The social effects of new technologies are usually a mixed bag, but there’s one technology that breaks the mold: GPS car navigation systems, which could just be the salvation of modern marriage.

My wife and I recently spent a week on the road in Europe, finding our way through the narrow, knotted streets of Prague and other cities, and before we set off on the trip I was afraid only one of us would make it back after the challenge. If money and sex are the top two causes of conflict in marriage, getting from here to there can’t be far behind.  

"In China," says Yasheng Huang, "unlike in the U.S., much of the entrepreneurialism is a rural phenomenon." Expanding on his recent WQ essay, Huang speaks with editor Steven Lagerfeld and Wilson Center dialogue host John Milewski about the particular challenges of promoting entrepreneurial efforts in developing countries. One obstacle he cites is that rural populations tend to be less educated than their urban counterparts, and Huang and his MIT colleagues are studying ways to inform small business operators about possible strategies for growing their businesses.

You can watch an excerpt from the discussion on the YouTube link above, or watch the full interview. Each quarter, the Center's dialogue television program, which airs on the MHz Networks, will devote one of its broadcasts to a topic drawn from the Wilson Quarterly.

Erica Bleeg’s review of James C. McCann’s book Stirring the Pot: A History of African Cuisine makes me hungry, calling to mind my favorite (so far—I’m still eating my way through a long list) Ethiopian restaurant, Etete, near the Adams Morgan neighborhood Bleeg mentions. The derek tibs—beef sautéed in onion, peppers, tomato, and a bit of butter—is particularly mouthwatering, but McCann’s book confirms what I and many lovers of what we know as Ethiopian food often suspect: The dishes have been adapted to American palates and available ingredients.