BBC4 Thinking Allowed: Good neighbours, The connection between sport and domestic abuse

Good Neighbours and the democracy of everyday life. Our neighbours do small favours and greet us on the street. They also, on occasion, startle us with noises at night and even betray us to the authorities. Laurie Taylor talks to Nancy Rosenblum, the Senator Joseph Clark Professor of Ethics in Politics and Government at Harvard University, about her study into our many and varied encounters with the people 'next door' - from suburbia to popular culture; in peaceful times & during disasters and across time and culture. They're joined by Graham Crow, Professor of Sociology at the University of Edinburgh.

Also, the connection between sporting events and violence against women. Jodie Swallow, Post Graduate Research Student at Chester University, discusses her research into women's experience of domestic abuse in the context of the FIFA World Cup and the Six Nations Rugby Union Tournament.

listen to the podcast

Online Library of Liberty: New Playing Cards for the French Republic (1793-94)

This is a playing card from a charming collection of new designs for a deck which were issued during the French Revolution (1793-94). They were designed by moderate liberal republican supporters of the revolution (which included people such as the Marquis de Condorcet) who believed in the rule of law, free markets, the equality of women under the law, and the emancipation of slaves. As they said in their pamphlet they wanted to reinforce the principles of the revolution in such everyday items as playing cards, since the traditional designs had face or "court" cards depicting Kings, Queens, and Jacks who were the beneficiaries of the old privileged political order which had just been overthrown. It seemed obvious to them that a new design even for such mundaine things as playing cards was required under the Republic to reflect the new principles of government and which "the love of liberty demands". Here we show "The Spirit of Peace" (equivalent to the Queen of Clubs) which the designers explain as follows: ""Peace" is seated on an ancient seat and is holding in one hand the roll of the laws, in his other hand is the fasces signifying concord and on which is written the word "Union". Lying near him are a cornucopia and a plowshare; an olive branch which he is holding in his right hand shows its influence and justifies the word "Prosperity" which is placed next to him." An intriguing aspect of the designs was the important role which they gave to economic liberty: the Spirit of Peace" has as his motto "prosperity"; the "Spirit of Commerce" has for his "wealth"; and the "Liberty of the Professions" has "industry". Thus fully one quarter of the face cards deals with one or another aspect of economic freedom.

This guide will provide high resolution images of the new designs, a translation of some of the explanatory descriptions which accompanied them, and some commentary on the meaning and significance of these images.

read the article 

Big Think: Liberal vs. Conservative: A Neuroscientific Analysis with Gail Saltz

What the difference in brain structure between liberals and conservatives? And where do our political convictions come from: rational deliberation, or biological determinism? Psychiatrist Gail Saltz explains.

Nerdwriter1: How Brexit Snuck Up On Everyone

Jacobin Magazine: Italy’s Stranded Migrants

Ali arrived in Italy in 2008, when he was sixteen. Immediately, he applied for asylum, a process that took two years. During this time, he was advised to stay in a state-run refugee camp, which offered neither Italian-language courses nor integration programs that could help him find employment after receiving his documents. With nothing to do, Ali got bored and left.

Today, eight years later and still unemployed, Ali says everything he has, he’s earned on his own. The national reception system, he tells me in the nearly fluent Italian he picked up while working small gigs, pushes refugees to fend for themselves with predictably mixed results. [...]

Ali’s story is fairly common among those seeking asylum in Italy. A recent study by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) found that more than ten thousand refugees live in abandoned spaces, handmade shacks, or camping tents throughout the country — and that’s an improvement over last year. [...]

The Italian government does provide shelter for asylum-seekers. But the demand often outpaces the spaces available in state institutions. In 2015, nearly 154,000 people arrived in Italy, while less than 97,000 beds were offered throughout the country. [...]

The Italian government is failing in another respect: preventing extreme exploitation. “20 percent of Italy’s GDP comes from the black market,” says Giovanni Abbate, a project manager for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Italy. “And much of this is based on underpaid migrant labor.”

read the article