Africa launched its first continental space agency.
And the winner of the International Booker.
“The Intersection” is your Monday, Wednesday, Friday briefing on global affairs, human rights, environment, social innovation, culture, and design—offering fresh insights through the lenses of sustainable development, women-centered perspectives, and emerging global trends. The aim? To keep you informed, curious, and always ready with a compelling conversation starter at the dinner table.
In today’s letter: feminist rallies in Australia, an art museum focused on migration, the true cost of climate change for the world’s poorest nations, BYD outselling Tesla in Europe, what makes a city truly happy, a Lisbon exhibit we all should see, and much more.
Morning, friends.
Last week, I finally made it to the Art Institute of Chicago to catch Frida Kahlo, Her Parisian Year: A Friendship with Mary Reynolds. I hadn’t rushed—despite the buzzy promotion, the reviews were tepid at best. The main gripe? It’s not really about Frida. The exhibit, as it turns out, is more a love letter to Mary Reynolds, the Surrealist bookbinder and Marcel Duchamp’s partner, whose archive the museum happens to own. The two women became fast friends in Paris in 1939, and Reynolds, whose salon was a hub for the city’s avant-garde, provided the intellectual and emotional refuge artists like Duchamp, Man Ray, and eventually Kahlo seemed to orbit.
In a neat bit of serendipity, I was also reading Gabriële by Anne and Claire Berest, a fascinating portrait of their great-grandmother, who was married to Francis Picabia and deeply entwined with the same circles— a young Duchamp included. He falls madly in love with her, naturally. The book is a gem, but what really struck me (both in the gallery and on the page) was how essential these women were to the men we’re taught to revere.
Gabriële and Mary weren’t just muses; they were collaborators, curators, and creators in their own right. Their art, intellect, and domestic spaces became the infrastructure for entire movements.
So while I came for Frida, I left thinking about Mary, Gabriële, and all the other women who hosted, challenged, inspired—and occasionally outshone—the so-called great men of modern art. A quiet exhibition and a forgotten bookbinder? Maybe. But also a reminder to look at who’s holding up the canvas behind the scenes.
Tens of thousands gathered across Australia’s capital cities and regional centres for the “No More” rallies, calling for decisive action to end gendered and sexual violence. From Sydney’s Hyde Park to Melbourne’s Parliament steps, demonstrators demanded greater investment in primary prevention, trauma-informed police training, crisis housing, and uniform consent laws. Advocates criticised the federal government’s election response as woefully inadequate. Names of the 133 women killed since January 2024 were read aloud in solemn remembrance, while organisers urged men to step up, take accountability, and help shift cultural norms. “Violence against women is primarily a male problem,” said femicide researcher Sherele Moody. “It’s not a women’s problem to solve, but women are the ones doing the work.” Protesters called for a national domestic violence register, expanded education in schools and sports clubs, and stronger collaboration between government and frontline services—insisting that meaningful change starts with listening to those on the ground.
Christian F. Nunes’s departure as president of the National Organization for Women (NOW) reveals deep-seated challenges within a historic U.S. feminist institution, which is grappling with issues of race, leadership, and inclusivity. As the second Black woman to lead NOW since its founding in 1966, Nunes confronted a hostile environment where her authority was repeatedly questioned and her role as a single mother dismissed. Despite driving crucial reforms in financial transparency and championing intersectional causes, such as racial equity training and immigrant rights, she faced ongoing resistance from segments of the board, reflecting long-standing tensions between NOW’s predominantly white leadership and women of colour. This discord highlights the broader struggle facing progressive organisations today: how to evolve beyond entrenched structures and genuinely embody the diversity and complexity of modern feminist activism. (I am currently reading this fascinating book about the history of NOW and highly recommend it!)
