Category Archives: Culture
Arts/Politics: The Atlantic Magazine – September 2024
Seventy Miles in Hell
The Darién Gap was once considered impassable. Now hundreds of thousands of migrants are risking treacherous terrain, violence, hunger, and disease to travel through the jungle to the United States.
Iranian Insiders Warn That Attacking Israel Is a Trap
Some say a big war will help the country’s enemies. But is anyone listening?
The Well-Off People Who Can’t Spend Money
Tightwads drag around a phantom limb of poverty, no matter what their bank account says.
Previews: The Progressive Magazine- Aug/Sept 2024
Dark Money Uncovered
Corporate news media too often miss the pervasive influence of unaccountable election spending.
‘None of the Above’: Exposing Election Year News Abuse
As framed by corporate news media, presidential elections have become as formulaic as a Hallmark holiday movie.
Navigating the Digital Democracy
Social media has the power to influence voters.
Preview: The New Yorker Magazine – August 12, 2024
The Supreme Court Needs Fixing, But How?
President Biden has proposed radical changes to the Court. Reviewing them is a reminder of why reform is so hard, despite dissatisfaction and a wealth of ideas.
By Amy Davidson Sorkin
Kamala Harris and the Understudy Effect
Julie Benko, who hit it big after going on in place of Beanie Feldstein in “Funny Girl,” has a lot of advice for the Vice-President, now that she’s done with waiting in the wings.
By Zach Helfand
What Does Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Actually Want?
The third-party Presidential candidate has a troubled past, a shambolic campaign, and some surprisingly good poll numbers.
By Clare Malone
Preview: The New Yorker Magazine – August 5, 2024
Kamala Harris Isn’t Going Back
Fifty years after Shirley Chisholm ran for the Presidency, we find ourselves yet again questioning the durability of outmoded presumptions about race and gender. By Jelani Cobb
The Republican National Convention and the Iconography of Triumph
In Milwaukee, with a candidate who had just cheated death, the resentment rhetoric of Trump’s 2016 campaign gave way to an atmosphere of festive certainty. By Anthony Lane
Gillian Anderson’s Sex Education
She became famous playing buttoned-up Agent Scully. But in midlife her characters often have a strong erotic charge—and now she’s edited “Want,” a book of sexual fantasies. By Rebecca Mead
Previews: Country Life Magazine – July 24, 2024
Country Life Magazine (July 23, 2024): The latest issue features ‘Talking Dogs’ – The secret language of the shepherd’s friends, Shooting on Lewis and fishing on the Test; Fired up – the foundry that made Trafalgar’s lions; Loving lapwings; Building with oak and summer in Paris….
Whistle while you work
It is mesmerising to watch one man and his dog moving a flock of sheep using a language all of their own. Katy Birchall admires the almost telepathic connection between sheepdog and handler
Who are you calling a peewit?
