‘A once-in-a-century brain gain opportunity’
Universities are an easy target for right-wing populists. Polls show that a lot of Americans consider them too liberal, too expensive and too elitist, and not entirely without reason. But the fight between the Trump administration and Harvard is something more: It has become a test of the president’s ability to impose his political agenda on all 2,600 universities in the U.S. Students, professors and scientists are all feeling the pressure, and that could undermine the dominant position that American science has enjoyed for decades.
What does that mean for the world?
| European countries are wooing U.S.-based scientists, offering them “scientific refuge” or, as one French minister put it, “a light in the darkness.”Canada has attracted several prominent American academics, including three tenured Yale professors who study authoritarianism and fascism.The Australian Strategic Institute described this moment as “a once-in-a-century brain gain opportunity.” |
Who has the secret sauce?
In the mid-20th century, America was seen by many as a benign power, committed to scientific freedom and democracy. It attracted the best brains fleeing fascism and authoritarianism in Europe.
Today, the biggest beneficiary could be China and Chinese universities, which have been trying to recruit world-class scientific talent for years. Now, Trump is doing their work for them. One indication of the success of China’s campaign to attract the best and brightest is Africa, the world’s youngest continent. Africans are learning Mandarin in growing numbers. Nearly twice as many study in China as in America.
Could America gamble away its scientific supremacy in the service of ideology? It has happened before. Under the Nazis, Germany lost its scientific edge to America in the space of a few years. As a German, my brain may wander too readily to the lessons of the 1930s, but in this case the analogy feels instructive. Several of my colleagues covering the fallout from the crackdown on international students and researchers pointed to Hitler’s silencing of scientists and intellectuals.
No one region can currently replicate the secret sauce of resources, freedom, a culture of risk-taking and welcoming immigrants that made America the engine of scientific innovation. But if it tumbles as a scientific superpower, and potential breakthroughs are disrupted, it would be a setback for the whole world. Read these accounts from my colleagues of the ripple effects across the globe.
Rare earths, revisited
Last week, I wrote about rare earths and how we could all have cleaner, more ethically produced, non-Chinese rare earths — for a price. My colleague Hannah Beech just wrote a haunting feature from the border between Thailand and Myanmar that paints a disturbing picture of the trade-offs that power a cheap transition to carbon-free energy.
The rare earths mined in Myanmar are used in electric vehicles, wind turbines and nuclear power plants. But their extraction, enabled by Chinese companies, is bankrolling militias in Myanmar’s civil war and contaminating nearby water sources.
This summary isn’t doing justice to her layered story. I recommend you read the whole thing, or at least Hannah’s explainer, or watch her video above. Rare earths can be mined at low cost in Myanmar, because there are noregulations in what are essentially lawless states — but the price paid by the people in the region is high.
| MORE TOP NEWS |
| Gaza: At least 10 people, including children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike near a water distribution point in central Gaza. The Israeli military said it was a “technical error.” Trade: Trump said he would subject the E.U. to 30 percent tariffs starting Aug. 1. Facing growing trade chaos, the bloc and other U.S. trading partners are trying to create a new global trade map. Asia: For countries with economies focused on supplying the U.S., there are no obvious substitutes. But they are doing their best to find new trading partners. Air India crash: A preliminary investigation into last month’s disaster found that the fuel was switched off to both engines after takeoff, but offered no explanation why. South Africa: The president suspended the police minister and opened an investigation into alleged corruption. Texas: Two days after catastrophic floods, the Federal Emergency Management Agency did not answer nearly two-thirds of calls to its disaster assistance line, documents showed. Weather: We’re tracking Tropical Storm Nari in the North Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan. New Caledonia: An agreement with France gives the Pacific territory more freedoms but stops short of granting it independence. |
Go Deeper
| Europe: More than 30 years ago, the Balkans were engulfed by Europe’s worst conflict since World War II. In Srebrenica, 8,000 Muslims were slaughtered. This is how it happened. Middle East: This is why Trump’s diplomatic deals known as the Abraham Accords haven’t resulted in peace in the region. |
| SPORTS NEWS |
| Tennis: Jannik Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz to win the men’s singles final at Wimbledon. Here are the highlights. Soccer: Chelsea beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 to win the first edition of the expanded FIFA Club World Cup. Formula 1: Here’s a deep dive into the rise and fall of Christian Horner, who was fired by Red Bull. |
| MORNING READ |
For the past 21 months, fans of a popular game show in France have tuned in to watch Émilien, a soft-spoken young man with wiry round glasses — whose astonishing depth of trivia knowledge has delivered him 646 consecutive wins.
His prizes have included TVs, musical instruments, a parachuting session, makeup, household appliances, 23 cars and much more.
| CONVERSATION STARTERS |
| Put your hips into it: From the land of K-pop come the joys of K-swing. Acting challenge: David Corenswet is playing the iconic title character in “Superman.” He is hyperaware of the expectations. Kitchen therapy: A small but growing network of mental health professionals in the U.S. have focused their practice on the powers of cooking. |
| ARTS AND IDEAS |
Live Aid and Bob Geldof, 40 years later
It’s been 40 years since Bob Geldof, the lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, helped organize two epic Live Aid concerts to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. The shows, held in London and Philadelphia and broadcast around the world, were seen by about 1.5 billion people in more than 150 countries and raised more than $140 million, arguably making the concerts the most successful charity events in history.
My colleague Ravi Mattu spoke to Geldof about that day in 1985 and why an event like that could not happen now. Read more.
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Cook: When an ice cream craving hits, you’ll find joy in this mango soft serve
