After the mutiny in Russia

+ can you crush a microbe? US Edition - Today's top story: Wagner's mutiny punctured Putin's 'strongman' image and exposed cracks in his rule [View in browser]( US Edition | 26 June 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines: - [Why some states are weakening child labor protections]( - [Uncommon courses: Taking students to the gun range]( - [The impact Dobbs decision has had on Black women]( Lead story: A couple of days before rebel paramilitaries seized a city in southern Russia and began marching north toward Moscow, Wesleyan University’s Peter Rutland wrote an article for The Conversation on the challenge facing Russian President Vladimir Putin from the group’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin. “Rarely in history have mercenary generals been able to seize political power,” Rutland noted. That may be true, but for a short period over the weekend it looked like Prigozhin might – at the very least – be trying to upset the political and military order in the Kremlin. His Wagner troops moved through Russian towns with seemingly little resistance, and it was only the intervention of a third party – Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko – that put an end to the mutiny. In a follow-up piece [analyzing events in Russia over the weekend](, Rutland argues that claims that “Putin is finished” may be premature, but there is no doubt the Wagner rebellion has left the Russian leader’s “ruthless strongman” image in tatters and has chipped away at his rule. As for the now-exiled Prigozhin, who knows what is next. Rutland wryly notes in his earlier article that perhaps the most famous mercenary of all time, Albrecht von Wallenstein, became so powerful after the Thirty Years War that his Hapsburg paymasters had him assassinated. [[Understand what’s going on in Washington and around the world. Get our Politics Weekly newsletter.]( Matt Williams Senior Breaking News and International Editor Open defiance in Rostov-on-Don. Feodor Larin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images [Wagner’s mutiny punctured Putin’s ‘strongman’ image and exposed cracks in his rule]( Peter Rutland, Wesleyan University Signs of discontent among Russian nationalists and Wagner had been growing before a column of paramilitaries began an aborted march on Moscow. Economy + Business - [Danger, prestige and authenticity draw thrill-seekers to adventure tourism]( Scott Smith, University of South Carolina Advances in technology have allowed tourists to go to places and do things they couldn’t in the past. But in extreme environments, the consequences of failure are high. - [States are weakening their child labor restrictions nearly 8 decades after the US government took kids out of the workforce]( John A. Fliter, Kansas State University; Betsy Wood, Bard College Some of the biggest changes to child labor laws are in Iowa and Arkansas. Health + Medicine - [BMI alone will no longer be treated as the go-to measure for weight management – an obesity medicine physician explains the seismic shift taking place]( Scott Hagan, MD, University of Washington Overreliance on BMI as a measure of weight and health has deepened inequities and led to inaccuracies and overgeneralizations. Education - [Taking students to the range to learn about gun culture firsthand]( David Yamane, Wake Forest University In this course, a gun range becomes a classroom for students to explore their previously held beliefs about firearms. Science + Technology - [Do you crush microbes when you step on them?]( Ashok Prasad, Colorado State University; Kenneth F. Reardon, Colorado State University You can squash small bugs by stepping on them, but can you crush even tinier microorganisms like viruses and bacteria? It turns out that you’d need to apply a lot of pressure. Politics + Society - [A year after Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, Black women still struggle for access to reproductive health care]( Kimala Price, San Diego State University Even with laws to protect a woman’s right to have an abortion, Black women found it hard to find access to reproductive health care. It’s only gotten worse since Roe v. Wade was overturned. - [Asian folktales offer moral lessons that help reduce racial prejudice in children]( Minjeong Kim, UMass Lowell; Allyssa McCabe, UMass Lowell Children’s books that feature Asian protagonists are rare. Two scholars decided to offer their own in their attempt to reduce racial prejudice. - [Supreme Court is not committed to a major innovation in transparency it started during the pandemic]( Eve Ringsmuth, Oklahoma State University; Rachael Houston, Texas Christian University; Timothy Johnson, University of Minnesota The Supreme Court has not yet committed to making livestreaming oral arguments a permanent part of its work. But this measure could lead to more transparency and possibly confidence in the court. Ethics + Religion - [Technology remains at the heart of the hajj]( Andrea Stanton, University of Denver The Saudi government is using digital technology to help the hajj run smoothly and safely – the latest updates in a 200-year history of technology and the hajj. Trending on site - [Titan submersible disaster underscores dangers of deep-sea exploration – an engineer explains why most ocean science is conducted with crewless submarines]( - [Supreme Court rules the US is not required to ensure access to water for the Navajo Nation]( - [US national parks are crowded – and so are many national forests, wildlife refuges, battlefields and seashores]( Today's graphic 📈 [Bank reports of cases of check fraud for both business and personal accounts have more than tripled in the past five years (2018 - 2023).]( From the story, [Heists Worth Billions: An investigation found criminal gangs using sham bank accounts and secret online marketplaces to steal from almost anyone – and little being done to combat the fraud]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? 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