THE ATLANTIC MAGAZINE: The latest issue featuresReading shaped the modern mind. Its decline will reshape it—and transform civilization, Rose Horowitch argues in our August cover story.
The End of Reading Is Here
Optimists once believed that universal literacy was inevitable. Now it seems that the age of reading might be a short anomaly in human history. By Rose Horowitch
The Corner of Hollywood That’s Most Susceptible to AI
Animators are figuring out whether to fight or accept the new technology that’s coming for their jobs. By Shirley Li
Perhaps the Nazi Tattoo Was a Clue
Graham Platner’s unfitness for office was clear long ago. By Mike Nelson
Hold off on that online-shopping impulse buy — there’s no substitute for carefully crafted quality
It’s getting hot in here
Ben Lerwill sets his tastebuds a-tingling as he meets the British chilli-sauce makers adding to the spice of life
Luxury
If you only buy one suitcase, make it a classic GlobeTrotter, suggests Amie Elizabeth White
Winging it
Mark Cocker looks beyond the raven’s grim reputation to seek the truth about our largest corvid
Sir Lindsay Hoyle’s favourite painting
The Speaker of the House of Commons is captivated by the Westminster riverfront in a work with a photographic quality
On top of the world
Kirsty Fergusson applauds the stamina of the hardy souls who tend the spectacular clifftop gardens at Chygurno, Cornwall
Country-house treasure
John Goodall stands in the stead of William Tyndale behind a preacher’s pulpit at Bucklebury House in Berkshire
The legacy
Agnes Stamp salutes Agnes Marshall, the Queen of Ices
While the cat’s away…
David Glasper lifts the lid on the cat flap, the means by which the regal feline can come and go precisely as it pleases
An architectural evolution
Jeremy Musson charts the rise of Selwyn College, Cambridge, from its origins as a memorial to a 19th-century missionary
The raw deal
Tom Parker Bowles savours the lip-smacking summer freshness of that Peruvian classic ceviche
Travel
Rosie Paterson unpacks the latest in luxury-yacht looks and follows in Frida Kahlo’s footsteps
Arts & antiques
Beauty and function were fused in the form of the sedan chair, the conveyance of choice for the upper echelons of Georgian society, reveals Carla Passino
Art to dine for
Intriguing art can be a meal-time conversation starter in country-house dining rooms, as Melanie Cable-Alexander discovers
Catch of the day
Collector Paul Martin shares his tips on amassing a school of exquisite antiquarian fish prints
THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE:The 6.28.6 issue features Charles Homans, Steve Eder, Jan Ransom and Michael Rothfeld on the untold story of Jeffrey Epstein’s death; Katie Engelhart on the pain of caring for a parent who abused you; Dan Brookes on kickboxing in Thailand; and more.
The comedian Robby Hoffman seems to be everywhere these days, including her scene-stealing role in “Hacks” as a former Hasidic Jew from Crown Heights, Brooklyn, who becomes a Hollywood assistant and her part in the HBO comedy “Rooster” as the blunt, protective roommate of a student having an affair with a professor.
For the 250th anniversary, The Times Magazine asked leading historians to profile founding-era Americans whose roles in the drama have been often overlooked.
It’s neatly ironic that the 10th anniversary of the Brexit vote should have been marked this week by yet another prime ministerial resignation.
The two things aren’t directly related – the intense pressure put on Keir Starmer to step down was partly down to his own political flaws. But the rise in the polls of Reform UK, Nigel Farage’s populist rightwing party that morphed out of the Brexit-obsessed Ukip, was a key factor.
The fact that the country is now set for its seventh prime minister in the decade since Brexit speaks volumes. The vote in 2016 to leave the European Union deeply fractured Britain, a country that remains volatile and impatient for change to this day.
Change has come to the UK as a result of Brexit – only not for the better, as senior economics correspondent Richard Partington explains for our special report this week. We revisit the buildup to the vote as key figures at the time recall how it shook the country’s politics. And there’s even a quiz to test your memory of the more arcane sideshows of it all.
