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Diversity and Democracy

"Truck Stop Caters To Growing Number Of Immigrant Drivers" by Laura Benshoff, NPR

The number of long-haul truckers in the U.S. has reached an all-time high, and many are immigrants. Some truck stops are adapting to provide drivers a taste of home while on the road.

 

Slavery and Its Aftermath

"Unsupported by the Modern Slavery Act and Denied Support: Sex Trafficking Survivors Left to Fall Through the Cracks" by Olivia Bridge, Savera UK

An organization that tackles culturally-specific abuse in the UK explains how their government’s definition of modern slavery fails to help modern slaves that are predominantly female in a recent blog post. 

 

Water, Equity and Security

"Water wars: early warning tool uses climate data to predict conflict hotspots" by Saeed Kamali Dehghan, The Guardian

Researchers from six organisations have developed an early warning system to help predict potential water conflicts as violence associated with water surges globally. It is the first tool of its kind to consider environmental data, such as precipitation and drought, alongside socio-economical variables, a combination lacking in previous tools designed to predict water conflicts.

 

The Future of Work

Sorting Things Out: Classification and Its Consequences by Geoffrey C. Bowker and Susan Leigh Star (2000)

While not exclusively dealing with the future of work, this book provides a revealing and surprising look at how classification systems can shape both worldviews and social interactions. Sorting Things Out investigates the role that hidden infrastructures have on our lives, including decisions like which jobs are made and lost.

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Slavery and Its Aftermath

Ghost Fleet, dir. Shannon Service and Jeffrey Waldon (2019)

Following up on a 2012 NPR report, this documentary describes how trafficking networks trick Southeast Asian migrant workers into lives of forced labor aboard ships to satisfy the demands of Thailand’s sprawling seafood industry.

Watch on Apple TV, Prime Video, FandangoNOW, XBOX, and DVD.

 

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Water, Equity and Security

"How Houston Was Built to Flood", The Daily (2017)

This episode of The New York Times’ The Daily podcast from August 31, 2017 was produced in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Listen to hear the uniquely American success story of a city built on a swampy bayou, and how Harvey’s destruction recast that narrative, in reflection on the context of the frequent flooding that has taken place in Houston in the years since.

Listen on NYT, Spotify or Apple Podcasts