Good morning, Quartz readers!
On Tuesday, US president Donald Trump told the UN General Assembly that his government “has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country,” provoking laughter among the world’s leaders.
Not even two days later, the Senate confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh pitted an even-handed Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were both in high school, against a furious Kavanaugh, who called the allegations a Democratic hit job. Complaints of unprincipled partisanship emerged on both sides, alongside warnings that the hearing spelled the end of American values.
At the heart of those values is a democracy that puts the people’s will (or, the will of the citizens who enjoy full rights) above other powers. US citizens elect a president, vote for attorneys general and, through those votes, select judges. American institutions rely on trusting voters, and on voters trusting the system. The assumption is that elected officials know to make choices for the greater good, and not for petty partisanship.
Kavanaugh’s hearing exposed problems with that assumption. The US has become too polarized, too disconnected on the notion of truth, and too reliant on a body of legislators who have long since failed to reflect the demographic breakdown of the country they serve. The judiciary, traditionally distant from partisan bickering, is now smack in the middle of it.
Proceeding with Kavanaugh’s confirmation without an investigation, as many Republican senators were ready to do, would “have a lasting impact on the Senate’s reputation,” American Bar Association president Robert Carlson warned this week. The Supreme Court, too, “must remain an institution that will reliably follow the law and not politics,” Carlson wrote.
The FBI seems likely to investigate Ford’s claims; depending on what they find, Kavanaugh’s confirmation may move forward, or give way to the next candidate on Trump’s list. But the damage to democracy has, in a sense, already been done. On Friday, Vermont senator Patrick Leahy said historians will look back on the hearing as a “turning point in this country.” Many Americans agree, but their reasons vary widely. —Annalisa Merelli and Heather Timmons
Five things on Quartz we especially liked
Galileo’s attempts to outsmart the Catholic Church. Believing our planet revolves around the sun could land you in deep trouble in the 1600s. Edits that the astronomer Galileo Galilei made in a newly discovered letter reveal his resourcefulness in navigating the political climate of his time while advancing scientific understanding, writes Sarah Todd. Of course, his views ultimately landed him under house arrest anyway.
The Harvard Business School case study is out of touch. Asking students to imagine themselves in the role of a CEO has become such a widespread teaching style that many now equate it with business education. But as Lila MacLellan writes, the man who made the style such a force, Wallace Donham, later concluded it was too indifferent to larger societal ills.
America’s fastest-growing foreign language. In 2000, the US had fewer than 88,000 speakers of Teluga, native to south India. Today it has over 415,000, writes Ananya Bhattacharya, thanks to an influx of tech and engineering workers from cities like Hyderabad, the hometown of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z took out a $200,000-a-month mortgage. When the couple bought their $88 million mansion last year, they used a $52.8 million mortgage. As Kabir Chibber writes, with US property prices rising and interest rates near historic lows, it’s worthwhile for even the wealthiest buyers to take out “superjumbo loans” and use their free cash in other investments.
Why you should be glad to sit in the middle seat. Many grumble about air travel these days, which is understandable given the extra fees and dearth of elbow room. But packed flights and flexible fare structures have helped democratize air travel, which has become quieter, more efficient, and more responsive to consumer demand, argues aviation consultant Samuel Engel.
Five things elsewhere that made us smarter
The fall of the Bin Laden business empire. The family-owned construction giant built palaces, mosques, and cities for successive kings in Saudi Arabia, but its fortunes have fallen with the rise of reform-minded Prince Mohammed bin Salman, now second in line to the throne. In a special report, Reuters documents the conglomerate’s dramatic fall from grace.
Bad maps are ruining American broadband. US customers pay some of the steepest prices in the developed world for high-speed internet, yet authorities routinely declare markets like Cleveland, Ohio connected and competitive when they clearly are not. The problem, writes Karl Bode for the Verge, is the government relying on data provided by ISPs.
“Qapik” can now be used in Scrabble. The word, for a monetary unit in Azerbaijan, is among 300 new ones added to the sixth edition of the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, released Monday. For the Associated Press, Leanne Italie highlights the additions—among them bibimbap, facepalm, and aquafaba—and dives deep into the game’s history.
The legacy of Lehman Brothers is a global pensions mess. Ten years after the firm’s downfall and the global financial crisis, we’re less at risk of a sudden banking collapse. But the risks have simply moved from banks to pension funds, writes John Authers for the Financial Times (paywall).
The #dadjoke is getting renewed appreciation. From Reddit forums to online videos, the “jokes that make you laugh and cringe in equal measure” seem to be everywhere. For the Atlantic, Ashley Fetters looks into their recent ubiquity and what it says about modern humor—and about fatherhood.
Our best wishes for a relaxing but thought-filled weekend. Please send any news, comments, Scrabble gems, and groan-inducing jokes to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates throughout the day, or download our apps for iPhone and Android. Today’s Weekend Brief was edited by Kira Bindrim and Steve Mollman.