Squawk

In 1991, American Psycho, the third novel by controversial writer Bret Easton Ellis, provoked heated discussions among critics and readers alike; an extraordinarily disturbing book that transported its readers into the mind of Patrick Bateman, a cynical mergers and acquisitions executive obsessed with brands, inconsequential details, pop culture and brutal murder.

West Germany, 1978. The publication of a harrowing book chronicling the miserable lives of young drug addicts living and dying in train stations and public toilets across the country causes a brutal social shock: the story of Christiane F., a thirteen-year-old girl who prostitutes herself to buy heroin, and the children at the Berlin Zoo station.

After World War II, many young French women became housewives, convinced that devoting themselves entirely to caring for their families was a noble mission and a means of personal fulfillment.

Since the 1990s, total insect biomass has declined by 75 percent. The rapid decline affects all food chains: fish and birds can no longer find enough to eat and are becoming fewer and fewer. Studies show that neonicotinoids used in pesticides aren't just destroying the insect popualtion, but also affect human health.