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1/ Hours before her UN AI for Good talk, Abeba Birhane was told to censor references to Gaza/Palestine/Israel and replace “genocide” with “war crimes.” She walked away. Minutes before showtime, organisers backed down. buff.ly/8VyY2Nv

The periphery is central. Empires rise and fall from the edges. Our three newsletters help you spot crucial patterns before they reach the mainstream. Subscribe:

1/ At Tbilisi’s ZEG Festival, Coda’s Isobel Cockerell spoke with Bishop Rusudan Gotsiridze about her first encounter with AI – and what it reveals about faith, technology, and the limits of Silicon Valley’s utopian promises. buff.ly/HGAxjRO

In this week’s Currents: How Meta’s experiences quashing regulations around the world prepared it to buy American politicians. Also: A pivotal election in Moldova, Putin’s gift to Pyongyang, and Russia’s increased digital authoritarianism. Sign up here: buff.ly/rWerVQn

Has Vladimir Putin put North Korea on the path towards a nuclearized navy? And Meta’s new super PACs apply to the U.S. lessons it already learned in the rest of the world about how to lobby politicians and buy deregulation. Sign up here: buff.ly/rWerVQn

1/5 NEW OLIGARCHY: The White House’s links with blockchain bros has meant even the family members of the Trump administration are getting hugely rich, writes Oliver Bullough buff.ly/E8lIkB0

Bo Hines, an adviser to Donald Trump, has moved to Tether, best known for its dollar-backed stablecoin USDT. Tether and the White House are, writes @OliverBullough, deeply entwined. So surely it's a problem that Iran uses USDT to evade sanctions?

Governments, tech titans and oligarchs hope instances of abuse remain hidden in the dark. We’re turning on the lights. Support our work!

As Israel commits troops to invading Gaza City, even the last remaining NGOs providing limited healthcare and food to starving Gazans are being pushed out, writes Arwa Damon. International recognition of a Palestinian state seems like too little too late.

INARA, founded by Arwa Damon, has been providing food parcels and medical care to Gazans. But now,  as Israeli troops pour into Gaza City, even the last humanitarians have little  choice but to evacuate. Gaza’s future looks bleak. buff.ly/dIL1vK4

Global support is growing for a Palestinian state. But Israel’s assault on Gaza is relentless. Now, writes Arwa Damon, even the humanitarians committed to helping Gazans are being forced to leave.

When borders aren’t walls but apps, ankle monitors, and facial recognition check-ins: the U.S. asylum system is turning bodies into sites of surveillance. This investigation looks at how “alternatives to detention” often mean digital incarceration. buff.ly/mbUSPwy

The periphery is central. Empires rise and fall from the edges. Our three newsletters help you spot crucial patterns before they reach the mainstream. Subscribe: www.codastory.com/newsletters/

"In Gaza, there is no tomorrow." Read former CNN war correspondent @arwadamon.bsky.social ’s account of the situation on the ground, in this week’s Sunday Read.

When are Western governments going to catch up to the tricks and innovations of Russian sanction dodgers and Chinese money launderers? Maybe reducing the number of US cash dollars in circulation might be a start. buff.ly/dmtPw23

The market for AI in mental health is valued at $2 billion already, and growing fast. But substituting human therapists for machines is fraught with risk, writes Irina Matchavariani. Unregulated, artificial intimacy has become a matter of life and death. buff.ly/eJnYEIc

From Spain to Italy to Hungary, the narrative, in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder, is taking its cue from the White House – Conservatives are at war. Also: AI is taking over critical human tasks, from mental healthcare to governance. Sign up here: buff.ly/t2IfjIU

1/ At ZEG Fest in Tbilisi, hope was questioned: fuel for change or a path to cynicism? Arwa Damon said duty – not hope – drives action. Psychologists agreed: activism endures through discipline and commitment. Read more in Emma Lacey-Bordeaux’s piece: buff.ly/kR9h7AO

Governments, tech titans and oligarchs hope instances of abuse remain hidden in the dark. We’re turning on the lights. Support our work! buff.ly/AFiWql7

1/ “Design is always political,” anthropologist Dragana Kaurin told Ellery Roberts Briddle. “It enacts underlying policies, biases, and exclusion. Who gets to make decisions? How are decisions made? Is there space for iterations?” buff.ly/51rjPn7

The periphery is central. Empires rise and fall from the edges. Our three newsletters help you spot crucial patterns before they reach the mainstream. Subscribe:

Russia's MAX app should be named Putin's Panopticon. Users say the app enables total surveillance, without the end-to-end encryption used by Western platforms. While Russians are watched by Max, migrant workers’ geolocations have to be accessible at all times. buff.ly/7NAUJBy

What connects a billionaire's hot mic moment in the Oval Office, the rise of AI therapy, and a teenager's tragic suicide? Sign up to our Sunday Read to find out: buff.ly/lJBT6YM

The periphery is central. Empires rise and fall from the edges. Our three newsletters help you spot crucial patterns before they reach the mainstream. Subscribe:

1/ Choosing between country and family is a wrenching reality for many Ukrainians. Misha Friedman’s powerful photo essay captures the human cost of conflict—when home becomes a memory and every return risks a life. buff.ly/yZqVAo8

Governments, tech titans and oligarchs hope instances of abuse remain hidden in the dark. We’re turning on the lights. Support our work!

