China

At the centre of the world’s tech sector sits a Taiwanese chip tycoon most people have never heard of. Morris Chang is the founder of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world’s biggest chipmaker. He became rich and powerful by making chips the rest of the world can’t live without. And as the world’s semiconductor industry is being reshaped by Chinese and US efforts to control the future of chip technology, Chang finds himself courted by the world’s most powerful governments but also under pressure amid an escalating geopolitical clash. The tale of Morris Chang is not only a story of visionary entrepreneurialism and technical brilliance Though TSMC is far from a household name, almost everyone uses its chips each day.

Cockburn, like every other American, finally thought we’d seen Covid's last hurrah. But right on cue, in the dreaded month of January, the Wu-flu is resurgent. Public-health experts have begun sounding the alarm about a new Omicron variant dubbed XBB that is rapidly spreading across the Northeastern United States. It's not yet clear if XBB is any more lethal than other variants, but its mutations can make any prior vaccine useless. Growing evidence also suggests that repeated vaccinations may make people more susceptible to XBB and could be fueling the virus’s rapid evolution. “It might not be a coincidence that XBB surged this fall in Singapore, which has among the highest vaccination and booster rates in the world," writes the Wall Street Journal.

What do Santa Claus and the Chinese Communist Party have in common? They both see you when you’re sleeping, and they both know when you’re awake — especially if you have communist spyware like TikTok installed on your phone. Whether you’re a teenage girl or a government employee with a top secret clearance, TikTok wants to brainwash you and steal your secrets — maybe even both! While spending all your time on any social media platform can’t be good for your health, TikTok in America is specifically programmed to hook its users, with documented mental health problems plaguing teenage girls. A recently viral “blackout challenge” on the platform literally resulted in kids dying while they strangled each other — or themselves.

There is a lot to dig into amid Pope Francis’s recent interview with America magazine, but the most interesting tidbits might be his commentary on foreign affairs. Whereas the traditional head of state represents the interests of a nation, the Holy Father’s most important duty is the shepherding of the Catholic faithful. His message thus carries much weight, not because of the raw power at his disposal, but because it is backed by the moral authority of the Catholic Church. The pope has been in some hot water recently over both the war in Ukraine and the Vatican’s relations with China. Though he has long condemned the violence in Ukraine, he has not been as clear in condemning Russia and Putin specifically.