A woman in Poland claims to be Madeleine McCann, the British girl who went missing as a 3-year-old while her family was on vacation in Portugal in 2007. The woman appears to have the same eye mark, dimple, and freckle as Madeleine, and also claims that her childhood abuser looks like a police sketch of the kidnapping suspect. A DNA test is reportedly in the works, and Hollywood awaits the results with bated breath...

In today's edition:

• Norfolk Southern ordered to cleanup

• Japan's new age of consent?

• Conversations with Ethiopians

 🔑 Key Stories

4-Day Workweek Coming Soon?

Many companies that have tested the 4-day workweek are sticking with it, a study found

• Many see the 4-day workweek as a way to make workers happier, less susceptible to “burnout,” and more productive

• Last year, 61 UK companies tested the 4-day week for 6 months in the largest-ever study on the topic

• The results, released Tuesday, said that 92% of those companies continued using the 4-day workweek after the study. They experienced higher revenue and productivity; their workers performed better and reported less stress and better work-life balance

Dig Deeper

• Companies also reported 57% fewer employees voluntarily quitting over that 6-month period and fewer workplace disputes. Not every company implemented the 4-day workweek the same: Some kept 5 days but reduced daily hours, others used either a Monday-Thursday or Tuesday-Friday schedule

Russia Suspends Major Nuke Treaty

Russian President Putin said Russia will suspend its participation in a nuclear arms treaty with the US

• Russia and the US each have more than 4 times as many nukes as all other countries combined

• Since 2011, the New START treaty has limited the size of each country’s long-range nuclear weapons arsenal. It requires the 2 sides hold meetings and allow the other to conduct nuclear inspections

• Last month, the US accused Russia of preventing inspections, thereby violating the treaty. On Tuesday, Putin announced that Russia is suspending its participation in it, citing US support for Ukraine

Dig Deeper

• The US’ secretary of state called the move “deeply unfortunate and irresponsible," while the head of NATO, the US-led military alliance, said “the whole arms control architecture has been dismantled." However, there's no proof that Russia has yet violated the treaty's arms control limits

5th Person Beats HIV

A German man became the fifth person ever known to have been cured of HIV

• HIV is a virus that enters and destroys immune system cells. It can result in AIDS, a disease in which people’s immune systems can’t fight off even small infections. There are HIV treatments but no cure

• The German man, known only as the Dusseldorf Patient, had HIV and leukemia, or blood cancer. He got a bone marrow transplant from a woman who had a rare mutation that made her resistant to HIV

• He stopped taking medicine in 2018 and is still HIV-negative. He’s the 3rd patient cured that way

Dig Deeper

• "It’s really cure, and not just, you know, long term remission," one researcher said. Another HIV/AIDS advocate said the method “is real, and it’s reproducible," although others have cautioned that this procedure may only be medically advisable for patients who suffer from both HIV and cancer

Norfolk Southern to Pay?

The head of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Norfolk Southern will “pay for cleaning up the mess they created” in East Palestine

• On February 3, a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, causing what some have called a disaster. Authorities have said the area is safe

• In a press conference on Tuesday, the EPA’s director said Norfolk Southern will be responsible for replacing contaminated soil, cleaning water, reimbursing the EPA, and meeting w/ town officials

• Ohio’s governor also said the company “needs to be made to pay” for any derailment-related health issues

Dig Deeper

• The incident has become a national political issue: East Palestine’s mayor has criticized President Biden for not approving federal emergency funds for the area and for traveling to Ukraine instead of Ohio, and former president Trump is scheduled to deliver a speech there today

How do you learn a language in 3-Weeks?

Together with Babbel

The answer is with Babbel, the language learning platform designed by 150+ linguists and used by 10M+ people

• You can choose from 14 different languages, and with just 10 minutes a day, you can be having actual conversations in as little as 3 weeks

• The Roca team is constantly traveling to new places around the world where foreign language skills are essential. Even just speaking a few phrases of a language can go a long way to having safe and authentic experiences – and Babbel helps us learn more than that

• Unlike other language apps, Babbel offers live online classes with top teachers, language games, podcasts, and personalized lessons so that you can be speaking like a local in no time

Dig Deeper

• Whether you’re studying abroad, dreaming of future travel, or just feeling the itch to learn something new, now’s the time to get cozy and start speaking a new language with Babbel. Get up to 60% off while their President's Day sale lasts!

🍿 Popcorn

ICYMI

• Unholy felony: A Catholic bishop in Los Angeles was found murdered in his home. Police have arrested his housekeeper's husband in connection to the incident

• 16 the new 13? A Japanese Justice Ministry panel has proposed raising its age of consent from 13 to 16. The age of consent is 16 in the UK, and up to 18 in the US

• Punxsutawney Phil was right: A winter storm is expected to stretch 2,600 miles across the US, with blizzards forecasted in several Midwestern and Western states

Wildcard 

• SpamGPT: The science fiction-focused magazine Clarkesworld Magazine has shut down its submissions page after a massive surge in AI-generated submissions

• Case closed: The skeletal remains found inside a Ford Pinto in an Alabama creek have been identified as an Auburn University student who went missing in 1976

• Children of the cheese: Smashburger is launching a S'Mac & Cheese burger that layers mac & cheese on top of a double cheeseburger. We await the final calorie figures...

👇 What do you think?

Today's Question:

What has social media changed your views on?

Reply to this email with your answers!

See yesterday's results below the Wrap! 

🌯 Roca Wrap

Roca co-founder Max Frost and writer Alex Norris spent 2.5 weeks in Ethiopia last month. Frost will be writing about it here in the coming newsletters.

