Category Archives: Culture

Previews: Country Life Magazine – Sept 5, 2023

Image

Country Life Magazine – September 6, 2023: The new issue features Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer’s vision for the countryside; Chelsea Physic Garden and motoring on at Goodwood; Remembering Elizabeth II and more…

Labour’s vision for rural Britain

Sir Keir Starmer promises a new politics of partnership and respect for rural communities

Not your average Fiesta

As Goodwood revs up for its Revival, the Duke of Richmond tells Octavia Pollock about 75 years of motorsport on his estate

Feudal splendours

In the second of two articles, John Martin Robinson steps inside Arundel Castle in West Sussex

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – Sept 11, 2023

Office space and mall.

The New Yorker – September 11, 2023 issue: The new issue features Dana Goodyear on editing humans with crispr, Elizabeth Kolbert on decoding whale communication, James Wood on George Eliot, and more.

The Transformative, Alarming Power of Gene Editing

Hands cutting DNA with a pair of scissors. Growth of a human baby is displayed in the background.

A rogue scientist showed that crispr gives humans the ability to transform ourselves. But should we?

By Dana Goodyear

Crispr, which may be the single most transformative biological technology of the twenty-first century, is a natural phenomenon, evolved over billions of years. It was first observed in the nineteen-eighties, when researchers noticed unexplained sequences of viral DNA in E. coli. Eventually, they realized that these sequences played a role in the bacteria’s immune system: they could find and destroy other pieces of viral DNA. 

The Holy Heresies of George Eliot

Two people lying with their faces close to each other with their long hair flowing over an open book

Her greatest rebellion against Victorian moralism was to reclaim the sacred for herself.

By James Wood

Literature bores me, especially great literature,” the narrator of one of John Berryman’s “Dream Songs” says. George Eliot sometimes bores me, especially the George Eliot draped in greatness. Think of the extremities of nineteenth-century fiction: labile Lermontov; crazy, visionary Melville; nasty, world-hating Flaubert; mystic moor-bound Brontës; fanatical, trembling Dostoyevsky; explosive Hamsun. There’s enough wildness to destroy the myth of that stable Victorian portal “classic realism.” It was not classic—certainly not then—and not always particularly “real.”

Culinary Views: A One-Day Foodie Tour Of Seville

TOPJAW Films (September 3, 2023) – A walking tour of the best, local favorite, non-touristy spots in Seville! Chef Jose Pizarro visits his top 3 authentic tapas spots, which is then followed by an incredible wine bar and one of the most exceptional (but affordable) restaurants in the city.

Video timeline: 00:00 Las Teresas 01:53 Casa Morales 03:17 Bodeguita Romero 04:47 P&O Cruises (Arvia) 07:19 Lama La Uva 08:53 Marabunda

Seville is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula.

Views: The New York Times Magazine – Sept 3, 2023

Current cover

THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (September 3, 2023) – The 9.3.23 Issue features Michael Steinberger on how the war in Ukraine turned tennis into a battlefield; Keri Blakinger on the Dungeons and Dragons players on death row; Jennifer Szalai on Naomi Klein’s new book about her doppelganger; and more.

How the War in Ukraine Turned Tennis Into a Battlefield

All the photographs in this article are black-and-white. This shows a raised fist with a tennis ball in it.

For Ukrainian players, as well as those from Russia and its allies, the unceasing conflict at home has bled into the game. Now they face off at the U.S. Open.

By Michael Steinberger

It was a few days before the start of Wimbledon this summer, and Elina Svitolina, just off a flight from Geneva, had come to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club to check in for the tournament. She was returning after a year’s absence. “It feels like it has been 10 years,” she said as she got out of the car. A lot had happened since she last competed at Wimbledon, in 2021. She had given birth to a daughter named Skaï, the first child for her and her husband, the French player Gaël Monfils. Also, her country, Ukraine, had been invaded by Russia.

When Your ‘Doppelganger’ Becomes a Conspiracy Theorist

Naomi Klein.

If you’re Naomi Klein, you write a book about it.

By Jennifer Szalai

In June, the Canadian journalist and activist Naomi Klein was sitting in the dark gray booth of a recording studio in Lower Manhattan. Dressed simply for the New York City heat — white linen top, light cropped pants, white sneakers — she was reading from a script, and there was a line that was giving her a bit of trouble.

CULTURE: FRANCE-AMÉRIQUE MAGAZINE – September 2023

Image

Opens profile photo

France-Amérique Magazine – September 2023 –  The issue features ‘The Little Prince in America’ – Did you know the Little Prince was born in New York? Antoine de Saint-Exupéry had found refuge in the United States during World War II when he published his best-selling novella, 80 years ago. Also, an interview with fashion queen Diane von Fürstenberg, whose iconic take on the wrap dress is turning 50; and meet Jean-Christophe Bouvet, the French actor who plays the extravagant designer Pierre Cadault in Emily in Paris!

NEW YORK CITY – The Little Prince’s Other Planet

By Clément Thiery

The Little Prince is from Asteroid B 612, but it was in New York City that he sprang from the imagination of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the French author and aviator who lived in the U.S. during World War II. To celebrate the 80th anniversary of the tiny hero’s creation, a statue will be unveiled opposite Central Park in mid-September.

SWAINE – Hollywood’s Temple of Luxury Accessories

By Clément Thiery

What do Harrison Ford’s hat in the latest Indiana Jones and Gene Kelly’s umbrella in Singin’ in the Rain have in common? Swaine London! This brand has specialized in luxury goods for more than 270 years and was recently acquired by the French group Chargeurs.

