Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – March 18, 2024

A skier skis from snow onto grass.

The New Yorker (March 11, 2024): The new issue‘s cover features Peter de Sève’s “Downhill” – The artist depicts carving up the slopes, straight into spring.

Among the A.I. Doomsayers

A large robotic foot hovers above a figure.

Some people think machine intelligence will transform humanity for the better. Others fear it may destroy us. Who will decide our fate?

By Andrew Marant

Katja Grace’s apartment, in West Berkeley, is in an old machinist’s factory, with pitched roofs and windows at odd angles. It has terra-cotta floors and no central heating, which can create the impression that you’ve stepped out of the California sunshine and into a duskier place, somewhere long ago or far away. Yet there are also some quietly futuristic touches. High-capacity air purifiers thrumming in the corners. Nonperishables stacked in the pantry. A sleek white machine that does lab-quality RNA tests. The sorts of objects that could portend a future of tech-enabled ease, or one of constant vigilance.

Have the Liberal Arts Gone Conservative?

A column with a pencil tip.

The classical-education movement seeks to fundamentally reorient schooling in America. Its emphasis on morality and civics has also primed it for partisan takeover.

News: Rise Of The Far-Right In Portugal Elections, Cease-Fire Talks In Gaza

The Globalist (March 11, 2024): We get the latest results from Portugal’s elections and ask what’s next for the nation’s government as the far-right gains ground.

Plus: we discuss the likelihood of a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza before Ramadan, get the headlines from the Balkans and find out who wins big at the 2024 Academy Awards.

The New York Times — Monday, March 11, 2024

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Wyoming Banned Abortion. She Opened an Abortion Clinic Anyway.

The only abortion clinic left in the state has been protested and set on fire, rebuilt and opened as Wyoming grapples with what it means to be conservative in a post-Roe nation.

With Haiti in Chaos, a Humanitarian Crisis Is Rapidly Unfolding

As gangs have united in concerted attacks against the state, the prime minister is stranded in Puerto Rico, and food, water, fuel and medical care are in short supply.

As Israel’s Ties to Arab Countries Fray, a Strained Lifeline Remains

The United Arab Emirates has maintained its links to Israel throughout the war in Gaza, but the relationship, built on a U.S.-brokered deal, is under pressure as anger against Israel grows.