Hump day recommendations 12/6/2022

Read: the best team that lost the World Cup. If you're a soccer nut like me, you’ll know that two teams have played the Beautiful Game almost to perfection — Pep Guardiola's FC Barcelona and Brazil in the 1982 World Cup in Spain. But why did a squad featuring magicians with the ball like Sócrates, Zico, Falcao, or Júnior fail to win the tournament with their futebol arte? Find out in this great book by Stuart Horsfield. — Carlos

Read: “Lessons in Chemistry,” by Bonnie Garmus. Think Julia Child meets feminism meets chemistry. This light read by Garmus follows the ups and downs of Elizabeth Zott, a young scientist struggling to be taken seriously in the male-dominated field of chemistry in 1950s and ‘60s America. Zott’s matter-of-fact approach to life, love, work, and cooking reflects her inner feminist. When she packs in her day job in the lab to teach America’s housewives how to cook, she also shows them how to believe in themselves. — Tracy

Confront: the lies that postwar Europe told you. In the aftermath of history’s most ruinous war, post-1945 Europe built the future on a foundation of myths about the conflict. They were useful lies about good and evil that obscured the uglier truths of collaboration, ethnic cleansing, and war crimes even by the “right” side. Written in 1992, when new vaults of memory were being uncomfortably cracked open, historian Tony Judt’s essay “The Past is Another Country” warned about the consequences of distorting history like this. And with 30 years of hindsight, his prescience about the return of rightwing nationalism is particularly chilling. — Alex

More from GZERO Media

People gather outside the National Assembly after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, in Seoul, South Korea, on Dec. 4, 2024.
REUTERS/Kim Soo-hyeon

In an unexpected, late-night speech on Tuesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, banning all political activity, taking control of all media, and suspending parliament. For all of a few hours, it turned out.

- YouTube

Ian Bremmer's Quick Take: President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea deciding to suddenly declare emergency martial law, announcing together with the military all political activities prohibited. All media now under state control. No strikes, demonstrations allowed. Ian Bremmer breaks down the reason for this decision in this Quick Take.

Proud Source Water became a Walmart supplier in 2021. Today, their team has grown 50%, and they're the largest employer in Mackay, ID. When local suppliers work with Walmart, their business can grow. In fact, two-thirds of Walmart's product spend is on products made, grown, or assembled in America. By working with Walmart, local businesses like Proud Source Water can reach more customers, hire more people, and help their communities thrive. Explore the positive impact of Walmart's $350 billion investment in US manufacturing.

Supporters of Hamas wave their green flags during a celebration marking the 35th anniversary of the founding of Hamas in Gaza City in December 2022.
Yousef Masoud / SOPA Images/Sipa USA via Reuters

Fatah and Hamas are reportedly close to a deal on a post-war government for Gaza, marking a potential end to Hamas’ 17-year rule. The agreement would establish a committee of 12-15 politically unaligned technocrats with authority over issues of the economy, education, health, humanitarian aid, and reconstruction.

Globally, one in five people identify as neurodivergent, an umbrella term that refers to variances in how the brain processes information. A new collaborative study between Microsoft and Ernst & Young reveals insights into how AI-powered tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot are transforming experiences for the neurodiverse in the workplace. The study involving over 300 neurodivergent or disabled employees found that 91% consider Copilot helpful for communication, 85% believe it creates a more inclusive workplace, and 76% say it aids their work performance. This study is part of Microsoft’s ongoing work to increase understanding of how Copilot and other Microsoft tools can improve the workplace. Read more here.

US President Joe Biden shakes hands with Angolan President João Lourenço at the Presidential Palace in Luanda, Angola, on Dec. 3, 2024.
REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

With seven weeks left as US president, Joe Biden was in Angola on Tuesday to meet with President João Lourenço. It's the very first visit of a US president to this former Portuguese colony.

Courtesy of Midjourney

Throughout Joe Biden’s presidency, the Commerce Department has gradually tightened its chokehold on China’s access to semiconductors needed to access, train, and build artificial intelligence. It just announced its “strongest controls ever," prompting China to respond in kind with restrictions of its own that send a signal to President-elect Donald Trump.