💭 Why are men obsessed with the Roman Empire?

Happy Sunday! It’s September 24 — people are talking about Azerbaijan’s latest military operation, the Roman Empire TikTok trend, and more.

As always, we’ve summarized and organized the different shades of perspective, so you can see the big picture quickly.

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🪖 In the news: Azerbaijan’s military operation

Azerbaijan began a military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region in Armenia. Azerbaijan says it's about counter-terrorism; Armenia says it's illegal.

🪖 The NYT covers the details: Soon after the operation, a cease-fire was brokered by Russia. This is scary — the region is ripe for a massive conflict.

🪖 WaPo agrees: This is the start of a genocide. the Azeris are already starving out ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh with a blockade. The west needs to call it what it is!

🪖 But the Eurasia Review thinks it was a genuine counter-terrorism exercise, and it was successful. Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan, and they're right to clear out terrorists from the region.

🪖 A different WaPo opinion said this actually could mean peace for a region that has been dominated by violence for decades — but it would require restraint from the Azeris, which seems unlikely. Maybe the UN should step in?

💭 Cultural trend: Romesessed

A new TikTok trend has revealed that a lot of men think about the ancient Roman Empire often, far more than women seem to. What gives?

💭 WaPo thinks it could be because the modern media depicts Rome as an ultra-macho civilization, with a patriarchal culture.

💭 But Mashable says men love it because the history, philosophy, and inventions of ancient Rome are still relevant today. It's fascinating stuff!

💭 MSNBC disagrees: Men are obsessed with Rome because it lets them play out their masculine power fantasies. Men who are obsessed with hyper-masculinity, like Adam Woolard and Elon Musk, love referencing ancient Rome.

💭 The Spectator had a different explanation: Men think about Rome more because classics is a male-dominated area of study.

💭 Yahoo doesn’t buy the trend, though: Men aren't thinking about Rome more! Both genders think about it equally — don't let a TikTok trend fool you.

Quick hits

🏃 Tigist Assefa won the Berlin Women's Marathon in world record time, crushing the prior record by more than two minutes. (AP News)

🏈 Oregon handed Colorado their first loss of the season, beating the Buffs 42-6 in Eugene. Coach Deion Sanders said his team played like "hot garbage". (ESPN)

🌊 Saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico is threatening the drinking water of New Orleans. The Army will barge 36m gallons of freshwater a day to the area. (CNN)

🏛️ Democrat Andy Kim will run against NJ Sen. Bob Menendez in 2024. The announcement came after Menendez was indicted on bribery charges. (Axios)

That’s it for today. Reply at [email protected] to let me know what you think of our newsletter, or to suggest a topic for next time.

Here at Shades we’re trying something new – quick summaries from different points of view. We think it’s a better way to stay informed and see the big picture. Please reach out if you’re curious to learn more!

- Jeff (co-founder of Shades)