Kava is a Pacific drink from a pepper-family root that numbs the mouth and eases anxiety without alcohol's impairment

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Kava is a Pacific drink from a pepper-family root that numbs the mouth and eases anxiety without alcohol's impairment

the gist

Kava is a plant in the pepper family, native to the Pacific Islands, and its root is used to make a drink that has been ceremonial and social across Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia. Traditionally, fresh root is ground, mixed with water or coconut milk and strained into a shared bowl. Its effects are psychoactive, similar to alcohol in that people feel relaxed, but without significant cognitive impairment or addiction risk, and it also numbs the mouth. Kava was domesticated in northern Vanuatu around 3,000 years ago, and it now has kava bars in many countries. Its main active compounds are kavalactones, which act on several brain receptors. Research suggests it reduces short-term situational anxiety, though evidence for generalised anxiety disorder is weak.

how it works

Kavalactones act on GABA receptors, which calm nerve activity, and also affect dopamine and noradrenaline signalling. The chemicals reach the brain quickly after drinking. Preparation method matters, as solvent extracts can contain different compounds and carry more liver risk than the traditional water-based drink.

so what

Kava shows how a traditional social drink can be both a community ritual and a subject of modern health debate. In 2002 many countries banned or restricted it over safety concerns, and the WHO later judged traditional water-based preparations to carry an acceptably low risk, while highlighting liver injury linked to extracts made with solvents.

fun fact

Kava belongs to the same plant family as black pepper.

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