Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The G20 summit in Hangzhou, China draws to a close. Chinese president Xi Jinping told fellow world leaders that the global economy is under threat from rising protectionism and highly leveraged financial markets.
Debating Brexit all over again. Members of Britain’s House of Commons will debate a petition calling for a second referendum on EU membership. But prime minister Theresa May has already dismissed the idea of a second referendum even though the public petition gathered more than four million online signatures.
Markets are closed in the US and Canada. Both countries mark their Labor Day holidays.
Over the weekend
Japan warned Britain against making too hasty a Brexit. The Asian giant is worried about the lack of clarity on the terms of UK’s exit and how it might affect Japanese investments in the UK particularly in the automotive and banking industries.
Mother Theresa was made a saint by Pope Francis. The process for making her a saint began five years after her death in 1997. But the decision to make her a saint has not been without controversy. Some in Kolkota, the city for which her selfless work is best known, aren’t really bothered one way or another.
A politician has spoken movingly about one of the biggest taboos of being a woman. Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has spoken about a miscarriage she had in 2011. In doing so she started a discussion women rarely have in public forums, even though one in six pregnancies end in miscarriage.
A US ban on antibacterial soap shows it’s not just ineffective, but dangerous. Some of the antibacterial chemicals have proven ill effects and contribute to the growth of drug-resistant bacteria, cause health problems by destroying helpful bacteria that live on our bodies, and have the potential to disrupt our hormones.
Quartz obsession interlude
Allison Schrager on how technology is taking jobs away from men. A great shift in job culture has upset men before, during England’s industrial revolution in the 19th century. The current trend could see a return to artisanal employment for the middle class, where good jobs combine technology and interpersonal skills to deliver specialized, high-quality services. Read more here.
Matters of debate
Having boys is a good thing. Data suggests couples who have sons are more likely to stay together.
China is still our best hope for global growth. Despite the hand-wringing, no developing economy comes close to China’s contribution to global growth.
Your avocado toast may be killing the Monarch butterfly. As avocado demand rises, so does the incentive to deforest swathes of land and plant avocado trees instead of the pines that are usually the winter home for Monarch butterflies.
Surprising discoveries
Discovering the fountain of youth. A scientist from MIT and a company Elysium with six Nobel Prize winners on its scientific advisory board believe they can extend our lives with a new pill called Basis.
The UK is weirdly terrified of immigration from one specific country. And it’s not a country which has a history of much migration to the British isles.
A Kenyan fable on how humans learned to walk could be the most translated short story ever. Veteran Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s story, originally written in his first language Gikuyu, has been translated to more 54 languages so far.
One in four Americans didn’t open a book last year. A new poll shows that the portion of adults who read at least one book in the last year stayed the same as the previous year.
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