The Week Evening Review
Bangladesh's new era, prisoners in the US-Russia swap, and Gamergate's continuing relevance

 
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION

Will Bangladesh ride a new wave of democracy? 

Bangladesh will have a new leader for the first time in over a decade. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on Monday, fleeing the country by helicopter. The head of the Bangladesh Army, Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman, announced he would form an interim government, to be led by Nobel Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, in what he described as a "critical time for our country."

Hasina's resignation comes after weeks of student antigovernment protests, sparked by anger over a new quota system for civil service jobs. Hasina ruled Bangladesh since 2009 and was often described as an authoritarian. So what will her ouster mean for Bangladesh?

What did the commentators say?
Hasina's political longevity "relied on tacit backing from the army and increasing oppression," and "until last month, it looked as if Sheikh Hasina's formula for maintaining power still worked," said The Economist. But once the protests started, Hasina was "faced with the prospect of inflicting large-scale bloodshed" to defend her "decaying regime" and "concluded that her position was untenable." The question now becomes "whether, after a period of caretaker military rule, a credible democratic system can be rebuilt."

The Bangladesh military has a history of meddling in politics and until recently supported Hasina's political party. This means the "fall of Hasina is only the first step in what will no doubt be a bitter reconciliation process," Ali Riaz, a politics and government professor at Illinois State University, said to Time. "Distrust of the security services, military, courts and civil service runs deep across society."

Religious clashes could also hinder any democratic shift. With Hasina ousted, there's a "power vacuum" and "nobody to implement law and order," Debapriya Bhattacharya, an economist at the Center for Policy Dialogue in Dhaka, said to the BBC. "The new government will need to protect religious minorities." 

What next?
The army has "asked the president, who holds a ceremonial role, to form a new government," but Bangladesh's military has a "history of staging coups and countercoups," said The New York Times. However, the military has "taken a less overt role in public affairs" in recent years. 

The president of Bangladesh dissolved the country's parliament a day after Hasina's departure. This paves the way for new national elections. Bangladesh had an "imaginary election in the past. Now we need a real election," interim government leader Yunus said to The Washington Post.

 
 
QUOTE OF THE DAY

'It doesn't call for appropriations or change anything because everybody already thinks it's the national bird.'

Preston Cook, an eagle enthusiast and the author of "American Eagle: A Visual History of Our National Emblem," on why lawmakers should have no problem passing a bill to officially designate the bald eagle as America's national bird. Surprisingly, the bird was never officially recognized, and it was "kind of astounding" that "no one’s ever picked up on this before," Cook said. 

 
 
In the Spotlight

Historic US-Russia prisoner swap: the names to know

The U.S. and Russia participated in the largest prisoner swap since the collapse of the Soviet Union on Aug. 1, and the multinational deal resulted in the release of two dozen people. Among the most notable were a pair of American journalists and an American jailed on espionage charges. 

Who did the US receive in the exchange?
The headline-making name among those freed by Russia is Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter at The Wall Street Journal who was "taken into Russian custody while on assignment in Yekaterinburg in March of 2023," said CBS News. Gershkovich was charged with espionage and sentenced to 16 years in prison just days before his release. Now, Gershkovich has been freed from "wrongful imprisonment based on sham accusations and a fake trial as part of an all-out assault on the free press and truth," the Journal's editor-in-chief, Emma Tucker, said.

Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian American journalist at Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, was also freed after being "convicted for violating Russian laws on 'military fakes' in connection with a book she edited about Ukraine," said Reuters. She was sentenced to over six years in prison, and the reasons for her arrest have "remained stubbornly and bafflingly unclear," said The Washington Post.

Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan was also released. He spent more than 2,000 days in Russian custody after his 2018 arrest. Russia claimed Whelan was "caught 'red-handed' in an act of espionage, while Whelan insisted" he was "simply a tourist," said USA Today. Despite maintaining his innocence, Whelan was "sentenced to 16 years of hard labor." 

Who did Russia receive? 
Several big-name Russians accused of various crimes were released back to Russia as part of the deal. The most notable is Vadim Krasikov, who was "sentenced to life in prison in Germany in 2021 for the brazen assassination of a Chechen separatist fighter in broad daylight in a park in central Berlin in 2019," said The New York Times. The judge who sentenced Krasikov alleged that the killing had been ordered by Putin, though the Russian president denied this. 

 
 

Statistic of the day

6,000: The number of anti-riot police officers being mobilized in the U.K. to prevent far-right violence. The preparations come during continuing race riots in the U.K. Reports indicate far-right groups are set to attack immigration and refugee centers as part of a fight against anti-racism activists. 
Daily Mail

 
 
the explainer

Why we're still talking about Gamergate

A decade has passed since Gamergate unleashed a widespread harassment campaign directed at women in gaming, but the impact still lingers across society. The loosely organized movement demonstrated the real-life ramifications of hate speech online and became a rallying point for broader right-wing activism. 

How it started
In August 2014, 24-year-old American Eron Gjoni published a lengthy blog post accusing his ex-partner, video game developer Zoe Quinn, of using a sexual relationship with a critic to get a positive review of their game, "Depression Quest." (The journalist in question hadn't reviewed Quinn's game.) 

Gjoni's post, which others described as a manifesto, quickly gained attention on the 4chan internet messaging board, which harnessed its user base to harass anyone who stepped up to support Quinn. "Soon, an army of internet dwellers had seized on this opportunity to police a woman's sexual behavior under the guise of promoting 'ethics in games journalism,'" said The Guardian. Mixed in was a broader nostalgia for a time when games were "designed with teenage boys in mind" and a corresponding hostility toward progressive and inclusive trends in media. 

