Category Archives: Culture

Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Previews, Reviews, Society

The New York Times Magazine-Nov. 24, 2024

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THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (November 2, 2024): The 11.24.24 Issue features Philip Montgomery on two weeks in the life of Pennsylvania’s Luzerne County before, during and after the election; Emily Bazelon on how the abortion rights movement won in many states in the election; Tomas Weber on how Ozempic is turning people off from eating junk food; and more.

Becoming Trump Country

Luzerne County is one of many counties in Pennsylvania — and across the country — that shifted to the right this year.

Facing Eight Years in Prison, a Director Flees Iran

Facing an eight-year prison sentence, Mohammad Rasoulof had to make the most difficult decision of his life. We spent two weeks there before and after the election to understand what’s driving these changes.

Ozempic Could Crush the Junk Food Industry. But It Is Fighting Back.

Arts, Culture, History, Magazines, Previews, Reviews, Travel

Arts/History: Smithsonian Magazine – December 2024

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Smithsonian Magazine (November 21, 2024) – The latest issue features ‘The Hidden History of Bermuda’ – New archaeological finds are reshaping our views of early colonial life in the Americas…

The Forgotten Colony

What excavations in Bermuda are revealing about one of Britain’s first settlements in the Americas—and the surprising ways it shaped the New World. By Andrew Lawler. Photographs by Nicola Muirhead

The Feminist Behind the Man Behind the Curtain

The untold story of Matilda Gage, the freethinker who inspired her son-in-law L. Frank Baum’s classic novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”. By Evan I. Schwartz

It’s Not Easy Being Seen

Glass frogs use translucence to evade predators. So why are researchers trying to find as many as they can? By Alex Fox

Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Previews, Science, Society, Technology

Culture: New Humanist Magazine – Winter 2024-25

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New Humanist's winter 2024 cover shows a futuristic blue face with the words: 'Our cyborg future?'

NEW HUMANIST MAGAZINE – WINTER 2024/2025 ISSUE: The new issue features ‘Our Cyborg Future?’

The new age of the cyborg?

Neurobiologist and journalist Moheb Costandi explores the rapidly-developing world of brain-computer interfaces. For some people, these devices are already transforming lives – but the technology is quickly overtaking the ethics.

A dangerous calculation

Peter Ward unpicks the dark philosophy of the tech billionaires and how it is infiltrating some of our most powerful organisations.

There’s a product for that

A recent film, The Substance, explored the growing pressure on all of us – particularly women – to modify our bodies, not only through make-up and cosmetic procedures but also through digital filters. Clare Chambers, professor of political philosophy at the University of Cambridge, talks to us about the power of resistance and allowing our bodies to be “good enough”.

New life in the veins

Peter Salmon recounts the bizarre history of blood transfusion – and why the super-rich remain fascinated by its possibilities.

Culture, Magazines, Politics, Previews, Reviews, Society

Politics: The Guardian Weekly – Nov. 22, 2024

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The Guardian Weekly (November 21, 2024): The new issue features ‘The crisis in the Church of England’…

Existentialist crises might more commonly be associated with some who seek out religion, rather than with those religions themselves, but that’s where the Church of England has found itself in recent days.

The resignation of Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, followed a damning report into the church’s shameful failures over the serial child abuser John Smyth, which detailed even more disturbing details of cover-ups by some senior clergy.

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Spotlight | Trump’s shock-and-awe team
A flurry of controversial and extremist picks for Trump’s administration has provoked criticism and made heads spin. David Smith reports from Washington

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Science | The inverse link between cancer and dementia
Scientists have long been aware of a curious connection between these common and feared diseases. At last, a clearer picture is emerging, writes Theres Lüthi

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Feature | Kernels of hope
During the siege of Leningrad, botanists in charge of an irreplaceable seed collection, the first of its kind, had to protect it from fire, rodents – and hunger. By Simon Parkin

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Opinion | Seven lessons from a long-serving economics editor
From Thatcher to Trump and Brexit, the Guardian’s outgoing economics editor, Larry Elliott, reflects on his 28 years in the role.

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Culture | Faking history
Film and TV have a slippery relationship with the truth when it comes to historical epics. Simon Usborne meets the experts whose advice goes unheeded

Culture, Essays, History, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews, Society

The Atlantic Magazine – December 2024 Preview

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The Atlantic Magazine – November 20, 2024: The latest issue features ‘How the Ivy League Broke America’ – The meritocracy isn’t working. We need something new.

How the Ivy League Broke America

The meritocracy isn’t working. We need something new. By David Brooks

How One Woman Became the Scapegoat for America’s Reading Crisis

Lucy Calkins was an education superstar. Now she’s cast as the reason a generation of students struggles to read. Can she reclaim her good name?

