From TikTok’s glorified youth culture to academic pressure, debt, and social comparison, new research and personal stories suggest real happiness may come much later than expected.
Category: Society
When a child’s blunt questions about death collide with the sudden loss of a neighbor, glass marbles in hand, lessons on fragility and presence take shape in unexpected ways.
When partners differ in their wish for children, research shows it often results in imbalanced responsibilities, hidden power struggles, and lasting strain.
From wolf rival to human companion, Canis lupus familiaris has mastered empathy, communication, and survival by being the friendliest predator of all.
Tourism is transforming neighborhood festivals across Spain, from Horta to Seville, leaving locals to navigate crowded streets, altered traditions, and celebrations increasingly shaped for visitors rather than the communities that created them.
The pandemic has put a damper on the Japanese tourism boom. Also discouraged by international crises, they now prefer local vacations.
The concept of the “autism spectrum,” once revolutionary, may now oversimplify autism’s complexity. Experts argue autism isn’t a line from mild to severe but a diverse set of traits and needs, requiring language that reflects individuality, not hierarchy or severity.
Democracies weaken not only for institutional reasons, but also because citizens stop thinking and surrender to impulse.
Paris Calling, Worldcrunch’s new podcast series, where each episode introduces you to a notable person, from somewhere in the world, in their own voice, in English. Today, we have Diariata N’Diaye, a French slam poet and activist who founded an association raising awareness among young people about sexual violence.
The UK government will not meet its pledge to halve violence against women and girls unless it tackles tech companies.
For both its children and adults, Guatemala is facing an obesity crisis. The problem is exacerbated by the food industry’s use of “fortification” with vitamins as a marketing strategy to make harmful products appear healthy.
The clash over language teaching is less about classrooms and more about who gets to define what it means to be Indian.
Created as the inverted image of natural pathogens, mirror bacteria could resist all their predators. If they spread, their impact on ecosystems could be uncontrollable. And yet, some researchers have not given up on creating them…
Efforts to evict a São Paulo community for a new headquarters gained the president’s attention.
Nothing would happen at the Oktoberfest without waiters. Die Zeit wired one of them with a microphone to get a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to survive Munich’s world-famous festival.
It’s 122° F at the kebab grill. My mother has been standing there for 35 years, and I’ve been joining her there every day now, even though I’m still at university. Because that’s our form of resistance.
Has France’s chronic decline in Christianity reached a low point? That trend now coexists with another dynamic: a second wind of religion among disaffiliated young people.
It is easy to feel buried by the avalanche of bad news from around the world. But we have a duty to gratefully enjoy the moments of our lives, come what may.
As AI begins to guide users through sensitive topics like suicide, the legal and ethical lines that once protected tech companies are being tested.
For €50 a month, some people are buying into cryogenic preservation, hoping the future holds the key to immortality. With investors pouring millions into Tomorrow Biostasis, the once-fantastical idea is edging into the mainstream. But critics warn that what’s being sold isn’t science — it’s hope on ice.
Land reforms gave Zimbabweans farms — but contract tobacco deals have handed power to private companies.
With an 80% market share in the house-swap space, and explosive growth, HomeExchange, bought and reinvented by two Frenchmen, has become the undisputed champion of house swapping. Will it undercut the American giant’s hold on the market.
Paris Calling, Worldcrunch’s new podcast series, where each episode introduces you to a notable person, from somewhere in the world, in their own voice, in English. Today, we have Karol Noroña, an Ecuadorian investigative journalist who was forced into exile after her work on her country’s cartels led to death threats.
The fleet may not open a maritime corridor, and the hunger strike may not end the hunger, but their true strength lies in breaking the psychological isolation, in offering a sense that there is a moral refuge, even if it is materially powerless.
Nowadays, the auto industry produces “entry-level” cars that are going for double what they cost 25 years ago, leaving young buyers struggling to enter the market while luxury and high-performance brands continue to thrive
Research, much if it by companies with deep investment in AI, suggests that chatbot interactions alter how users think.
Defending immigration for selfish reasons is just a modern ode to slavery — justice demands equality, not gratitude.
A year has passed since the start of this historic Mazan rape trial. Far from the courtroom in Avignon, how has the woman who became a global icon emerged from her journey into the depths of darkness?
People in recovery from eating disorders and OCD increasingly seek support from coaches, but some experts are wary.
In an age of uncertainty and distrust in traditional institutions, astrology has reemerged as part therapy, part identity language, and part entertainment — a way for many, especially women, youth, and LGBTQ+ communities, to navigate modern life.
Is it possible to think about hatred in terms that do not reject it outright? Are there groups in society who are allowed to hate and others who are not? These are questions fundamental to today’s politics of resistance.
Paris Calling, Worldcrunch’s new podcast series, where each episode introduces you to a notable person, from somewhere in the world, in their own voice, in English. Today, we have Chantal Lamarre, a well-known Canadian comedian, actor, and TV presenter who walks us through her self-discovering journey from a shy kid to an outspoken performer, and plenty more material in between.
Some patients “come back to life” shortly before dying: they regain consciousness and control of their minds and interact with their families as they normally would. It is an illusion, but one with interesting scientific implications.
With two dramatic actions, the “Religious Right” is suddenly prodding the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its historic 2015 Obergefell decision, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Such a radical and unpopular switch after only 10 years might seem implausible. A close parallel already happened in the 2022 Dobbs decision when the Court ended its former Roe v. Wade mandate on legal abortion and allowed each state to set its own policy.
Jolie and Pitt’s idyllic vineyard life in Provence gave way to legal battles, renovations, and a bitter divorce.
Many popular video games now incorporate features similar to betting and online gambling, which is significantly increasing the risk of addiction and financial harm for young players. Addiction to video games and online gaming is one of the leading causes of mental health issues among adolescents today, ranking above anorexia and substance abuse.
War is eroding the foundations of the health care system in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Months of violence between government forces and M23, an armed group with backing from neighboring Rwanda, have spurred looting and closures of medical clinics around Lubero territory. Facilities that remain open are grappling with supply shortages, staff departures and mounting difficulties transporting patients.
Paris Calling, Worldcrunch’s new podcast series, where each episode introduces you to a notable person, from somewhere in the world, in their own voice, in English. Today, we have Francesco Zizola, an Italian photojournalist with an award-winning career spanning more than 40 years, explains what’s behind the lens in the era of algorithm.
France may look like a paradise from the outside, with free education, early retirement, and working healthcare, yet its people protest as if trapped in hell. President Emmanuel Macron’s failed middle path and Europe’s fragile currency expose a deeper malaise shaking the continent.
Even those on the French left who resist the country’s color-blindness were dismayed when an optional question on parental origin was added to the census. Although the issue may seem benign in countries where race is routinely asked about, in France the question acted as a lighting rod for debates over how to address discrimination considering the country’s dark past and the current rise of the far right.