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The US election postmortem continued this week, and no doubt will for many weeks to come. Through front pages and Twitter feeds, readers have been pummelled by a veritable avalanche of analysis, which we won\u2019t seek to reproduce here. Instead, let\u2019s focus on two sideshow stories, compelling and concerning for their own reasons. First on the fake-news saga<\/a> embroiling Facebook<\/a> and, to a lesser extent, Twitter. Check in here<\/a> for a column on echo chambers and misinformation which points the finger, and Facebook\u2019s own research, directly back at Zuckerberg; here<\/a> for a good piece on the imperceptible impact algorithms are having on our digital experience and democracy; and here<\/a> for some stunning stats showing fake news\u2019 massive traction in the final months of the campaign. Second, Donald Trump\u2019s election comes at a critical time<\/a> in the fight against human-induced climate change, and early signs haven\u2019t been good<\/a>. Let\u2019s hope the President-elect reads Thomas Friedman<\/a>. The kids<\/a>, or the Chinese<\/a>, might be our final hope.<\/p>\n Not unsurprisingly, populism has received a huge boost in attention from the media this week. To get a leg up on this massive political trend, be sure to check out this piece from The New Yorker<\/em><\/a> which argues that the angry populist drivers behind Trump\u2019s election and Brexit aren\u2019t a purely western phenomenon:<\/p>\n \u2018But to see the West as subject to special forces is to accept the nationalists\u2019 ways of thinking. That the same illiberalism is rising in Xi\u2019s China, in Erdo\u011fan\u2019s Turkey, in Sisi\u2019s Egypt, in Duterte\u2019s Philippines makes you suspect that these are not surface currents but deeper forces, not so specific to the West.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n An op-ed \u00a0from Carnegie<\/a> unpacks patterns in populism\u2019s history and the risks of misusing the term, while a short read from The Economist<\/em><\/a> looks at the frightening appeal of Marine Le Pen, the leader of France\u2019s National Front party, as France\u2019s own presidential election looms just six months down the track.<\/p>\n After all that, is Planet earth getting a bit much for you? It seems the thought\u2019s been on the mind of Professor Stephen Hawking, who has now given us a deadline<\/a> to find and colonize another planet\u2014we\u2019ve got T minus 1,000 years.<\/p>\n Here are three Asia-focused long-reads for when you\u2019ve got some time on your hands. The first is an outstanding and unnerving profile<\/a> on Rodrigo Duterte, courtesy of The New Yorker<\/em>. The second is this month\u2019s cover story in The Atlantic<\/em>, which catalogues China\u2019s recent \u2018great leap backwards\u2019<\/a>. James Fallows surveys broad regression across a number of areas, including civil society, the military, the media and internet freedom, among others, before considering what it all means for China and for Sino\u2013US relations. And the third, from The Wall Street Journal<\/em><\/a>, takes an in-depth look at one of the sad side-effects of China\u2019s desire to take a leading role on the world stage: the first combat casualties the major power has suffered in decades.<\/p>\n Another long but worthwhile read is James Verini’s New York Times<\/em> report from the vantage point of travelling with a Kurdish pesh merga unit in Iraq. They will have to die now<\/a><\/em> is a fine piece of war reporting.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking to add a bit of intel wonkery to your weekend reading, definitely check out this longer piece from Wired<\/em> <\/a>which looks into the life and career of US spook-in-chief, James Clapper. Clapper, who recently tendered his resignation as the director of national intelligence, discusses the ethics behind spying, the Snowden leaks, drones and governing cyberspace. A special report from The Economist<\/em><\/a> sticks with the spy theme, too\u2014it holds a magnifying glass to the \u2018twin shocks\u2019 of terrorism and technology and how they\u2019ve shaken, not stirred, the world\u2019s intelligence community.<\/p>\n Finally, likely lost amongst the personalities, pundits and pollsters reacting to the election of Donald Trump was this contribution from none other than Yoko Ono<\/a>. #primalscream<\/p>\n Podcast<\/strong><\/p>\n Since last September, one-time Obama advisor David Axelrod has churned out a fantastic podcast, the Axe Files, sometimes delivering a few episodes each week. Axelrod is serious, whip-smart and occasionally witty\u2014qualities he employs to great effect as he coaxes each guest into revealing their personal story. Recent guests include Michael Morrell, John Kerry, Maureen Dowd, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Caroline Kennedy and EJ Dionne; his first guest was Bernie Sanders. Hot tip: subscribe now<\/a>.<\/p>\n What implications will Trump\u2019s presidency have for the Paris Agreement and the future of combatting climate change? After Australia\u2019s ratification of the global deal last week, now\u2019s as good a time as any to listen to the latest Global Dispatches<\/em> podcast<\/a> (32 mins), which includes a couple of interviews conducted during the Marrakech Climate Change Conference\u2014in the immediate aftermath of the 8 November madness.<\/p>\n Videos<\/strong><\/p>\n The Asia Society\u2019s NYC operation was quick off the mark to analyse the impact that Donald Trump and his policy program could have on America\u2019s engagement in Asia. Carnegie\u2019s Ashley Tellis, Stimson\u2019s Yun Sun and Harvard\u2019s Nicholas Burns were all on hand to dive right into Washington\u2019s role and relations in Asia, including their pitches that the President-elect preserve and push forward strategic and trade ties to the region. The full video is here<\/a> (72 mins) and a write-up is over at the Asia Society site<\/a>. (BONUS LINK: The folks over at Lawfare<\/em> have some thoughts and an exceedingly-helpful reading list on Trump and China<\/a>.)<\/p>\n From being told not to \u2018wrinkle their foreheads with politics\u2019 by Thomas Jefferson, to the handful of firsts<\/a> for women elected to office last week, the quest for a female occupant of the Oval Office continues. A great watch from Vox<\/em> <\/a>(15 mins) details the long and twisted path of American women\u2019s roles in politics, taking a particularly close look at the 70s, 80s and 90s\u2014when women\u2019s challenge was to teach \u2018the country that they could be equally effective and competent leaders as men\u2019.<\/p>\n