Prigozhin's plane falls from the sky | Top 10

+ India's lunar landing US Edition - Today's top story: Memes about animal resistance are everywhere — here’s why you shouldn’t laugh off rebellious orcas and sea otters too quickly [View in browser]( US Edition | 27 August 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Happy Sunday − and welcome to the best of The Conversation. Here are a few of our recently published stories: - [Mahalia Jackson’s expert advice for MLK]( - [America’s bail system, explained]( Breaking news dominated last week’s top picks for both readers and editors. These included the Trump-less GOP debate, the pope’s appearance in Mongolia and the presumed death of “Putin’s chef,” the erstwhile nickname of the mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. But it was the less newsy pieces that caught my eye. One was a [serious take on a playful topic](: social media humorously depicting orcas and otters attacking boats and surfboards as protests over humans’ encroachment on their territory. The story was written by Alexandra Isfahani-Hammond, who studies animal-human relations through the prism of social justice at the University of California, San Diego, and edited by senior science + tech editor Maggie Villiger. Beyond the funny memes, the story explores the many ways animals are indeed showing a sort of resistance to how they and their habitats are treated by people. It even raises the notion that perhaps animals deserve citizenship. Wherever you stand on the possibility of an “otter world,” as one meme put it, Isfahani-Hammond‘s piece is worth a read. Bryan Keogh Managing Editor Readers' picks It’s tempting to envision orcas attacking yachts as the forward troops in an animal uprising. Jackson Roberts/iStock via Getty Images Plus [Memes about animal resistance are everywhere — here’s why you shouldn’t laugh off rebellious orcas and sea otters too quickly]( Alexandra Isfahani-Hammond, University of California, San Diego A few marine mammals in apparent revolt pushed meme-makers into overdrive. But a scholar who thinks about justice and human-animal relations suggests something deeper is behind the schadenfreude. - [Trump’s classified-documents indictment does more than allege crimes − it tells a compelling story]( Derek H. Kiernan-Johnson, University of Colorado Boulder Department of Justice prosecutors could have composed a technocratic document intelligible only to other criminal law insiders when indicting Donald Trump in the documents case. They did much more. - [What the pope’s visit to Mongolia says about his priorities and how he is changing the Catholic Church]( Kristy Nabhan-Warren, University of Iowa A scholar of Roman Catholicism explains why Pope Francis’ visit to Mongolia, home to fewer than 1,500 Catholics, is significant. - [Wagner group’s Yevgeny Prigozhin reportedly died in private jet crash – if confirmed, it wouldn’t be first time someone who crossed Putin met a suspicious demise]( Gregory F. Treverton, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences The lesson in the presumed death of the mercenary leader two months after his mutiny against Putin: Don’t make yourself an enemy of Russia’s leader. - [Georgia indictment and post-Civil War history make it clear: Trump’s actions have already disqualified him from the presidency]( Joseph Ferguson, Loyola University Chicago; Thomas A. Durkin, Loyola University Chicago US law actually bars former President Donald Trump from holding office ever again. The recent Georgia indictment of Trump helps make the case. Editors' picks India’s Chandrayaan-3 lander successfully touched down on the south pole of the Moon on Aug. 23, 2023, sparking celebrations across the country. AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi [India’s Chandrayaan-3 landed on the south pole of the Moon − a space policy expert explains what this means for India and the global race to the Moon]( Mariel Borowitz, Georgia Institute of Technology India became the first country to land near the south pole of the Moon, a notoriously difficult achievement that also marks them as the fourth country to land on the Moon. - [Looking for a US ‘climate haven’ away from heat and disaster risks? Good luck finding one]( Julie Arbit, University of Michigan; Brad Bottoms, University of Michigan; Earl Lewis, University of Michigan Even ‘climate havens’ face a riskier future, and infrastructure often isn’t built to handle climate change. But there are steps cities can take to prepare. - [First Republican debate set to kick off without Trump – but with the potential to direct the GOP’s foreign policy stance]( Jordan Tama, American University School of International Service While a few Republican politicians have aligned with former President Donald Trump’s isolationist foreign policy position, most candidates continue to push for the traditional stance of engagement. - [8 GOP candidates debate funding to Ukraine, Trump’s future and – covertly, with dog whistles – race]( Jordan Tama, American University School of International Service; Brian Kalt, Michigan State University; Calvin Schermerhorn, Arizona State University From immigration and federal spending to Ukraine and the state of American schools, eight GOP presidential candidates had a lot to say. - [Geoengineering sounds like a quick climate fix, but without more research and guardrails, it’s a costly gamble − with potentially harmful results]( David Kitchen, University of Richmond Some geoengineering techniques are better understood than others. The US is investing in capturing carbon dioxide from the air, but ideas to block the Sun’s rays are raising big concerns. News Quiz 🧠- [The Conversation U.S. weekly news quiz]( Test your knowledge with a weekly quiz drawn from some of our favorite stories. Questions this week on tips, pets, popes and Prigozhin. Like this newsletter? You might be interested in our other weekly emails: [Science Editors' Picks]( • [This Week in Religion]( • [Politics Weekly]( 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. [Donate now to support research-based journalism]( [The Conversation]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation]( 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451 [Forward to a friend]( • [Unsubscribe](