidence of every monsoon season for a millennium. Scientists say it holds a warning for a country about to become the most populous on Earth. Politics + Society - [Biden again indicates that US will defend Taiwan ‘militarily’ – does this constitute a change in policy?]( Meredith Oyen, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Remarks by the US president come amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing and follow a contentious visit to Taiwan by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Education - [Stressed out, burned out and dropping out: Why teachers are leaving the classroom]( Tuan D. Nguyen, Kansas State University It’s not just COVID-19. Low salaries, subpar working conditions and lack of resources in the classroom are three of the reasons why teachers are abandoning the profession. From our international editions - [Queen Elizabeth II: capturing the world’s most photographed woman in life and death]( - [Earth harbours 20,000,000,000,000,000 ants – and they weigh more than wild birds and mammals combined]( - [Russia is building a closer alliance with the world’s autocracies – the west should beware]( Today's graphic [A line graph showing the smartphone consumer price index from January 2020 to July 2022.]( From the story, [Why Apple can hold the line on iPhone prices, as smartphones defy soaring inflation and keep getting relatively cheaper]( - - About The Conversation: We're a nonprofit news organization dedicated to [helping academic experts share ideas with the public](. We can give away our articles thanks to the help of foundations, universities and readers like you. 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