OZY - Daily Dose

10 MUST READS TODAY

Tuesday
December 18, 2018

Acumen

The Next Generation of STEM Leaders Hails From … Nebraska?

Though students’ interest in STEM is growing nationwide, the Midwest — specifically Nebraska — is leading the charge.

It often feels like a new tech startup promising to make our lives better and easier launches every day. Hudl aims to provide analysis tools for coaches and athletes. Alternative payment platform Sezzle helps consumers pay online merchants in interest-free installments. C2FO created the first market for working capital. But these companies aren’t based in the Bay Area or New York City, as you’d expect. Respectively, they’re headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska; Minneapolis; and Kansas City, Missouri.

“Silicon Prairie” is a term that has become shorthand for how the Midwest is disrupting the grip on the tech industry previously held almost exclusively by coastal cities. Tech companies are increasingly being lured to the rolling plains by everything from lower costs of living to higher quality of life. But if tech companies are going to continue setting up shop in the middle of the country, they’re going to need to draw from a workforce similarly interested in putting down roots in the heartland rather than in California or New York.

Good Sh*t

Give the Gift of a Happy New Year

To decide what to get your nearest and dearest for Christmas, look ahead exactly one week.

Though Christmas gift-giving has totally overshadowed New Year’s gift-giving in the U.S. and many other places, you heard it here first: New Year’s gifts are a thing! Not only is it a traditional gift-giving day in several other countries, including Russia — which looked to New Year’s during the Soviet era as a secular alternative to Christmas — it gives you an extra few days to find presents for everyone.

Look, you could just get everybody socks. Seriously, everybody loves socks! Look at these puffin socks. Anyway, for those of you whose friends and family have enough socks (no such thing), here’s a pro tip when deciding what to get them: In just a few days, they’ll be celebrating New Year’s Eve … and you should get them something they can use. Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all New Year’s, but OZY has you covered no matter what.

3	Rising Stars

Rising Stars

When Bangladesh's Prime Minister Faces Crisis, She Turns to This 79-Year-Old

Over five decades, Hossain Toufique Imam has shaped Bangladesh’s political present. Now, he’s working on its future.

Short, bald and soft-spoken, Hossain Toufique Imam wouldn’t dare take credit for any of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s accomplishments. But as the nation of 165 million prepares for a high-stakes election on Dec. 31 amid a surge in Islamic extremist threats, the hand of Hasina’s 79-year-old political adviser can be felt — just as it has since the nation’s founding.

Imam was the first Cabinet secretary — the top bureaucrat — of Bangladesh after it won its independence from Pakistan in 1971. For the following three decades, he served successive governments in different administrative capacities. As a part of Hasina’s core team for the past 10 years, Imam’s forceful yet restrained touch has helped guide the prime minister’s responses to some of her biggest challenges: a military mutiny in 2009, a siege on capital Dhaka by Islamists in 2013, and an election boycott by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) followed by street clashes and arson in 2014.

4	The Huddle

The NCAA's Dominance Is Weakening. Enter the G League

Since 2001, this league has grown in size, stature and pay.

5	True Story

After I Broke My Neck, I Couldn't Walk. But I Could Still Lead

A tragic accident paralyzed Jim Sinocchi from the neck down. But he didn’t let it define him.

6	Fast Forward

Huawei Executive's Arrest Spooks China's Rich

The arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou has sparked worries among Chinese business leaders about traveling to the U.S.

7	True Story

Hunting for Junkies in Burned-Out Buildings

This was not about habitual heroin use. This was a one-time cry for help. But when it went south, someone still had to pick up the pieces.

8	Fast Forward

We Can't Reach the Final Frontier by Running in Circles

As space becomes more accessible, countries must strive to rise above earthly politics.

Acumen

Why Migrants Are Good for the Global Economy

Barriers to immigration cost trillions in potential global GDP.

10	Fast Forward

The Rise of Mexico’s High-Tech Entrepreneurial Generation

Wealthy families and government initiatives are helping unleash a wave of venture capital–funded startups.

You Should Know This


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