Table of contents

FROM THE NEWSDESK

Anger at Plans to Relocate les Bouquinistes During the 2024 Paris Olympics. By Anthony Bulger

EDITORIAL

Tocqueville and Illiberalism. By Guy Sorman

INTERVIEW

Olivier Coste: Why There Is No French Google. By Guy Sorman

ICON

Jean-Christophe Bouvet: “There Is Something of Myself in Pierre Cadault.” By Jérôme Kagan

CAMPUS

Sciences Po, the Parisian School Teaching Future American Leaders. By Jean-Gabriel Fredet

ANNIVERSARY

New York City, the Little Prince’s Other Planet. By Clément Thiery

THE BRIEF

Diane von Fürstenberg: “The Wrap Dress Made Me an Independent Woman.” By Kyra Alessandrini

EDUCATION

Gladys Francis: Connecting the Caribbean and America. By Hélène Vissière

HISTORY

New York Fashion Week’s Transatlantic Heritage. By Diane de Vignemont

Travel & Culture: The Daily Life Of Nomads In Tibet

Tibet Travel / Tibet Vista (August 31, 2023) – A view into the daily life of living at the altitude of 4,800 meters for a Tibetan nomad family.

It is believed that Tibetans are derived from the ancient Qiang People, the nomads of ancient China. It is the intermarriage between the Qiang People and local tribes on the edges of the plateau that led to the beginning of the modern Tibetan people. Due to the severe environment, the extreme altitude and the lack of convenient transportation, Tibetans have long relied on pastoralism for survival.

Previews: Country Life Magazine – August 30, 2023

Image

Country Life Magazine – August 30, 2023: This week’s issue features looks at horse racing, Arundel Castle and how to make your own nature reserve.

A princely seat

In the first of two articles, John Goodall examines the early life of Arundel Castle, the Duke of Norfolk’s seat in West Sussex

Take cover

Simon Lester sows the seeds of Nature recovery by ditching chemical fertiliser and planting green manure and cover crops

Conditions of carriage

The history of horse-drawn transport is not all romance and gentility, reveals Charles Harris

Politics: The Guardian Weekly – September 1, 2023

Image

The Guardian Weekly (September 1, 2023) – The issue features Prigozhin’s downfall – What next for Putin, Russia and Wagner?; Zadie Smith returns to the streets of London; Protecting the Arctic Sea, and more…

Andrew Roth explores what the legacy of the Wagner warlord might be for Russia – which may well hinge on Putin himself and how the war in Ukraine turns out.

Pjotr Sauer looks at the array of methods used to dispose of Putin’s political enemies in the past, while Dino Mahtani asks what will happen to Wagner group’s clandestine operations in Africa now its enigmatic boss is no longer in the picture.

In Spotlight, a beautiful photo-essay by Ossie Michelin and Eldred Allen transports us to the Canadian Arctic where, amid alarming signs of warmer winters and receding ice, Inuit people are planning to turn 15,000 sq km of the Labrador Sea into a unique conservation zone.

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – Sept 4, 2023

A man hides behind a tree while a woman and dog run past.

The New Yorker – September 4, 2023 issue: The issue’s cover features James Thurber’s “New Tricks”, discussed by the artist’s granddaughter and his legacy and his love for his canine companions.

How a Man in Prison Stole Millions from Billionaires

With smuggled cell phones and a handful of accomplices, Arthur Lee Cofield, Jr., took money from large bank accounts and bought houses, cars, clothes, and gold.

Illustration of an IPhone showing modern home on the screen surrounding the phone shows a prison.

By Charles Bethea

Early in 2020, the architect Scott West got a call at his office, in Atlanta, from a prospective client who said that his name was Archie Lee. West designs luxurious houses in a spare, angular style one might call millionaire modern. Lee wanted one. That June, West found an appealing property in Buckhead—an upscale part of North Atlanta that attracts both old money and new—and told Lee it might be a good spot for them to build. Lee arranged for his wife to meet West there.

Coco Gauff’s Glorious Progress

Tennis player Coco Gauff smiles on a tennis court

Gauff has the charisma and talent to be not just a champion but a star, and this summer she has played better than ever before.

By Gerald Marzorati

Last weekend, at a tournament in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Coco Gauff beat Iga Świątek for the first time. It was one of those moments in tennis when the ground seemed to shift: Gauff had never taken a set from Świątek, the current world No. 1, in the seven previous times they’d met. It was the biggest win of Gauff’s young career—but it was in keeping with a high-summer revving of her already formidable game. In the hard-court tournaments held across North America which are essentially warmups for the U.S. Open, Gauff has been the imposing presence that the tennis world has been waiting for her to become—waiting avidly, for sure, but a little anxiously, too. As recently as early July, when she lost in the first round at Wimbledon, there was fretting that she wasn’t making quick enough progress. 

Culinary Views: A 24-Hour Foodie Tour Of Barcelona

TOPJAW Films (August 27, 2023) – A tour of the best, non-touristy spots in BARCELONA including 7 new restaurants & bars, a locally-loved bakery, an intimate dining experience and a one-of-a-kind cocktail bar.

Video timeline: 00:00 Origo 01:52 Bar La Camila 03:04 La Sagrada Familia 03:32 Suculent 05:02 Gothic Quarter 05:20 La Campana 05:53 P&O Cruises (Ariva) 08:09 El Born 08:27 Bar El Born 09:27 Mariposa Negra 10:37 Suru Bar