Abortion support groups in Latin America are confronting a surge of digital censorship as Meta suspends their WhatsApp business accounts and removes posts, citing policy breaches amid coordinated complaints from anti-abortion activists. Although abortion is legal in many countries, these actions disrupt vital communication channels for women seeking care. Meta denies targeting these organisations, but affected groups say automated moderation disproportionately silences them, forcing a continual battle to maintain access to reproductive health information in an increasingly hostile online environment.
In Bangladesh, a surge of radical Islamist opposition is challenging women’s rights amid political turmoil following last year’s upheaval that ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Nearly 20,000 men rallied in Dhaka against the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission (established to promote gender equality with reforms such as equal inheritance and criminalising marital rape) condemning it as a threat to Islamic values. Leaders from Hefazat-e-Islam and women’s madrassas openly reject gender equality, framing it as incompatible with the Quran, while accusing the commission of importing Western ideals. This backlash coincides with rising violence and harassment against women, shrinking their presence in public life and decision-making. Activists warn that the caretaker government’s silence emboldens conservative forces eager to confine women to traditional roles, risking not only social progress but also the nation’s fragile economic gains driven by female labour.
Rotterdam’s Fenix Museum of Migration has opened its doors with a bold message: migration is as universal as it is personal. Housed in a converted port warehouse topped by a gleaming, tornado-like staircase of polished steel, the art museum features works by artists such as Yinka Shonibare and Grayson Perry, alongside intimate artifacts, including a handwritten bus note used by a Surinamese migrant. The museum arrives in a city shaped by global movement but increasingly swayed by anti-immigrant politics—Rotterdam gave a significant boost to the far-right Freedom Party in 2023. While critics accuse the museum of romanticizing migration, its curators aim to tell a fuller story: one of displacement and belonging, challenge and resilience, rooted in Rotterdam’s port history and refracted through the lives of millions.
We also need to discuss the building quickly… the Tornado (see below) is the centerpiece, made of stainless steel with two sweeping wooden staircases. Not only can you get a 360-degree view of Rotterdam, but it also “symbolises the central theme of Fenix: migration.”
Climbing the Tornado is like embarking on a journey. How you navigate it is up to you—the staircase has two entrances from the main hall, offering multiple routes to the top. Along the way, you’ll encounter other visitors and catch glimpses of yourself reflected in 297 stainless steel panels. The path upwards is full of unexpected turns and shifting perspectives, much like the journey of a migrant, as architect Ma Yansong describes it. Read more and watch a great video here.
Jake Wood, head of the newly formed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, resigned just hours before its Israeli-backed aid programme was set to launch, citing an inability to operate with the neutrality and independence required of humanitarian work. Wood, a former U.S. Marine and veteran aid organiser, said the initiative, designed by Israeli officials and American security contractors, was too entangled with political interests to function impartially. The foundation plans to proceed, aiming to feed over one million Gazans despite sharp criticism from the UN and other agencies, who warn the effort risks deepening civilian hardship and displacement in the region.
Meanwhile, fifteen aid trucks en route to World Food Programme-supported bakeries in Gaza were looted last week, just days after Israel eased its blockade, highlighting the fragile logistics and mounting challenges of delivering food in a region on the brink.
The true cost of climate change is being borne most heavily by the world’s poorest nations, with droughts, floods, and cyclones displacing communities, devastating agriculture, and costing low-income countries approximately $156 billion since 2000, much of it directly linked to climate change. (We already know this, though, right??) Small island states and fragile nations, such as Somalia, Haiti, and Uganda, are suffering disproportionately despite having contributed little to global emissions. Somalia alone has endured an estimated $75bn in climate-related damages, while Dominica has lost nearly 10% of its GDP annually to extreme weather. With climate finance from wealthy nations falling far short (only $768m pledged to the Loss and Damage Fund at COP28), calls are mounting for a global reckoning. As warming continues and aid budgets shrink, the disparity between those causing the crisis and those enduring its effects is likely to become increasingly drastic.