We stuck out in Ethiopia, and couldn’t go anywhere without people stopping to talk to us.

Most people didn’t speak enough English to have real interactions, but some did. Here are a couple of the interactions we had. 

***

Near the Dassanach village I wrote about yesterday, we stopped in a town to get cash and gas. While standing on the street, a young man kept looking at me and smiling. We got talking, and he told me his story. 

His name was Andie, and he was from a Dassanach village 15 miles away. Growing up there, he would walk 2 miles each way to get water, twice a day. He wanted to get an education, though, so as a kid, he ran away. He reached the town, Omorate, on foot. 

He was 6 years old. “[My friends and I] just came to town, we didn’t know where we were headed. We saw cars moving, other people. And that is what we enjoy.”

Andie said he fetched water for the local people, who “adopted” him. “After that, the government put us in school.”

Now, he’s finishing high school and preparing to take his exams. He wants to be an engineer. 

“If I stayed in the village, I would be taking care of cows.”

I asked how the village responded to his leaving. 

“Some people in the village understand, but some people don’t. They don’t like it.”

“Others understand, because maybe you will do something good. Like my father, he doesn’t know the [Ethiopian official] Amharic language, so when he comes to the hospital or to buy some stuff in town, I translate for him from Amharic to the Dassenach language. So he says, ‘My son is good, he is helping.’ So it’s good for him too.”

Was there a risk to his safety by leaving?

“Now it’s not so much. Before, yes. There was.”

“But now it’s improving because of the government, teaching them, giving them education.”

We exchanged numbers and he’s been texting me since to practice his English.

***

After finishing up our tribal visits, we ended up in Jinka, the only city in the Omo Valley. We took a walk out of our hotel to buy some fresh juice. On the way, 3 women in their 20s saw us and invited us into the shop they were sitting in. We talked with them, then one of them said she’d come with us to get juice.

On the way, we passed a pool hall. Pool is everywhere in Ethiopia, although they play a variation of the game I’d never seen before. We said we wanted to try it, and she led us into the pool hall where one guy, also in his 20s, was playing.

We shot pool with him, then with his friends as they arrived. No one spoke to us. After 30 minutes, the girl who led us there said to me angrily: “You need to leave.”

The man we were playing with then aggressively approached me demanding I pay him the equivalent of $12 for the 4 games of pool – an absurd amount of money here. I told him no, and we headed out onto the street. 

That guy followed us out with 2 others, trying to surround us and intimidate us. He demanded we pay him $12, which we refused. We told him to get lost and walked back to the hotel. We weren’t worried: 6’ tall Americans have a substantial size advantage in Ethiopia. 

***

The next day, on our way back to Addis Ababa, the capital, we had a multi-hour layover in a small city called Arba Minch. We took a rickshaw from the airport to a cafe for breakfast. The driver insisted the fare was $10; we refused until he came down to $2. Someone later told us the proper fare was $.20. 

At the cafe, a man at the table next to us offered us a handful of khat, the East African narcotic leaf. We got talking. 

He was a truck driver from Addis Ababa, whose ex-wife and kids he said had emigrated to California. He didn’t know where they lived, but was happy to meet Americans. He gave us his number and said he would take us out drinking in Addis. 

Another woman at the cafe was smiling at us as we had our grilled goat. On her way out, she stopped and asked where we were from, then recommended we chew more khat. She had worked in the Middle East and Brazil, although we didn’t understand what she said she did there. She couldn’t have been friendlier. 

An hour after that, we went to get haircuts, which cost $1. Everyone who walked by stopped to say hi or laugh at us. While Alex was getting his, I went out onto the street. 

A group of guys insisted I take their picture, then asked for my Instagram. While that was happening, a 40ish-year-old man approached me.

“Where are you from?”

“America”

“America! You son of a bitch! You are our enemy! ENEMY!”

He stomped off. 

I asked the guys who wanted my photo what his problem was. 

“No problem sir, no problem.”

***

Meeting people in a foreign country can be hit or miss. The most memorable such experience wouldn’t happen until the next day, though. 

If you have thoughts, let us know at [email protected]!

 🌊 Roca Clubhouse

Yesterday's Poll:

Do you consider yourself wise?

Yes: 62%

No: 38%

Yesterday's Question:

Considering the above story about modifying Roald Dahl, do you support or oppose updating books? Why? 

Erica from Florida: “I think it's fine. The core story remains the same, and it's not like they are removing previous editions. Older books and translated books are often changed. It is why teachers require a specific "edition" or "imprint". Words change depending on if it's published in the US or UK or Australia. There are bigger censorship issues going on that need to be addressed and focused on. This is not one of them.”

Stephanie from Oklahoma: “A book is copyrighted. No one and l mean no one should have the authority to basically edit and rewrite/change words or content to an author's book or works. Placing today's language and values  over previous works is Presentism. It distorts the reader's understanding of the time period of when the book is written.  Books are Art. Changing the language in a book because someone thinks it is offensive is like changing a piece of art/painting because someone finds it offensive.” 

Pedro from Missouri: “I don't agree with this practice. Literary books are time capsules reflecting the times in which they are written. These sources should be learned from and examined in the context of today's social mora - not cleansed. Moreover, "updating" seems to be a very subjective practice that may only reflect a singular opinion. Let the readers inform themselves - that's what literacy is all about.”

🧠 Final Thoughts

Are the Brits onto something? The 4-day work-week is sounding awfully nice right now, especially as we celebrate the fact that it is already Wednesday. 

We hope you have great days, and see you tomorrow.

–Max and Max