Spend Some Time With: A spliff of history, an actual newspaper, an Ethio-Pioneer

My weekly three recs for escaping the hell of breaking news and views.

See: As cannabis legalization spreads, Grass is Greener, a smoky and spectacular new Netflix documentary by visual artist and hip-hop legend Fab 5 Freddy, surveys the history and future of the plant in America by looking at a hundred years of popular music, racial discrimination, and the destructive legacy of the "War on Drugs."

Read: An "Urgent Quest for Slower, Better News" in which The New Yorker's online editor Michael Luo goes on a "media diet," argues that profit and principle are at odds in today's digital journalism, and wonders what we might do about it.

Hear: Ethiopia has lately become an optimistic story of political reform and renewed openness, but you may also know it as the birthplace of Mulatu Astatke, who half a century ago pioneered a bewitching blend of Afro-Latin rhythms, melancholy soul grooves, and Ethiopian scales that came to be known as Ethio-Jazz. New York-based readers can catch him in concert in May. I'll be there.

More from GZERO Media

​Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen speaks about her key priorities for the 2024 Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank during a press conference in Washington DC, USA, on October 22, 2024, at the Department of Treasury Headquarters.
Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen speaks about her key priorities for the 2024 Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank during a press conference in Washington DC, USA, on October 22, 2024, at the Department of Treasury Headquarters.
(Photo by Lenin Nolly/NurPhoto)

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank released their much-watched World Economic Outlook on Tuesday, projecting that the world economy will grow by 3.2% in 2025 as inflation cools to an average of 4.3%.

North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, whom Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump has endorsed in the race to be the state's next governor, speaks before his arrival for a rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S., March 2, 2024.
REUTERS/Jonathan Drake

When Americans head to the polls on Nov. 5, they’ll vote for more than just the next president.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a welcoming ceremony for participants of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia October 22, 2024.
REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/Pool TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

For an “isolated” world leader with a global arrest warrant to his name, Vladimir Putin is throwing a pretty decent party this week. Russia is hosting a summit of the BRICS+, a loose grouping of Global “South” countries led by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

In the last year, the cyber threat landscape continued to become more dangerous and complex. The malign actors of the world are becoming better resourced and better prepared, with increasingly sophisticated tactics, techniques, and tools that challenge even the world’s best cybersecurity defenders. Microsoft published its 5th annual Microsoft Digital Defense Report sharing insights and trends from cyberattacks between July 2023 and June 2024. Explore the findings here.

Walmart is fueling American jobs and strengthening communities by investing in local businesses. Athletic Brewing landed a deal with Walmart in 2021. Since then, co-founders Bill Shufelt and John Walker have hired more than 200 employees and built a150,000-square-foot brewery in Milford, CT. Athletic Brewing is one of many US-based suppliers working with Walmart. By 2030, the retailer is estimated to support the creation of over 750,000 US jobs by investing an additional $350 billion in products made, grown, or assembled in America. Learn more about Walmart’s commitment to US manufacturing.

- YouTube

BRICS Summit: A "new world order" or already a relic of the past? Is Sinwar's death the beginning of the end of the war in Gaza? Yankees versus Dodgers. Who's winning? Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60.