The pied plumage of the lapwing was once a common sight in our countryside and, as Vicky Liddell learns, moves are afoot to halt the beautiful bird’s decline
Heavy metal
The heat is on for Catriona Gray as she visits the UK’s oldest-surviving art foundry, now forging a successful future hidden away in the Hampshire countryside
The dogs that ask why
Patrick Galbraith is confounded by a case of mistaken canine identity when he embarks on a day of walked-up grouse shooting on the Isle of Lewis
The tale of the Croque Monsieur
Armed with an array of home-tied flies, David Profumo relishes pitting his wits against the wily trout of the South of England’s crystal-clear chalkstreams
From little acorns
We have been building with strong, sustainable and flexible oak since time immemorial — and the art continues to thrive, as Arabella Youens discovers
To Paris with love
The 1924 Olympics were the crowning glory of a golden age for culture in the French capital. Mary Miers looks back to an extraordinary, liberating time
Willie Hartley Russell’s favourite painting
The chairman of the Almshouse Association chooses a striking portrait of a remarkable man
Fitting like a glove
Jeremy Musson applauds the success of Woodford Hill Farm, a new country house perfect for its old Northamptonshire setting
The legacy
He is seldom given due credit, but there would be no modern Olympic Games without William Penny Brookes, finds Kate Green
As different as night and day
John Lewis-Stempel’s detour in Dorset is rewarded by an early-morning encounter with the enigmatic, elusive nightjar
The good stuff
Hetty Lintell is getting shirty with the best summer gents’ linens
West is best
Eleanor Doughty explores the top places for London commuters to buy out west of the capital
The odd couple
Caroline Donald hails the marriage of a 200-year-old villa with a contemporary garden in Kent
Kitchen garden cook
Melanie Johnson on cherries
Bay watch
The bay leaf wins the laurels as a symbol of strength, courage and wisdom, says Ian Morton
Our daily bread
Neil Buttery examines the rise of the Anglo-Saxon Lammas loaf
Travel & Nature: A Wildlife Tour Of The French Alps
From the bustling activity of springtime storks to the tranquil beauty of northern forests, immerse yourself in the diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife of this enchanting region.
Preview: The New Yorker Magazine – July 29, 2024
Where Do Republicans and Democrats Stand After the R.N.C.?
Biden imperilled his candidacy at the debate because of his inability to speak coherently. At the convention, Trump was doing something similar, and couldn’t stop. By Benjamin Wallace-Wells
Will Hezbollah and Israel Go to War?
Months of fighting at the border threaten to ignite an all-out conflict that could devastate the region.
Should We Abolish Prisons?
Our carceral system is characterized by frequent brutality and ingrained indifference. Finding a better way requires that we freely imagine alternatives. By Adam Gopnik
Cultural Views: The Drift Magazine – July 19, 2024
The Drift Magazine (July 19, 2024): The latest issue features Maybe fortresses come to violence like an addiction. Maybe the water is just water. The tide abandons what it leaves. We have absolutely no way of controlling the cane toad. “I love anyone who hears my screams.” You ever cry with that knowledge? Do they kiss on the mouth? What will the bears say? I am not yet a trampoline. No doors exist and nobody’s home. Simply because they are eternally young, beautiful, and dead.
Editors’ Note|Walled Off
“History as It Is Happening”|An Interview with Rachel Kushner
The Fortress University|Protesting and Policing on Campus
Time and Time Again|Proust in the Age of Retranslation
The Ink in the Inkwell|Literature of the Black Resort Town
No Atlanta Way|Stop Cop City Meets the Establishment
Politics: The Guardian Weekly – July 19, 2024
The Guardian Weekly (July 17, 2024) – The new issue features ‘Reset?’ – America reckons with the attempted assassination of Donald Trump…
The image of Donald Trump, his face smeared with blood after a bullet grazed his ear, marked a watershed moment in the already high-stakes 2024 US presidential election campaign. Opening our special report on the Pennsylvania rally shooting, Washington bureau chief David Smith examines how it could fuel Trump’s base and stoke further division in American politics.
Five essential reads in this week’s edition
1
Spotlight | On paw patrol in Sumatra
National Geographic explorer and photographer Danielle Khan Da Silva joins an all-female group of Indigenous rangers who protect a rare Indonesian rainforest ecosystem.
2
Spotlight | Evasive action
The doctors who treat cancer share their expert advice on what simple things we can all do to lessen the risk of getting the disease with Sarah Phillips.
3
Feature | Too hot to handle
As heatwaves become a common occurrence, outdoor workers are particularly vulnerable, explains Samira Shackle, as she documents the death from heat of one French labourer.
4
Opinion | Simon Tisdall on the Nato summit
The 75-year-old alliance was created to counteract Moscow’s power and needs to keep its focus on containing Russian ambition.
5
Culture | Selfies with Cindy Sherman
The US artist whose work changed the way we see women talks image, AI and Instagram to Nadia Khomami.
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