Good morning! It's Sunday, Sept. 21. High-level general debate begins this week at the United Nations General Assembly, where heads of state share their remarks. So this week, we studied the international governing body, from its origins in the aftermath of World War II to its role in geopolitics today.
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Dear Readers—Our Sunday edition delivers deep dives into interesting and relevant topics, helping you explore new ideas and feed your curiosity.
Instead of the news—which we cover Monday through Saturday—today we’ll bring you deeply researched overviews and the human-curated articles, podcasts, videos, and more that most fascinated us this week. |
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United Nations, explained
Established on Oct. 24, 1945, the United Nations is an intergovernmental organization designed to facilitate cooperation among nations. Headquartered in New York City, it comprises 193 member states and operates through six principal organs, including the General Assembly and the Security Council.
The UN’s foundation was shaped by wartime cooperation. At the 1945 Yalta Conference, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Soviet leader Stalin agreed on key features of a new organization. That same year, representatives from 50 countries met in San Francisco to draft the UN Charter.
Since 1948, over 2 million peacekeepers from 125 countries have served in 71 missions. UN agencies have contributed to the eradication of smallpox in 1980 and the reduction of the under-five mortality rate by 52% since 2000. Critics claim the veto power held by the five permanent members of the Security Council leads to paralysis in decision-making, hindering timely responses to crises.
... Read our full deep dive on the UN here.
Also, check out ...
> The UN in New York City is an international zone belonging to all member states. (More)
> The League of Nations was the predecessor to the UN—and the US never joined. (More)
> Experts weigh in on how the governing body might be reformed. (More) |
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Credit cards, 101
Arguably the biggest financial innovation of the past 100 years, credit cards are familiar pieces of metal or plastic that allow cardholders to borrow funds to pay for goods and services (with roughly $1T owed to credit card companies today).
Unlike debit cards, which draw money from the cardholder’s checking account, credit cards allow the cardholder to borrow a certain amount of money (called a credit line) from the card issuer (typically a bank or other financial institution) based on their creditworthiness (how credit limits are determined).
Credit cards are also the fourth-highest source of US consumer debt. Americans had roughly $1.2T in credit card debt as of Q3 2024—almost as much as they had in auto loans at the time ($1.6T), and significantly more than home equity loan debt.
... Read our full explainer on credit cards here.
Also, check out ...
> How Bank of America first built Visa, the first national credit card network. (More)
> Who actually pays for your credit card rewards? (More)
> Why there are microchips in credit cards. (More) |
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What is Jupiter?
Jupiter is the fifth-closest planet to the sun and the largest and oldest planet in the solar system. As with all planets in our solar system, Jupiter formed from what remained of the cloud of gas that collapsed into the sun and protoplanetary disk (see examples).
Named after the king of Roman gods, this gas giant is most easily recognized by its Great Red Spot—a hurricane-like storm larger than Earth that has existed for about 200 years.
Heat from Jupiter’s core moves fluid in convection cells—hot gases rise and cooler ones sink. The planet’s rotation—the fastest in the solar system—spreads these rising and sinking fluids into east-west flows that wrap around it like global jet streams. The coloring of the flows results from differences in convection cell temperature and composition, which vary across three unique cloud layers (see images).
... Read our full overview of the planet here.
Also, check out ...
> Thousands of objects, including 95 moons, orbit Jupiter. (More)
> Jupiter was twice its current size when it was first formed. (More)
> How Jupiter may have helped destroy the dinosaurs. (More) |
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Have you checked out our lineup of weekly 1440 Topics newsletters? You can sign up for any (or all) that pique your interest, always 100% free. Here's what's on deck this week:
1440 Science & Technology: Tuesday, we're exploring dinosaurs, the larger-than-life reptiles that once roamed the Earth (sign up here).
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Historybook: Science fiction author HG Wells born (1866); "The Hobbit" is published (1937); Actor Bill Murray born (1950); Senate confirms Sandra Day O’Connor as first female Supreme Court justice (1981); Track and field legend Florence Griffith Joyner dies (1998). |
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“It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.” |
- Eleanor Roosevelt, US delegate to the UN |
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