On that note, last month, Africa launched its first continental space agency, a move set to transform how the region gathers and shares climate and weather data in an increasingly unpredictable world. Headquartered in Cairo under the auspices of the African Union, the African Space Agency aims to coordinate fragmented national efforts, build shared infrastructure, and enhance data sovereignty across the continent. Its remit includes launching satellites, expanding weather station networks, and supporting early warning systems—from West African fisheries to the Congo River basin.
But, penguin poop might just save us. Maybe. A new study finds that guano (poop) from Adélie penguins (rich in ammonia due to their krill-heavy diet) interacts with sulfur-containing atmospheric gases to produce aerosol particles that seed clouds. These clouds then play a role in regulating surface temperatures across the Antarctic region by creating a buffer between the sun’s heat and Antarctica’s ice and water. Scientists suggest that over the open ocean, this may have a cooling effect, whereas over ice sheets, the impact is more complex.
BYD outsold Tesla in Europe for the first time last month, driven by a 169% surge in sales. I know consumers generally have short memories, but I really don’t think Tesla will be able to recover from the past year.
Microsoft has signed a long-term deal with Boston-based start-up Sublime Systems to purchase low-carbon cement for its data centers, offices, and infrastructure projects, marking a significant move in the tech giant’s bid to decarbonize its ballooning Scope 3 emissions. Sublime, which spun out of MIT in 2020 and has raised $200 million to date, replaces the traditional kiln with an electrochemical process to produce cement without the carbon-intensive burn. Microsoft will claim over 622,000 metric tons in emissions reductions through 2033, reinforcing its efforts to rein in the carbon cost of powering the AI revolution.
In the 1970s, the Soviet Union embarked on one of its boldest engineering fantasies: reversing the flow of Siberia’s rivers to irrigate the arid south, using “peaceful nuclear explosions” to carve canals. This is your fun fact for the day. I hope your colleagues enjoy!
What makes a city truly happy? Turns out it isn’t just about a winning sports team. According to the Institute for the Quality of Life’s 2025 Happy City Index, it’s a careful balance of good governance, efficient transport, green space, economic vitality, and cultural vibrancy. Topping the list of 31 “Gold Cities” is (the delightful) Copenhagen, praised for its sustainability, seamless mobility, and rich public life—from bike-friendly streets to street-food markets. “There’s always something happening,” says resident Mari-Anne Daura. “The city makes it easy to feel connected.” Minneapolis is above London but below Seoul, for future planning purposes.
Swiss start-up Finally. is bringing style and soul to some of life’s most challenging chapters: hospital stays, chronic illness, and the final curtain call. With input from patients, loved ones, and healthcare staff, their community-minded lab crafts fashion and sustainable objects that are as functional as they are quietly beautiful. I find their work refreshingly humane and appreciate that they are helping us reframe fragility itself, not as something to hide, but as something deeply worthy of care and aesthetic attention.
One of these bags would look exceptional over my shoulder this summer.
Did you see last week that Heart Lamp won the International Booker? It is the first short-story collection to win the prize and the first winner originally written in Kannada (a classical Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India). Written by Banu Mushtaq and translated by Deepa Bhasthi, the stories chronicle the everyday lives of women and girls in patriarchal communities in southern India. I have started reading it, so I will report back soon.
Grab your euros, we’re going to Portugal. At Lisbon’s Centro de Arte Moderna, Paula Rego and Adriana Varejão: Between Your Teeth stages a dialogue between two artists unafraid to confront power, pain, and the body as both metaphor and battlefield. Varejão’s newly created works (faux-flesh, slashed tiles, and haunting incisions) are shown alongside Rego’s fantastical yet politically charged figures, revealing unexpected common ground between the Portuguese-British icon and the Brazilian provocateur. The exhibition, spanning six decades, invites viewers into a layered choreography of memory, myth, and unflinching imagination. On view through 22 September 2025.
Thank you for reading! Please share with an interesting and interested person in your life. xxx