Weekend edition—Trump in Davos, Japanese space, bitcoin’s true purpose

[Quartz - qz.com]() Good morning, Quartz readers! We increasingly live in our own echo chambers, surrounded by like-minded peers convinced that the rest of the world has got it all wrong. Around this time each year, one of the biggest bubbles envelopes the Swiss resort of Davos, where the global elite gather for the World Economic Forum to cheer on free trade, free markets, and the liberal world order. But next week, the Davos echo chamber will feature one of its most ideologically diverse slates of leaders ever. Take the first and last major mainstage presentations. First is Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, who heads a less-and-less secular democracy developing “[profoundly illiberal traits]( The last will be Donald Trump, who has completely ruptured the Davos ideal of what global leadership means. His “Make America Great Again” ideology and fealty-at-all-costs management style has helped create a nation so deeply divided that basic functions of governance[have broken down](. In the president’s “America First” view, economic gains by definition come at the expense other countries; this won’t go over well with the multilateral-minded Davos crowd. Sandwiched between the populists is German chancellor Angela Merkel, the longest-serving head of a G7 government and “[leader of the free world]( Also appearing mid-week are Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and French president Emmanuel Macron—young, centrist, pro-globalization, self-declared feminists tailor-made for the traditional Davos set. They are all likely to call for more global co-operation on trade, governance, and climate change; for most in the crowd, it will be a welcome return to traditional Davos talking points. Even as Modi and Trump poke holes in the liberal bubble, it remains the case that the forum is an ultra-exclusive, unrepresentative gathering. Davos attendees are overwhelmingly rich, white, and male—women comprise just 21% of delegates, although organizers have filled the program with sessions on gender equality and tapped an all-female set of co-chairs. The bubble may be a bit more boisterous than before, but don’t bet on it bursting anytime soon.—Heather Timmons and Eshe Nelson Quartz announcement Sign up for our pop-up newsletter, the [Davos Daily Brief](. Each day from January 23 to 26, we’ll deliver the most important insights from the World Economic Forum's annual meeting directly to your inbox. Quartz editor in chief Kevin Delaney and our team of journalists will tell you what to watch for each day, report on the news and discussions that matter, and make sure you have the [key takeaways]( needed to navigate the global economy in 2018. Five things on Quartz we especially liked Parents: Leave your millennial kids’ careers alone. Attending interviews, negotiating raises, berating managers for failing to hire their child—a growing number of managers have astonishing stories about bad behavior from helicopter parents who can’t let go of their adult children, even after they enter the workforce. Such meddling doesn’t help, obviously. Neither do many of the seemingly benign ways that parents try to give their kids an advantage, [Corinne Purtill reports](. The Japanese words for “space” could change your view of the world. When you enter a room, do you think of it as being empty or full? According to the Japanese concepts of wa, ba, tokoro, and ma, the built environment is imbued with meaning, regardless of if there are people in it. During the six years he lived in Japan, [Jerrold McGrath]( learned how Shinto and Buddhist traditions influence space, redefining his relationship with the world around him. The nice guy booty call is the right way to fix bad casual sex. Hookups are a fact of modern life, but, [Kristen Rae Lepore reports]( they don’t have to leave either party with hurt, misunderstood feelings. With many young people telling researchers their relationship skills are shaky at best, it really just takes some human decency and thoughtfulness to avoid coming off like a slimeball—no matter what gender you are. Trauma isn’t rare. Though post-traumatic-stress disorder can only be diagnosed according to specific criteria, the subjective experience of trauma is a spectrum that goes far beyond that diagnosis. Serious illness, personal betrayal and, yes, public conversations around police shootings and #MeToo can all create trauma. To recover from trauma, [Olivia Goldhill writes]( we need to first acknowledge it. Korea, unified across the divide. How significant is an agreement between South and North Korea to march under a unified Korean flag at the upcoming Winter Olympic games? [Hailey Jo looks at]( the origin, design, and reception of the unified flag to highlight the agonizing back and forth of the diplomatic process between the two countries. Five things elsewhere that made us smarter The American Gut Project is studying our 💩. The microbes in our digestive systems can affect everything from our mental health to our weight and vulnerability to disease, [reports David Ferry]( for Outside. New science is set to revolutionize the way we eat, train, and live.​ There’s just one hurdle: the research starts where our digestive systems end. Scott Dozier listens to public radio, is a talented pastel artist, and works out a lot. He has also been sentenced to death by the state of Nevada, [Maurice Chammah]( reports for the Marshall Project and Mother Jones. It’s not a story of an innocent man waging an impossible battle with the system in order to save his life. It’s a complex exploration—kafkaesque proceedings and moral conflicts included—of Dozier’s quest to get it over with, to die for the crime he says he committed. A fabric made of stone embodies North Korea. Kim Il Sung once hailed it as a revolutionary invention: “vinalon,” a synthetic that could be made with coal and limestone, in a country lacking cotton and wool to clothe everyone. For Reuters, [Ju-min Park and James Pearson investigate]( how a fabric became a powerful political tool and symbol of North Korean self-reliance, yet has come to illustrate the way the suffering of regular North Koreans gets covered up by the country’s propaganda machine. Confucius Institutes are still popping up everywhere. Back in 2014, [Lily Kuo reported for Quartz]( on a US college’s decision to not renew one of the controversial schools, but since then the Chinese-government backed program has only continued to grow. There are now more than 100 in the US alone, and as [Ethan Epstein]( reports for Politico, “the institutes are part of a broader propaganda initiative that the Chinese government is pumping an estimated $10 billion into annually.” They promote a cheery image of China, glossing over questions about air pollution and free expression with classes on dumpling making and tai chi. The true purpose of bitcoin could be to reboot the internet. Right now the cryptocurrency and its cousins, like ethereum, are the province of wild speculation and vast, sudden accumulations of wealth. But as [Steven Johnson writes]( for the New York Times, the underlying blockchain technology could become the new foundation of a secure, decentralized computer network—one where closed services from Facebook, Google, and Amazon exist in a radically different, more accountable form. Or, if those companies miss the boat, perhaps they won’t exist at all. Our best wishes for a relaxing but thought-filled weekend. Please send any news, comments, wa, ba, tokoro, and ma to hi@qz.com. You can follow us[on Twitter here]( for updates throughout the day, or download[our apps for iPhone]( and[Android](. Enjoying the Daily Brief? Forward it to a friend! They can [click here to sign up.]( Want to receive the Daily Brief at a different time? [Click here]( to change your edition. To unsubscribe entirely, [click here](. Quartz | 675 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Fl | New York, NY 10011 | United States