Video timeline: Chapters 0:00 – Introduction 3:00 – Weather & Ice 5:09 – Documenting the Journey 7:00 – Stuck in the Ice 10:00 – Finishing the Journey
Hear from Renan about the challenges they faced during their polar passage and how he balanced getting the content he needed while also staying safe and helping crew the boat.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (October 18, 2023) – Over an intense nine weeks in the summer of 1905 in the modest fishing village of Collioure on the French Mediterranean, Henri Matisse and Andre Derain embarked on a partnership that led to a wholly new, radical artistic language later known as Fauvism.
Their daring, energetic experiments with color, form, structure, and perspective changed the course of French painting; it marked an introduction to early modernism and introduced Matisse’s first important body of work in his long career.
This exhibition, which is co-organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, emphasizes as never before the legacy of that summer and examines the paintings, drawings, and watercolors of Matisse and Derain through sixty-five works on loan from national and international museums, including Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou; National Galleries of Scotland; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York; as well as private collections.
DW Documentary (October 18, 2023) – Butterflies and moths. Graceful and beautiful, they flit about our spring and summer skies. Their delicate choreographies and dazzling colors are among the most amazing in the animal kingdom. But beauty is not their only quality!
Through the lenses of powerful microscopes, scientists discover unexpected secrets about these fragile creatures that can be adapted and applied to make our world better and more sustainable. This film is a journey into the nano-dimensions of butterflies, taking viewers from high-tech labs to dense forests and lavender fields around the world. We take a close look at the iconic morpho butterfly and find out how its iridescent blue wings reveal a way to produce structural color, a discovery which allows researchers to control light.
Physicist Chunlei Guo, whose work involves reproducing butterfly structures, has created a material capable of absorbing all the colors of the spectrum, a discovery that might revolutionize the field of renewable energies. He is also investigating how the amazing hydrophobic properties of butterfly wings could be used to create an unsinkable metal, which could be useful for constructing floating cities if ocean levels continue to rise.
The blue morpho, the industrious silk moth, the transparent glasswing butterfly, the resistant Heliconius, the enigmatic monarch and the delicate white cabbage butterfly – all have inspired discoveries. These have taken place in many different scientific fields, including energy efficiency and medicine — and even in the detection of toxins, thereby helping save lives in the event of chemical or gas attacks. We take a look at the work of researchers, biologists and geneticists.
We also talk to experts, such as physicist and biomimicry expert Serge Berthier, as well as to Jessica Ware, an entomologist at the American Museum of Natural History, about butterflies’ incredible behaviors and capacities. Tiny as they are, butterflies and moths can inspire groundbreaking scientific progress. And they also serve as a warning about what’s at stake if we fail to protect our extraordinary natural environment.
nature Magazine – October 19, 2023: The latest issue features how humans develop in the very early stages when a newly formed embryo is implanted in the wall of the uterus, largely because of the physical and ethical challenges that are presented by studying early human embryos.
The test 30 years ago of what remote sensing could tell us about our own planet shows the value of looking with unbiased eyes at what we think we already know.
The Guardian Weekly (October 20, 2023) – The new issue features escalating events in Israel and Gaza that continue to cause deep distress and alarm,with several thousand people known to be dead or wounded on either side of the border. US president Joe Biden was expected to visit Israel this week, amid growing expectations of a ground invasion of Gaza and fears of a wider regional escalation.
Also, a primer on the historical background to events by Chris McGreal, while on the opinion pages the Israeli author and historian Yuval Noah Harari and Guardian US columnist Naomi Klein provide thoughtful and grounded perspectives.
There was sadness for many Aboriginal Australians after a move to recognise Indigenous people in the country’s constitution was rejected in a referendum, as Sarah Collard and Elias Visontay report. Also from Oceania, Henry Cooke examines what aspects of Jacinda Ardern’s political legacy might survive after New Zealand elected a new conservative government.
From Egypt to Hong Kong, the 2010s were a decade when mass protest movements looked set to change the world.But in most cases, the hope embodied by many massive street demonstrations was soon crushed by authoritarian regimes. Vincent Bevins asks organisers and others who were there where it all went wrong.
National Trust (October 18, 2023) – 575 Wandsworth Road, London, was the home of Khadami Asalache – a Kenyan-born poet, novelist and British civil servant. Asalache spent 19 years transforming its interiors with hand-carved fretwork patterns and painted motifs inspired by traditional African houses and Moorish and Ottoman architecture.
Following his death in 2006, Asalache left 575 Wandsworth Road to the National Trust, which was first opened to the public in 2013. Today, his home has become a source of inspiration for collaborators, creatives and artists of all ages, forging social connections within its community and beyond. Watch this video to discover the inspirational qualities of Khadambi Asalache’s creations at 575 Wandsworth Road.
Hear from three creative artists who recently returned to the house to reflect on their own connections to this place. They also discuss the impact it has on their own work and their thoughts around home and legacy.
Times Literary Supplement (October20, 2023): The new issue features ‘Rocket Man’ – North Korea’s dictator is no joke; A snapshot of Teju Cole; Daniel Dennett’s evolution; Monet’s muses; John le Carré undercover, and more…
The Globalist Podcast (October 18, 2023) – UCL’s Julie Norman discusses Joe Biden’s high-stakes visit to Israel in the wake of a devastating blast at a Gaza hospital. We also examine what Ukraine’s use of US-made long-range missiles means for the country’s counteroffensive.
Plus: Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping strengthen ties at the Belt and Road Summit and Bottega Veneta launches its own academy.
With President Biden about to arrive in Israel, Palestinians and Israelis blamed each other for the explosion that devastated the hospital, where people had sought shelter from Israeli bombing.
In his 15 years as Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has been seen as risk-averse, avoiding open-ended military engagements and peace initiatives.
Hamas Hijacked Victims’ Social Media Accounts to Spread Terror
The use of hostages’ Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp accounts to livestream attacks and issue death threats is a new tactic, experts said.
Ukraine Uses Powerful American-Supplied Missiles for First Time
Ukrainian forces attacked two key Russian air bases behind enemy lines on Tuesday, using American-made long-range missiles known as ATACMS, a U.S. official said.
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