The impact
Quinn and others faced sustained misogynistic and sexual harassment, and the fight spread beyond chat forums, laying the groundwork for later far-right movements that mirror its beginnings. Companies such as Intel and EA vowed to commit more effort to diversity, but the FBI and other U.S. law agencies were unable to track down the worst offenders. Some argue that a continued lack of tools and training for law enforcement agencies to address the root causes of online hate have had real-life consequences, from mass shootings to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. 

The continuation
Developers who make their games more inclusive continue to face right-wing backlash and harassment campaigns. And now, there isn't even the "false banner of 'ethics in journalism,'" said The Verge. In 2024, the target is simply "wokeism."

 
 

Good day 🥈

… for Annette Nneka Echikunwoke. The track-and-field athlete secured a silver medal with a score of 75.48 in the women's hammer throw final, becoming the first American woman to medal in the event. A dual citizen of the U.S. and Nigeria, Echikunwoke made the Nigerian Olympic team for the 2020 Tokyo Games but was deemed ineligible because of doping test protocol errors made by the African Federation of Nigeria.

 
 

Bad day 🎟️

… for Fugees fans. Lauryn Hill and her Fugees bandmates, Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel, canceled their U.S. tour only three days before it was scheduled to begin. Fans were not given a reason for the cancellation by promoter Live Nation, and the tour dates are no longer listed at Ticketmaster.

 
 
Picture of the day

Culture clash

Pope Francis greets members of Danza Prehispánica Tonatiuh, a Mexican troupe dedicated to preserving precolonial Indigenous dance, music and rituals, during his weekly general audience at the Vatican. 
Alberto Pizzoli / AFP / Getty Images

 
 
Puzzles

Test your general knowledge with The Week's daily crossword, part of our puzzles section, which also includes sudoku and codewords

 
 
The Week recommends

Paso Robles is not as well-known as its northern neighbors, Napa and Sonoma. This benefits those who crave a quintessential wine country experience without the crowds. Paso Robles is unpretentious, and you can take the time to ask questions at some of the region's best tasting rooms, learn what you like to drink, and broaden your palate.

A red wine adventure
Paso Robles has long attracted winemakers both rooted in tradition and willing to take risks, like L'Aventure's Stephan Asseo. In 1998, after 15 years of making wine in Bordeaux, he wanted more freedom and to create a "fantasy blend" of syrah, cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot, his daughter, L'Aventure General Manager Chloe Asseo-Fabré, said. "The beauty of Paso is there are no rules."
 
A bit of Alsace in California
Xavier Arnaudin of Union Sacré also came to Paso Robles with a dream. Taking inspiration from Alsace, a white wine region, he was unfazed when warned that sweeter wines would be a hard sell on the West Coast. "People told me I was crazy and a project like this would be more challenging," Arnaudin said. "But it's worth the fight." 

Nearly two decades of winemaking
Spend even a minute chatting with Guillaume Fabre at Clos Soléne and it's clear that his passion for all things wine is as strong today as it was when he launched the brand in 2007. Come for a tasting, and you will see him in the vineyards, taking guests on guided property tours, pouring samples, and answering any question about wine that may come his way.

 
 

Poll watch

Significantly fewer Americans today believe it's important to vaccinate their children, according to a Gallup poll. The poll found that 40% of Americans say it's "extremely important" to get their kids vaccinated, compared to 58% in 2019 and 64% in 2001. Feelings on vaccines skew ideologically, with 63% of Democrats saying they are "extremely important" compared to 26% of Republicans. 

 
 
INSTANT OPINION

Today's best commentary

'We're likely not in a recession, but we could talk ourselves into one'
Catherine Rampell at The Washington Post
The U.S. is "probably not in recession yet. But we could well talk ourselves into one," says Catherine Rampell. It originally seemed the Federal Reserve was "almost certain to achieve a coveted 'soft landing'; now we're in for some turbulence at the very least." The "main concern now is that widespread negativity can start to feed on itself," so "even if the recent data don't yet doom us to a downturn, enough doom-mongering could."

'The Tim Walz pick is a win for economic populism' 
Zeeshan Aleem at MSNBC
Tim Walz "seems like the sharpest choice" for Harris' vice president, says Zeeshan Aleem. Walz "possesses the sensibilities and accomplishments of an outspoken economic populist," which is "also an effective way to counteract the siren call of right-wing populism." His "recent legislative record as governor illustrates serious ambition for sweeping social policies designed to help ordinary Americans achieve economic freedom." Walz's emergence "signals that the Democratic Party has a growing appetite for bold populism."

'Medicaid is bloated, pricey and ineffective. Here's a simple fix.'
Liam Sigaud at the National Review 
Medicaid has "morphed from a targeted safety net for America's most vulnerable citizens into a bloated program plagued by fraud, inefficiency and poor results," says Liam Sigaud. The "deeper problem is that federal funding for Medicaid is distributed in a way that incentivizes excessive spending and undermines the program's core mission." The government "provides more generous support for less needy individuals and comparatively less support for those who are in greatest need of care."

 
 
WORD OF THE DAY

mucilage

A thick, slimy white-yellow substance made of "various microalgae that accumulate on the seabed or the surface," said The Guardian. The summer heat of the Adriatic Sea and weak tides have led to widespread proliferation of the substance on beaches, especially in the northern and central areas. The mucilage is an "unsightly annoyance for bathers" but otherwise not dangerous. It is, however, "detrimental for fishing."

 
 

Evening Review was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Harold Maass, Joel Mathis, Summer Meza, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz, Anahi Valenzuela, Peter Weber and Abby Wilson, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Alamy / Shutterstock / Getty Images; Kyle Mazza / Anadolu via Getty Images; Getty Images / Mikkel William; Catherine Garcia / The Week