Akihiko Kondo identifies as fictosexual. He married popular virtual singer Hatsune Miku – the one who toured with Lady Gaga – 10 years ago. Now, the software that allows him to talk to Miku’s hologram, is now providing a network error, and Kondo may never get to speak to her again. Gatebox, the developer of the hologram device, has ended its service for Miku during the pandemic and forced Kondo to say goodbye to the vocaloid he spent 17,000 US dollars marrying in 2018. He says Miku lifted him out of depression and social withdrawal after being bullied by coworkers, and now he can no longer communicate with his virtual wife.

Pakistan produces less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and this year the climate change ministry budget was cut by ⅓. Now, ⅓ of the country is under water because of climate change, while the country’s 7,200 glaciers are melting. With lack of planning from the government and infrastructural weaknesses, the country is facing a $10B catastrophe. And that’s not including thousands dead and millions displaced, including millions of already displaced Afghan refugees. The country's already struggling economy is at risk of defaulting, and now health officials are warning of major outbreaks of disease.

While nickel may be great for Tesla, it's become detrimental to Indonesia--the largest producer of it. Today, children are unable to go to school because of landslides happening in villages because of nickel mining. Indonesian miners are full of regret, and trauma. 'From Dreams to Dust' is an award-winning documentary produced by EST and directed by our head of production @stephtangk follows a day in the life of one of the people living this story. His hometown has changed, his children’s education is compromised. At first, his wife didn’t want him to work in the nickel industry because there were so many accidents, and so many people died driving for these mining companies. And the consequences affect the whole village: children can’t get their education for fear of landslides that result in schools shutting down when it rains. Fisherman no longer have jobs because the entire coastline has been compromised by mining. Elon Musk’s message has been clear: mine more nickel and Tesla will give you a giant contract. Nickel is a critical component in electric cars, praised by many to be the key to a sustainable future. Sustainable for who?

Even murder, rape, and castration convictions can’t bring this spiritual guru down. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, founder of one of India’s larger cults ‘Dera Sacha Sauda’, rides expensive motorbikes, stars in his own movies, and rocks out at concerts wearing bizarre costumes. Today, the “guru of bling” AKA “baba” is serving a life sentence that hundreds of thousands of people are adamantly protesting against. In 2002, anonymous allegations of sexually exploiting girls began but no one was willing to speak up. Some did, like journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, who was then murdered. Since then, Ram Rahim has been charged for raping women?, prosecuted for enforcing castration of 400 followers, and sentenced to prison for murder. Following his conviction, there were violent protests, widespread vandalism, and dozens of Dera members killed in clashes with police. According to Rahim, he is a messenger of God and has led over 60 million people on the path of God-realization. His group has 46 divisions across India and the world, and millions of devotees. He holds political influence and before going to jail, senior leaders from political parties would visit the guru to seek his support. ‘Dera Sacha Sauda’ may have good intentions and deeds behind it, but none can compensate for the years of abuse and exploitation of power Ram Rahim has caused.

Malaysia’s ex-PM Najib Razak sentenced to 12 years in prison for stealing $4.5B to buy luxury property, art & designer goods. Ironically, he also paid for stepson Riza Aziz’s Hollywood film ‘Wolf of Wall Street’, a story about a rise to wealth & fall including corruption. 1MDB is a state fund that Razak founded in 2009, shortly after coming to power, in order to drive up new investment in Malaysia. He is convicted of 7 charges of corruption and money laundering, and faces dozens more. His ruling party is calling for a royal pardon. If he gets one, what does this mean for future corruption in Malaysia?