Eating is best when it’s a social activity. Think of the meal a family enjoys in the evening when everyone’s together after work or school, or the big get-togethers over food at Spring Festival. But now, in the age of the Internet and social media, anyone with an Internet connection can enjoy a social eating event.

Mukbang—a South Korean phrase meaning “eating broadcast”—is an unusual food fanaticism that’s sweeping the country. This is a meal where only one person gets to eat, while many viewers watch live shows of hosts eating large quantities of food. They leave comments on the dishes the host is taking, and the host responds to them live.

So why have people taken to this unusual new food trend(趋势)? Jeff Yang, an Asian-American cultural critic, thinks that it’s down to “the loneliness of unmarried or uncoupled South Koreans”. He believes that eating on your own can be hard in a country like South Korea, where social eating is such a long tradition. However, Mukbang gives people the feeling that they are part of something larger, it seems.

Millions of people have trouble with food. Either they eat too much of it, or too little. Some say that the popularity of Mukbang helps people with these disorders. Those who always eat too much and put on weight can watch Mukbang live shows to satisfy their appetite (胃口). And those who don’t eat enough can build their appetite by watching delicious food being eaten.

Even though Mukbang is a South Korean phenomenon, it’s also taken off in the US. But unlike South Koreans who sit down to enjoy noodles and kimchi (泡菜), Americans enjoy their own native dishes. This means that viewers of US Mukbang live shows will see locals stuffing themselves with hamburgers, fries and ice cream.

Breakdancing is set to make its debut (首次亮相) as an Olympic sport at Paris 2024, Tony Estanguet, head of the Paris organizing committee, said on February 21st. Skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing, which have already been added to the programme for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, have been invited to return in Paris four years later.

Tony Estanguet said the choices responded to a need to make the Olympics "more urban" and "more artistic". We have chosen to present the International Olympic Committee (IOC) with the four sports because they are creative, appealing to youth and completely in line with our vision. They reflect perfectly Paris 2024's identity.

Breakdancing is an example of a sport "which can be played anywhere and anytime in urban and other environment." It appeared at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires in the form of head-to-head "battles". In competitive breakdancing, "breakers" face off in "battles" against each other, either as individuals or teams. Breakdancers use a mix of physical and artistic skills combining elements from gymnastics or acrobatics (杂技).

The IOC had announced that the number of competitors at Paris 2024 would be restricted to 10, 500, which limited the opportunity to add sports. But the organizers said the inclusion of the four sports in Paris would not necessitate the construction of permanent facilities and would involve just 248 competitors, of which 32 would be in breakdancing. The surfing events are likely to be held in established surf centres such as Biarritz or Lacanau in southwest France.

The inclusion still need to be rubberstamped by the IOC, which is expected to decide on which sports to add in Paris after next years' Tokyo Games.

“The trees are precious to us,” says Priscilla Hunter. “We believe our ancestors’ spirits are there.”

Hunter is a member of the Pomo Indians in Norther California. She’s also a founder and chairwoman of the Intertribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council (ISWC).

In 1997 the council acquired 3,844 acres of the Sinkyone wilderness, about 200 miles along California’s Lost Coast. It’s “lost” because scenic Highway 1 avoids it, cutting inland to escape the rough coastal terrain (地形). One could also say it’s lost because less than 2 percent of the original old-growth redwoods there survived logging decades ago. Now the 10 tribes that formed the union are working to protect and preserve their sacred land. David Brindley, the interim editor of National Geographic, asked Hunter how they were accomplishing that. “We’re just letting it heal. It takes a long time to heal an area that has been cut and cut,“ ”she told him, “People are saying: ‘What are you guys doing with it?’’ Letting it heal.’”

Their efforts have gained attention. Last December the Save the Redwoods League(SRL), an established nonprofit organization, gave the council 523 acres of California coastal forest. The forest, named as Tcíh-Léh-Dûñ-meaning “fish run place” in the Sinkyone language, includes nearly 200 acres of old-growth redwoods. “We were really pleased to have a place that still has some of the ancient trees. So the critters will have a place to be safe-the fish and birds and all that,” said Hunter.

The Sinkyone council is just one example of how indigenous peoples, in communities across the United States and Canada, are taking control of their land, laws, and fate.

Basing on the above, Brindley wrote this month’s cover story “We Are Here”. It explored how native nations are reclaiming their sovereignty and rebuilding their cultures.