Views: Horses Return To Vineyards In France

Horsepower is making a comeback in vineyards across France as wine growers look for more ecological ways to operate. Not only does using horses instead of tractors help reduce CO2 emissions, the animals are also more precise and better for the soil, say converts.

Morning News: EU-Middle East Talks, Northern Ireland, Vienna Carriages

President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen heads to the Middle East. Plus: Boris Johnson’s plan to alter the Northern Ireland protocol, Wikipedia fights a Russian order to remove information on the conflict in Ukraine and are Vienna’s famous horse-drawn carriages under threat?

Front Page: Wall Street Journal – June 14, 2022

Stock Futures Edge Higher After Slide Into Bear Market

U.S. stock markets were poised for a modest recovery after a rout that sent the S&P 500 into a bear market, while bitcoin remained under pressure after selling off sharply in recent days.

Bond Slide Continues, With No End in Sight

U.S. Treasury yields have surged to new multiyear highs, reflecting uncertainty over how high the Fed will have to raise interest rates to tame inflation.14 min read

Fed Likely to Consider 0.75-Percentage-Point Rate Increase

A string of troubling inflation reports is likely to lead Federal Reserve officials to consider surprising markets with a larger-than-expected interest-rate increase at their meeting this week.

Thailand Landmarks: Wat Chalong Temple In Phuket

Wat Chalong is a historical landmark and Buddhist temple in Phuket’s Chalong Bay. For centuries, locals come to pray almost every day while westerners learn about Buddhism during their vacation. It’s officially called Wat Chaitararam, but most people refer to it by Wat Chalong. The temple is located on Chao Fa West Road in the northern part of Tambol Chalong.

Many locals claim that the temple often experiences many miracles. It’s also known for its pivotal and healing role in the fighting between Chinese secret societies (Angyee) in 1876.

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – June 20, 2022

Elizabeth Colomba’s “157 Years of Juneteenth”

The artist discusses Harlem and the necessity of painting Black bodies into historically white spaces.

Medieval Views: Guédelon Castle – Burgundy, France

More than 20 years ago, a community of men and women in the French region of Burgundy set themselves a massive challenge: to build a castle using the techniques of the Middle Ages. The site in the town of Guédelon is open to visitors, offering them an immersion into the 13th century. Today, nearly 40 people work every day on this medieval construction site. Stone quarrying is the first step in building a castle. And to transport the stones to the site, modern machines are banned: everything is done like in the 13th century, with horsepower.

Opinions: New Frontier For AI, British Stagnation, Story Scene Imagination

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, why foundation models are artificial intelligence’s new frontier, the stagnation nation: a chronic British disease (10:30), and why visiting the scenes of stories is an act of imagination (18:20).

News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious