Fear is all around us. It was a key weapon in the recent election, where hoardings on every street corner warned of the consequences of letting any of the others take power. During the Covid-19 pandemic, just the mere proximity of other people was enough to invoke fear. Even the act of looking at the news on your phone is often called "doom-scrolling". In the 24-7 digital news world, fear is fuel.
British writer Robert Peckham tries to weave an all-encompassing history presenting fear as a prime motivator in our past, present and future, from the Black Death of the Middle Ages to the Trump era.
Although it falls a little short of being definitive, it's a sweeping and thought-provoking look at how things we're afraid of help shape the world around us, be it in war, politics, health or finance.
Peckham shows that fear comes in many distinct flavours: simmering anxiety, sweaty panic, jittery phobias, angry rage. It has been a tool for kings and dictators, a spark to light revolutions.
The Catholic Church ruled for centuries through threats of eternal damnation that promised fear spanning far beyond life itself, until the Black Death and the Reformation loosened its grip. Bloodsoaked events like the French Revolution, slavery and colonisation often relied on fear to further power - or destroy it.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 11 - 17, 2023 من New Zealand Listener.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 11 - 17, 2023 من New Zealand Listener.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.