Joel Akins

The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.

"As of November 5th, it estimated that U.S.A.I.D.’s dismantling has already caused the deaths of six hundred thousand people, two-thirds of them children."
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

What Trade War? China’s Export Juggernaut Marches On As Trump has imposed steep tariffs on China, American importers are buying much less. But China has offset the decline from the United States with breathtaking speed.

As President Trump has imposed steep tariffs on China, American importers are buying much less. But the rest of the world is making up the difference, buying more from China than ever.

Pianists of Asian descent rise on global classical music stage American Eric Lu wins Chopin Competition, first to be held since Russia invaded Ukraine

asia.nikkei.com/life-arts/ar...

The Most Efficient Traveler Isn’t a Bird or a Fish—It’s You on a Bike A famous graphic, now updated, compares locomotion in the animal kingdom

Hooray for bikes 🙂

www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-hu...

YouTube video by United Nations 🇸🇮 Slovenia - President Addresses United Nations General Debate, 80th Session | #UNGA

A much better speech than the one that's gotten the most attention in the news
youtube.com/watch?v=I_Ks...

The Extraordinary Rise of Electric Cars in Developing Countries Colin McKerracher, head of transport for BloombergNEF, joins Zero to discuss the latest global trends in electric-vehicle sales.

Don't sleep on the good news. This quarter, China will sell more electric cars than the US will sell all cars of any kind (EVs or gas-guzzling pick-up trucks).

The rise of EVs in developing countries from Nepal to Costa Rica is an extraordinary story. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

It's absolutely astonishing: In just about 13 years, Norway has skyrocketed from virtually no sales of zero-emission battery electric vehicles to nearly 100% of all new passenger car purchases.

Jared Diamond discusses it in a chapter of Upheaval. Goes all the way through the end of the policy from what I remember.

Opinion | What the Mayor Got Away With Has Already Changed America

Apt encapsulation of the overall program of this Supreme Court: an "intellectual framework" for legalized corruption.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/o...

New Thai cabinet receives king's royal endorsement Poll shows moderate support for PM Anutin's minority government

New Thai cabinet receives king's royal endorsement
https://asia.nikkei.com/politics/turbulent-thailand/new-thai-cabinet-receives-king-s-royal-endorsement

Notable that
1. BJT is talking about renewing a popular Prayut-era policy rather than trying to build something new
2. The party is acknowledging they have 4 months to make this happen.

Thailand's People's Party to back Bhumjaithai Party's PM candidate Anutin Charnvirakul closer to becoming leader, but election likely within 4 months

Thailand's People's Party to back Bhumjaithai Party's PM candidate
https://asia.nikkei.com/politics/turbulent-thailand/thailand-s-people-s-party-to-back-bhumjaithai-party-s-pm-candidate

Why Thailand’s Politics Are in Constant Crisis

This gets at a big part of the story but the rebels-vs-empire analysis lacks depth. How much instability could've been avoided if the court hadn't been lenient w/Thaksin in 2001? Or in the last 2 years if MFP had accepted 90% instead of insisting on 100 and getting 0?
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/w...

The green transition has a surprising new home Forget about northern Europeans, with their coalition governments and love of cycling

Interesting to see how the green transition is turning into something of an equalizer. I've done a lot of traveling recently and saw similar things re. EV transition: Seattle seems ahead of Thailand (but not WAY ahead), Japan behind, and Hong Kong about the same.
www.economist.com/finance-and-...

BYD distracted the world while Chinese EV peers staged a coup Even as BYD grabs headlines, a pack of Chinese automakers is quietly conquering overseas markets with aggressive pricing and localization.

Those 15 will be formidable though...

"Since 2018, more than 400 Chinese EV companies have shuttered, and ... 15 of the current 130 manufacturers will survive to 2030."
restofworld.org/2025/chinese...

#BREAKING: Thai army reports clash at border in Surin this morning, as a small group of Cambodian soldiers "opened fire" near Prasat Ta Muen Thom. No reports of casualties. This follows diplomatic downgrade last night after 2nd landmine incident in a week injured Thai soldiers.

Statement by the Director-General of @unesco.org, @aazoulay.bsky.social, following the decision of the United States to withdraw from the Organization.

Read more: unes.co/ksovsg

‘The Most Humbling Thing I’ve Ever Seen’: Ford CEO On China’s Car Industry Ford CEO Jim Farley said Chinese cars have

Are other automakers doing this? They should.
“Then we pick the four or five that we love and then we put them on a plane and fly them to Detroit. And then we drive the crap out of them, and then we take them apart and we put them back together,” [Ford CEO Farley] said.
insideevs.com/news/764318/...

thetricontinental.org/newsletteris...

Fortescue Infinity Train electric locomotive never needs fuel or charging Fortescue Infinity Train made its first 685 mile trip from Perth to the Pilbara, marking a major milestone in decarbonization.

So cool—usually articles like this come with some huge caveat that it's all theoretical or faces some impossible/years-long obstacle, but this actually happened. electrek.co/2025/06/21/f...

Thai-Cambodian border row: does 1:50,000 or 1:200,000 mapping give the edge? Thailand and Cambodia's 120-year border dispute stems from conflicting map scales and projections—Mercator vs Sinusoidal. Here’s why it matters.

Excellent explainer of some historical and technical background of the recurring Thailand-Cambodia border disputes. I learned a lot—I wish the article had a byline so I could know who wrote it!

www.nationthailand.com/news/asean/4...

Thailand’s Government Rocked By Withdrawal of Major Coalition Party The move by the Bhumjaithai party followed the leak of a recorded phone call between PM Paetongtarn and Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen.

The move by the Bhumjaithai party followed the leak of a recorded phone call between PM Paetongtarn and Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen.

ASEAN eyes rail connectivity to boost regional trade amid global tensions A seamless and reliable regional rail freight service is seen as vital to increasing the bloc’s total trade volume, which is projected to reach US$4.5 trillion by 2030.

ASEAN eyes rail connectivity to boost regional trade amid global tensions

Definitely recommend this park

Malaysia plans cargo rail link to Bangkok to boost trade KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is planning to start a direct rail cargo service between its capital Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok in neighbouring Thailand this year to boost bilateral and regional trade, state media reported, citing the transport minister.  Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the Cabinet and prim

Malaysia plans cargo rail link to Bangkok to boost trade

The National Endowment for the Arts Begins Terminating Grants The endowment told arts organizations that it was withdrawing or canceling current grants just hours after President Trump proposed eliminating the agency in the next fiscal year.

The National Endowment for the Arts withdrew and canceled grant offers to numerous arts organizations around the country on Friday night, sending a round of email notifications out just hours after President Trump proposed eliminating the agency in his next budget.

Carbon border adjustment mechanism policies reduce emissions leakage, boost domestic competitiveness and encourage global carbon pricing — without disproportionately harming lower-income countries from @kclausing.bsky.social, Colmer, Hsiao and @cwolfram.bsky.social https://www.nber.org/papers/w33723

Prosecutors Will Not Prosecute Paul Chambers, American Accused of Insulting Monarchy in Thailand Regional prosecutors said they would not prosecute Paul Chambers, a lecturer arrested under Thailand’s strict lèse-majesté laws. But the charges have not been fully dropped.

Regional prosecutors in Thailand said they would not pursue charges against an American academic who was accused of insulting the Thai monarchy. But the charges under the country’s strict lèse-majesté laws have not been dropped entirely.

US Tariffs and ASEAN Food Security: Turning Short-Term Pain into Long-Term Gain | FULCRUM Southeast Asia could use this disruption in food trade to strengthen collaboration, reduce dependency, and create a truly integrated regional market.

fulcrum.sg/us-tariffs-a...

Trump Is Losing Asia An incoherent policy is speeding Beijing’s rise.

In the new geometry of trade, the United States is self-marginalizing, and China has become the top trading partner to most countries in the region, Robert A. Manning writes.