Emmanuel Carrère’s new book, Yoga, has been the subject of gossipy debate about its veracity, but it is seductively open about its own anxiety as a work of fiction.
Johannes Vermeer, one of the most intimate and quiet of artists, who is celebrated for the silence and light of his paintings, has become, paradoxically, a crowd-pleaser.
Johannes Vermeer: Faith, Light and Reflection by Gregor J.M. Weber
Vermeer and the Art of Love by Aneta Georgievska-Shine
The Wagner mutiny exposes the Russian tyrant’s growing weakness. But don’t count him out yet
Ukraine’s counter-offensive is going slowly
Factions close to the Russian president are thinking about life after him
By Jackson Lears
Shaw’s life force, Freud’s libido, Bergson’s ‘élan vital’—all are expressions of a spark that eludes the control of civilized modernity. Review by Jeremy McCarter.
“All history is the history of longing,” Jackson Lears has written.
By Philip J. Stern
The history of the British empire is really the history of ‘venture colonialism,’ developed by bold entrepreneurs, savvy investors—and some shady characters too. Review by Tunku Varadarajan.
By Rebecca Struthers
The craft requires ingenious engineering at a miniature scale and an appreciation for timeless beauty. Review by Michael O’Donnell.
By Patrick Mackie
The continuing appeal of Mozart’s music may lie in the contradictory nature of the composer, balancing elegance with challenging originality. Review by Lloyd Schwartz.
By Sarah Hart
Are great writers and brilliant mathematicians really so far apart? Within the structures of literary works of all kinds, numbers are hiding. Review by Timothy Farrington.
The huge eruption of the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha‘apai volcano generated more than 2,600 lightning flashes per minute.
Freely accessible large language models have accelerated the pace of innovation, computer scientists say.
The craze for generative artificial intelligence (AI) that began with the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT shows no sign of abating. But while large technology companies such as OpenAI and Google have captured the attention of the wider public — and are finding ways to monetize their AI tools — a quieter revolution is being waged by researchers and software engineers at smaller organizations.
Times Literary Supplement (June 30, 2023): Evelyn Waugh’s failed marriage and spiritual crisis; The police on trial; Grotesque, unbelievable murder; Lorrie Moore’s road trip; Levity in death and more….
We need to take steps toward a more inclusive future—one that we all can inhabit.
“Technology,” wrote the late historian of technology Melvin Kranzberg Jr., “is neither good nor bad, nor is it neutral.” It’s an observation that often doesn’t stick with people as they think about technologies related to accessibility.
For people who can’t speak, there has been depressingly little innovation in technology that helps them communicate.
A piece of hardware, however impressively designed and engineered, is only as valuable as what a person can do with it. After the iPad’s release, the flood of new, easy-to-use AAC apps that LoStracco, Shevchenko, and their clients wanted never came.
Video timeline: 0:00 Living on the water 0:54 Living room 1:32 Kitchen 2:25 Deck and nook 3:54 Primary bedroom 4:49 Outside space
The home includes a strawberry wall, a floating chair that costs over $3,000 and ocean views from every room. Homeowner Kristi Linsenmayer describes the joys and challenges of custom-building a home over the water in rural Ketchikan.
The Critic Magazine (July 2023 Issue) – The new issue features The errors of escalation; The end of German stability?; Brahms: sublime genius on a major scale, and more…
What does it mean and why is it so dangerous?
The National Portrait Galley’s renovation doesn’t disappoint, bringing light and space to tell the story of the nation
‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (June 12, 2023) – A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist including the trouble with sticky inflation, the challenge of building Ukraine 2.0 and why Modelo Especial is the new king of beers.
The costs of taming price rises could prove too unpalatable for central banks
The trouble is that the inflation monster has not truly been tamed. Britain’s problem is the most acute. There, wages and “core” prices, which exclude energy and food, are rising by around 7%, year on year.
For Russia’s war to fail, Ukraine must emerge prosperous, democratic and secure
Ukraine’s nation-builders face formidable obstacles. The greatest is that, while Mr Putin is in power, this war is unlikely to end with a solid peace treaty. The two sides may talk—if only to avoid being seen as war-crazy.
Move over, Bud Light. Heed the power of the Hispanic market
The king is dead. ¡Viva el rey! That is the cheer ringing through drinking dens this summer as Bud Light, America’s self-styled “king of beers” for 22 years, is dethroned by Modelo Especial, a Mexican brew.
The object that inspired this animation, a ceramic camel dating back to the Tang Dynasty (AD 618–907), helps us to tell the story of Paul Jacobsthal, a Jewish professor of Archaeology at the University of Marburg in the 1930s, who was forced to leave Germany.
A spiritual object intended to protect the dead from evil
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford | EA2012.189
