Editor's note
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Economic crises are nothing new to Argentines. That’s why they didn’t hesitate to join foreign investors in dumping their pesos when the telltale signs of yet another crisis began to emerge earlier this year. But with the economy sinking deeper into recession and a severe drought ravaging farmers’ incomes, the government is betting the biggest International Monetary Fund bailout ever – not to mention 60 percent interest rates – can stabilize the peso. Economist Robert H. Scott III and scholar of Latin American politics Kenneth Mitchell consider whether Argentina can avoid repeating history.
On remote Isle Royale in northwest Lake Superior, the National Park Service is trying something new – bringing in wolves from the mainland to keep a tiny native population on the island from going extinct. There are scientific and ecological arguments for attempting this “genetic rescue,” but communications scholars Mark Neuzil and Eric Freedman see an additional motive: the public relations value of rescuing a charismatic
species.
Pet spending in the U.S. is estimated to exceed the combined gross domestic product of the 39 poorest countries in the world. Millions of dollars are spend on Halloween costumes for pets. What if even a small percentage of this spending was allocated to reducing suffering around the world, asks Arizona State’s Sandra Woien, a scholar of philosophy.
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Bryan Keogh
Economics + Business Editor
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Top stories
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Argentines protest the austerity measures of the IMF bailout.
AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko
Robert H. Scott III, Monmouth University; Kenneth Mitchell, Monmouth University
A deep recession, a severe drought and a plunging currency have led to the biggest bailout in IMF history. The government hopes it can avoid the meltdowns that followed past crises.
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Releasing a female wolf on Isle Royale, Oct. 2, 2018.
NPS/Jim Peaco
Mark Neuzil, University of St. Thomas; Eric Freedman, Michigan State University
The National Park Service is moving wolves to Isle Royale in Lake Superior to replenish a small pack on the island. Wolves prey on moose, which are overgrazing the island. It doesn't hurt that they are charismatic.
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Pet spending in the U.S. is estimated to have exceeded US$72 billion.
star5112
Sandra Woien, Arizona State University
American spending on pets is more than the combined GDP of the 39 poorest countries in the world. What if even a small percentage of this spending was allocated to reducing suffering, asks a philosopher.
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Politics + Society
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Benjamin Waddell, Fort Lewis College
Nicaraguan migrants send over US$1 billion home each year. This money has played a changing role in domestic politics – first boosting the Ortega regime and, now, sustaining the uprising against him.
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Michael Traugott, University of Michigan
There are different ballots, voting machines, registration and eligibility requirements and procedures for counting votes across the country. That's a recipe for occasional confusion and miscounts.
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E. Donald Elliott, Yale University
Legal scholars offer a vision for appointing Supreme Court justices more fairly. While it wouldn't require any constitutional amendments, it would require Congress to pass a bill.
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Most read on site
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David Pride, University of California San Diego; Chandrabali Ghose, The Rockefeller University
Just because you don't have the flu doesn't mean that your aren't teeming with viruses inside and out. But what are all these viruses doing, if they aren't making you sick?
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Amalio Telenti, The Scripps Research Institute
Body mass index is often used to gauge health. But there may be more accurate measures. A report on your blood metabolites, your metabolome, may distinguish healthier-obese from sicker-obese.
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Nicholas Tampio, Fordham University
'Fortnite' – the wildly popular video game – is a dangerously addictive, robs students of precious time and teaches individualism instead of cooperating to survive, a political theorist argues.
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Today’s chart
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Liberty Vittert
Washington University in St Louis
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