The Exhibit That Will Change How You See Impressionism

The National Gallery’s “Paris 1874” explores the movement’s dark origins.

Arts & Literature, Culture, Homes, Magazines, Previews, Reviews

Country Life Magazine – November 20, 2024 Preview

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Country Life Magazine (November 20, 2024): The latest issue features Winston Churchill – The wit and wisdom of the great man…

‘Let us go forward together’

As we approach the 150th anniversary of Sir Winston Churchill’s birthday, Amie Elizabeth White and Octavia Pollock pay homage to the great man, in his own words.

Entertaining His Majesty

In the second of two articles, John Goodall charts the 1560s and 1620s expansion of Apethorpe Palace in Northamptonshire

Landscape of ‘seamless sameness’

England’s heather moorland and its glorious purple swathe is a wonder of the Western world, suggest John Lewis-Stempel

Why is a raven like a writing desk?

Do you know a Yonerywander from a Vinvertuperator? Engage your inner Edward Lear as Daniel McKay welcomes you into his wacky world of whimwondery

Wibble wobble, wibble wobble, jelly made of paint

Food, glorious food is fuelling the creativity of modern still-life artists discovers Catriona Gray

Sex, lies and sewing machines

The sewing machine rose to be an emblem of domesticity, but its invention is a story of Saints and Singers. Matthew Dennison follows the thread

Interiors

Raze to the ground or renovate? Has the open-plan layout had its day? Cart shed or garage? Giles Kime considers some key architectural conundrums

Wisley reinvented

John Hoyland is captivated by the spectacular transformation of Piet Oudolf’s double borders at the RHS garden in Surrey

Some like it hot

If you like your chili ‘hotter than the hinges of hell’, Tom Parker Bowles has just the dish for you (and there’s not a bean in sight)

Wooden walls restored

John Goodall lauds a decade-long project to rescue a unique painted church at Ursi, Romania

Culture, Essays, Magazines, Media, Opinion, Politics, Previews, Reviews

Culture/Politics: Harper’s Magazine – December 2024

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HARPER’S MAGAZINE – November 18, 2024: The latest issue features ‘The Painted Protest’ – How politics destroyed contemporary art…

The Painted Protest

How politics destroyed contemporary art by Dean Kissick

In the Rockets’ Red Glare

 The past and future of hot-rodding in America by Rachel Kushner

After the Deluge

A small town faces down climate disaster by Gary Greenberg

Arts & Literature, Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

Preview: The New Yorker Magazine – Nov. 18, 2024

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A view of the Manhattan Bridge seen through a window above a desk in Brooklyn.

The New Yorker (November 18, 2024): The latest issue features Javier Mariscal’s “Desk with a View” – Sudden glimpses of urban artistry.

Javier Mariscal’s “Desk with a View”

Sudden glimpses of urban artistry. By Françoise MoulyArt by Javier Mariscal

Why N.S.A. Rules Say No to Smartphones, No to Texting, Yes to Podcasts

The agency, known for listening, is getting into the (extremely vetted) talking game, with “No Such Podcast.”

Arts & Literature, Books, Culture, Magazines, Previews, Reviews

Arts & Culture: The New Criterion -December 2024

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The New Criterion – The December 2024 issue features…

Art: a special section

An interview with an Old Masters dealer by Benjamin Riley

Monet reversionism by Paul Hayes Tucker

Tokens of culture by James Panero

Politics & the Venice Biennale by Philip Rylands

A monumental park by Michele H. Bogart

Ghiberti versus Donatello by Eric Gibson

Culture, Magazines, Photography, Previews, Reviews, Travel

National Geographic Traveller – December 2024

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National Geographic Traveller Magazine (November 15, 2024): The latest issue features a Canadian wilderness governed by its Indigenous inhabitants; a vibrant Mexican city where mariachi music reigns supreme; and a remote corner of New Zealand where the rare kiwi bird is making a comeback — uncover unmissable travel destinations for the year ahead.

We searched the planet for the world’s best hotels. Here are our picks.

From a jungle treehouse in Mexico to a California-inspired sun ranch in Australia, these are the best new and improved hotels, according to National Geographic Traveller (UK)’s annual Hotel Awards.

Could this be Europe’s best hut-to-hut hiking trail?

On the northwest border of Slovenia is a mountain range as dramatic as it is accessible, offering hut-to-hut hiking on multi-day adventures — with plenty of hearty food and local tales to sustain the journey.

What it’s like to travel along the West Coast on a train

One of the most beautiful train journeys in the US, the Coast Starlight’s route unspools along the Pacific Ocean from Los Angeles via Sacramento to Seattle. With miles of coastline, towering mountain ranges and glistening cityscapes, this is the ultimate American slow travel experience.