Terrorism is violence defined by spectacle, intended to serve political aims. The specific ideologies behind terror attacks vary wildly, a distinction that matters not just in how a group or individual decides to attempt a terror attack but also in how societies receive the attacks. One of the more enduring features of response to terror attacks in the 21st century is how a society’s discourse, shaped by elites in political parties and media, chooses to treat terrorists on a case-by-case basis. Is the person who drove a car into a crowd following an ideology deemed alien and seen as someone whose radicalization was imported from abroad as a nefarious scheme to shatter democracy? Or is the ideology simply the act of a lone wolf following national sympathies to an unfortunate conclusion, even if the discourse broadly agrees with their motive while condemning their means?

In “How terrorist attacks distort public debates: a comparative study of right-wing and Islamist extremism,” Teresa Völker compares the reaction in discourse in Germany to incidents of both Islamist and far-right terrorism, looking at seven fatal incidents that have transpired since 2015.

“The ideological motive for the terrorist attacks influenced the political interpretation of the events and public framing of the central security threat: after Islamist attacks, the majority of statements referred to Muslims as a broad outgroup and migration as the central security threat. In contrast, after extreme right attacks, the majority of statements referred to right-wing extremists as a narrow outgroup and reduced the central security threat to isolated fringe actors,” finds Völker.

While far-right and Islamist terrorists diverge ideologically, both are acts targeted to some degree at replacing the existing democratic government structure with a different set of received laws. Yet, the disparity between coverage and response, even in the narrow subset of incidents where the terrorists were successful in killing people, illustrates the divergent ways elites within Germany were able to set the tone and bounds of national conversation after an attack.

“After Islamist and extreme right attacks, right-wing parties were the more successful crisis communicators, although extreme right attacks would have provided opportunities for left-wing parties to criticize extreme right ideologies. This confirms previous research findings that right-wing actors are successful issue entrepreneurs in moments of crisis,” writes Völker.

On immigration in particular, far-right parties were able to effectively argue that Islamist terror justified deportations and immigration restrictions and that far-right violence should also be met by cracking down on immigration. In both cases, the far-right is able to spin immigration as the threat vector, supposedly bringing in a foreign violent actor while portraying nationalist violence against immigrants as a consequence not of nationalism but immigration.

Crucial to the shaping of these debates is the exclusion of the perspectives of victims, especially victims of far-right terror. Muslims residing within Germany were both targeted for violence by the far-right and scapegoated as potential threats following Islamist attacks. Victims of attacks, writes Völker, “such as ethnic and religious minorities rarely gained any discursive space to share their perspective and influence public perception.”

Gerry Hadden listened to dinosaur-inspired music made from moose bone and cello string. The instrument, created by composer Anže Rozman, is called the “raptor violin,” and was invented in collaboration with his partner Kara Talve to make sounds for BBC’s “Prehistoric Planet.” Backed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the pair used other unconventional instruments, like the triceratone. “The body of the triceratone is a life-size model skull of a Triceratops. The player strikes its horns with a bow to get the percussive sound. Talve sketched out the instrument, and [legendary film composer Hans] Zimmer’s master builder created it,” writes Hadden.

Kelsey P. Norman and Nicholas R. Micinski examined the complicated relationship between Egypt and Palestinians, especially those in the Gaza Strip. Egypt’s willingness, and more importantly its lack thereof, to allow Palestinians to cross its border as Israel bombards Gaza and forces an evacuation of half the strip is confounding international efforts that counted on Egypt as a release valve for at least some of the population. “In recent years, Egypt has shown an increased willingness to engage in ‘refugee renterism,’ by leveraging refugees to extract foreign aid,” write Norman and Micinski. While such a play may secure aid for Egypt, it will do little to alleviate suffering.

Hanna Hett reported on how microfinance loans have plunged the poor of Cambodia deeper into debt. Originally overseen by nongovernmental organizations, and with restrictions on how they could work, the loans were designed to be a tool to alleviate people out of poverty but instead they have made Cambodians go deeper into debt. Research shows that to pay off their debt, Cambodians have taken on additional loans, are eating less, migrating for work, and even pulling their children out of school. Nithya Natarajan, a lecturer at King’s College London, told Hett, “Those checks and balances were largely eroded because the commercial push meant that the emphasis was more on expanding the market, trying to reach new consumers all the time. So, it went to more poor and more precarious households.”

Talk about a Bird Colonel.

Nothing to worry about here, just a robot goat with a rocket launcher strapped to its back.

Skip ahead to the 3-minute mark to see an Atomic Cannon while West Germans excitedly proclaim its power.

South by Shining Path.

Grab your reaction gifs and your nostalgia for the pre-Trump era, and come hang out with the intelligence community’s still-functioning Tumblr.

Take 5 and check out Dave Brubek’s midcentury modern masterpiece of a house.

I don’t have a punchline for this one, I just thought it was a hauntingly beautiful meditation on videogames, morality, and the afterlives we’d imagine for those we love.