Spotlight | Iran’s regime survived the war. Will it make peace with its people? If the conflict with the US and Israel triggered a rare moment of solidarity in the divided country, many doubt it will be used for reform, reports Saeed Shah
Spotlight | Why did Somali children become targets of US drone strikes? Six months ago, at least 12 people, including eight children, died during a US attack. The US has never admitted the civilian deaths. Mark Townsend pieces together what happened that day
Environment | The online archive sharing scientific knowledge with everyone The Biodiversity Heritage Library is an invaluable online archive of historic texts on species living and lost supplied by the world’s leading museums and universities. Now its future is in doubt. Donna Ferguson reports
Opinion | There is still hope for international law Even in this age of global rupture, do not despair: developments in Ukraine and Iran show that the military superpowers are not getting it all their own way, argues Nathalie Tocci
Culture | Why time is still on Keith Richards’ side At 82, the Rolling Stones guitarist is still hale and hearty, enjoying life as a great-grandad and jousting with Mick Jagger like old times. Ahead of a new Stones album launch, Alexis Petridis caught up with him
ORION MAGAZINE: Orion’s Summer 2026 issue, The Deep Dive, explores humanity’s enduring relationship with cetaceans. From the violence of the whaling industry to the nuances of whale song, contributors trace our evolving entanglement with the world’s largest mammals—how we have been a threat to them in the past, our intertwined struggles in the present, and what we might do to ensure their continued survival. Rich with wonder and delight, the issue asks not only how we have shaped whales’ existence, but how they have indelibly left their mark on ours. This issue is also slightly longer than a standard issue of Orion—an invitation to dive into summer reading. Inside:
Kate Green celebrates the astronomical achievements of Edmond Halley, who calculated the orbits of some 24 comets
Weeding out the wildflowers
John Lewis-Stempel explores Ralph Waldo Emerson’s view of a weed as ‘a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered’
The great escape
When wandering Ouessant ram Max goes walkabout, it makes for a testing shearing day for John Lewis-Stempel
On red alert
History suggests that Bordeaux is best in years ending in a five — and 2025 is promising to maintain the sequence, says Harry Eyres
Country Life International
Jack Watkins treads in the foot-steps of Lord Byron in Ravenna, Corinne Julius is seduced by ceramics in Puglia, Holly Kirkwood seeks out the best properties for sale, Anna Tyzack finds artistic inspiration in Mallorca and Russell Higham charts the story of the Scarlatti dynasty in Naples
Portraits of a lady
Obsessively painting her own image helped Frida Kahlo confront the pain that blighted her life, reveals Jessica Lack
Peter Layton’s favourite painting
The artist has his head in the clouds of a van Gogh classic
Country-house treasure
John Goodall takes a shine to an exceptional example of Italian craftsmanship at Highclere Castle in Hampshire
Wedded to the landscape
Kathryn Ferry commends the labour of love that Clough and Amabel Williams-Ellis created at Plas Brondanw in Gwynedd
Shepherd’s delight
Skies streaked with crimson hues are a spectacular sight for Deborah Nicholls-Lee
Winging it
Mark Cocker profiles the white-tailed eagle, the apex predator of the Unloved Birds’ Club
Luxury
Amie Elizabeth White eyes Egyptian jewels and Sir Quentin Blake clothing, plus a few of Corin Mellor’s favourite things
Interiors
Arabella Youens admires a restful bedroom transformation and Giles Kime celebrates the graceful ageing of verdigris
Seasons to be cheerful
Caroline Donald applauds the invention and imagination at play in the glorious gardens of Broadwoodside, East Lothian
Travel
Jo Rodgers unearths sheltered combes and steep coastlines as she heads far from the madding crowds in south Devon
Arts & antiques
Carla Passino meets Scotland’s first warriors as a new exhibition explores the long, bloody history of conflict north of the Border
Wuhan’s biohazard disposal system suffered a cascade of failures in the months leading up to Covid: new revelations that official investigators have overlooked
You Probably Own This 7-Eleven (and That’s Why It Looks So Sad)
The qualities that make built places charming are best stewarded by people who live there. But America’s soul-crushing suburban districts are now owned by people far away — people who don’t even know they’re owners at all.
Claudia Sheinbaum must be doing something right. With a consistent approval rating of around 70% since becoming Mexico’s president in 2024, the former climate scientist – and protege of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador – is the world’s most popular leftwing leader. She is also the first female leader of one of Latin America’s most macho countries.
Yet despite her soaring popularity, driven in part by major universal healthcare reforms, there is a curious tension between Sheinbaum’s disciplined, scientific approach to governing and the messy, often violent politics of modern Mexico. Her handling of the country’s ongoing crisis of disappearances, the continuing influence of organised crime and the rising presence of the army in national life are all issues she has faced criticism over.
The big story | Counting the cost of the war on Iran With a peace deal expected to be signed later this week, Oliver Holmes examines the human, economic and environmental toll of a conflict that appears to have achieved nothing
Science | How the loss of wild bees impacts human health Crops and flowers rely on them for survival, but wild bees are declining – and crucial nutrients will go missing from our diets as a result. Gloria Dickie reports
Feature | How personal taste fell out of fashion Our favourite music, clothes and books used to be markers of individuality – but algorithms have made us all sheep. Rachel Aroestimeets the style rebels fighting back
Opinion | If Kyiv has really got Putin on the run, he won’t accept peace meekly Don’t expect the Russian president to pursue peace, says Simon Tisdall – instead, he could continue to expand the war beyond Ukraine’s borders, with dire risks for us all
Culture | The revolutionary art of David Hockney Guardian critic Jonathan Jones pays tribute to the artist whose work was a feast of visual pleasures
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