It’s almost Summer in the Northern Hemisphere where there’s still hope for people desiring to take a summer vacation. That hope is all but extinguished here in India, where the effects of the pandemic continue to be strongly felt. Stay safe, wherever you might be.

Why Companies Should Adopt a Hub-and-Spoke Work Model Post-Pandemic – How will offices look like post-pandemic? While employees, by and large, embraced remote work during the early stages of the pandemic, by now, it’s wearing thin. Employees have started to miss some of the social and cultural aspects of office life. This article suggests one option for a post-pandemic work model.

Why the next stage of capitalism is coming – There’s no doubt that Capitalism has played a key role in the economic development of millions globally. But will it remain the same in the future?

That “Dreaded” Commute Is Actually Good for Your Health – Continuing on the theme of returning to office is this article that explains why a commute is actually good for your health. I agree with this view. What about you?

How France is testing free public transport – This is something that has always puzzled me. Why can’t more cities / countries offer free public transport? Surely, the benefits should outweigh the additional costs? Well, it turns out that there are a few cities that are testing this out. Let’s hope they make it permanent!

This week’s list is an eclectic mix across multiple topics. I hope that you will enjoy reading these:

Endless scrolling through social media can literally make you sick – This article introduced me to the term ‘cybersickness’. While I had not heard the term previously, I had no doubt that spending too much time on social media is not healthy for a person’s well-being, both mental and physical. This article goes into detail on what this term refers to and its causes.

What to do about a labour crunch – The initial signs of a post-pandemic world are already highlighting one unfortunate trend – increasing disparities between the rich countries and others. And one sign of this is the labour market. While many developing countries are still struggling heavily with the economic challenges caused by the pandemic, the richer countries are experiencing labour shortages. This article suggests some ways in which this shortage could be alleviated.

Calling Marshall – Another hard-hitting, thought-provoking article by Professor Scott Galloway, in which he argues that “It’s time for a second Marshall Plan, a global investment in the fight against Covid-19 with the world’s premier health-care professionals and superior vaccines.“

How rafts helped primates rule the world – ‘Millions of years ago, the oceans presented a formidable barrier to the spread of primates – but were ultimately no match. Did rafts of vegetation help them conquer the globe?‘

As We Slowly Travel Again, Should We Discover Our Roots? – Another article that highlights the divergence between the “Global North” and “Others”, it’s good to read that people in some countries can start making travel plans again, while for many others, travel still seems very far away.

 

For my readers in India, I hope that these articles will give you some escape from the reality of what’s going on in our country at the moment…

50 Reasons to Love the World – 2021 – Travel seems so far away at the moment for many of us, but this gallery highlights just a few of the unique experiences to be enjoyed on our planet, when the time is right.

Now You See Her – With women’s sports getting more popular all over the world in the past few years, this article serves as a timely reminder that women footballers faced, till just a few years ago. It also helps remind us that we have along way to go before truly achieving equality in sports, and all walks of life.

‘Damn, this is a Caravaggio!’ – It’s not often that one discovers the forgotten works of an old master. This is one such fascinating story.

Interstellar space even weirder than expected – ‘In the blackness of space billions of miles from home, NASA’s Voyager 2 marked a milestone of exploration, becoming just the second spacecraft ever to enter interstellar space in November 2018. Now, a day before the anniversary of that celestial exit, scientists have revealed what Voyager 2 saw as it crossed the threshold—and it’s giving humans new insight into some of the big mysteries of our solar system.‘

Efficiency is the Enemy – We have all been conditioned to believe that being constantly busy is a good thing and the ticket to success in the corporate world. This article makes the case that why this might not always be so. ‘you waste years by not being able to waste hours. Those wasted hours are necessary to figure out if you’re headed in the right direction.‘

A few interesting articles to kick off the first week of May:

When jazz fever gripped the townships – 30th April was International Jazz Day and hence this article is particularly topical.

Rare White-Bellied Heron Spotted in Arunachal Pradesh – In a rare piece of good news in these trying teams, one of the rarest birds on the planet was recently spotted in Arunachal Pradesh state of India.

Scientists Find Billion-Year-Old Fossil Life, ‘Something Which Has Never Been Described Before’ – An interesting news article from the field of Natural History.

Wasps: why I love them, and why you should too – I must admit that I had never really given much thought to wasps. But it turns out that many people do not like them, though they play a very important role in the ecosystem. Read this article to find out why.