1/ Memory isn’t just history, it’s power. In Georgia, the government now echoes the Kremlin’s version of the 2008 war, shifting blame and reshaping national identity. Can democracy survive when the past is on trial? Read more: buff.ly/iN2QZkR

1/2 Luba Kassova’s piece examines how fear and self-censorship silence voices, drawing parallels between her childhood in authoritarian Bulgaria and the U.S today. A timely look at the courage required to speak out and resist conformity. buff.ly/MuSLPDI

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1/ Behind every AI breakthrough, there are hidden workers in Kenya’s slums enduring trauma to train the tech we use every day, often for just $1 an hour. This piece exposes the human cost of Silicon Valley’s AI revolution.https://buff.ly/xggukQP

1/ "If Trump and his allies sometimes seem detached from reality, the joke is on reality." Journalist Andrey Babitskiy explains why Trump and Putin understand each other so well, and what Americans can learn from Russia's experience. buff.ly/qpLeS29

Governments, tech titans and oligarchs hope instances of abuse remain hidden in the dark. We’re turning on the lights. Support our work! codastory.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?...

1/ Frantz Fanon was a multifaceted figure — a doctor, soldier, poet, thinker, myth-breaker, and myth-maker. As Adam Shatz notes, he provided the world with a profound framework for anti-colonial resistance.https://buff.ly/7KBEkgT

Yesterday, Georgia’s government-run commission concluded that Georgia is responsible for starting the 2008 Russo-Georgian war. Its 461-page report rewrites key moments of modern history and could be used to re-shape history textbooks.

The periphery is central. Empires rise and fall from the edges. Our three newsletters help you spot crucial patterns before they reach the mainstream. Subscribe:

1/ At ZEG Fest, Bishop Rusudan Gotsiridze – Georgia’s first woman Baptist bishop – posed a powerful question: how should faith respond to AI? From eerie AI images to the value of human imperfection, her insights challenge tech & religion alike: buff.ly/OU3hvX7

Governments, tech titans and oligarchs hope instances of abuse remain hidden in the dark. We’re turning on the lights. Support our work!

Coming up in Coda Currents: Vladimir Putin has been basking in an Alaskan afterglow. The red carpet treatment legitimized him as a global statesman again. Also: why the UK’s age verification laws might be state overreach. Sign up here:

1/ How do autocrats stay in power? By rewriting history. From Russia to China to North Korea, leaders manipulate the past to to crush dissent and secure power, turning patriotism into a powerful tool for control. buff.ly/BtH2CcR

Sweden is moving an entire church 3 miles to make room for green transition mines. Kiruna, in the Swedish Arctic, sits at the heart of Europe’s green transition, and the race for critical resources. In 2023, Isobel Cockerell traveled there to cover Sweden’s fight for the future buff.ly/3VlzCHM

Want to stay informed on the forces shaping our world? Sign up for Coda's newsletters to get in-depth analysis and groundbreaking reporting straight to your inbox. We'll help you cut through the noise and understand the stories that matter. Subscribe:

1/ Religious identity is the new front in global politics. Moscow casts Ukraine as a Christian persecutor, and the US Christian right echoes the claim—shaping Western opinion while Russia weaponizes faith to project power.https://buff.ly/YN5Mq75

In Coda Currents this week: On Friday, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump meet. It’s a throwback to the Cold War. But with Trump clamping down on museums and taking over DC police, is the U.S. more like Russia than the democracies it once led? buff.ly/9LLeHIw

Coming up in Coda Currents: In Yalta in 1945, the U.S. was poised to lead what would later be known as the “free world.” 80 years later, as Putin meets Trump, is the U.S. closer to Russia and China than it is to the democracies it once led? Sign up here: buff.ly/9LLeHIw

Applications are open for Coda Story’s 2025–26 Bruno Reporting Fellowship! $1K/month, expenses covered, mentorship and publication for early-career journalists in under-resourced countries. Details: buff.ly/GyPcZpF

1/ Two hours before her UN AI for Good keynote, Abeba Birhane was told to cut all references to Gaza, Palestine & Israel—and replace “genocide” with “war crimes.” She chose to walk away. Minutes before showtime, organisers backtracked. buff.ly/yMuBhwY

Governments, tech titans and oligarchs hope instances of abuse remain hidden in the dark. We’re turning on the lights. Support our work! buff.ly/jWa676D

1/ A firsthand account of striving for perfection, longevity, and happiness through quantified self-experimentation—and a cautionary look at Bryan Johnson’s Blueprint study, where big promises collided with disappointing science and transparency: buff.ly/s1CyegZ

The periphery is central. Empires rise and fall from the edges. Our three newsletters help you spot crucial patterns before they reach the mainstream. Subscribe: www.codastory.com/newsletters/