Category Archives: Culture

Culture: The New Review Magazine – April 2, 2023

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The New Review (April 2, 2023) – How running helped me navigate the strange terrain of grief An extract from @drrachelhewitt’s memoir, In Her Nature @ChattoBooks.

Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad review – drama in the West Bank

The West Bank town of Jenin: ‘what could offer a more febrile union of the personal and the political than Palestine?’

An actor returns to Palestine and joins a local production of Hamlet in this richly layered and elegant examination of memories and oppression

The West Bank town of Jenin: ‘what could offer a more febrile union of the personal and the political than Palestine?’ Photograph: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images

Arts & Culture: Aesthetica Magazine – April/May 2023

Aesthetica Magazine (April/May 2023) – Inside this issue, we consider identity, relationships and the impact of technology. We discuss the persistence of images and their ability to embed themselves in collective memory in Thomas Demand’s retrospective, 

The Stutter of History. Refik Anadol speaks to us about the relationship between humans and machines, exploring the influence of art and creativity, as we rely more and more on AI to guide us through our lives. What does the future look like in this new world? Should we embrace it or fear it? Also, I am pleased to bring you an overview of this year’s shortlisted artists for the Aesthetica Art Prize 2023.

Memory Investigated

Thomas Demand highlights the fiction beneath attempts to document the truth, questioning the power and responsibility behind art and its maker.

A Sense of Wonder

Gareth Iwan Jones’ fascination with woodland ecocystems inspired enchanting scenes that document the beauty and mystery of forests.

Culture: New York Times Magazine – April 2, 2023

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The New York Times Magazine – April 2, 2023: In this week’s issue: Jeneen Interlandi on the necessity of tallying every birth and death for a country’s public health, Jaeah Lee on the adults caring for both their parents and childrenDevin Gordon on the fate of umpires under baseball’s new rules and more.

It’s a Really Weird Time to Be an Umpire

A photo illustratio of an umpire with sweat beads coming out of his face and a camera facing him in the background.
Credit…Photo illustrations by Rui Pu

With replay cameras watching every call, it has become an increasingly stressful job — and baseball’s new rules will just make it harder.

Can the U.S. See the Truth About China?

Just like relationships between people, relationships between countries can all too easily be built on a foundation of unintentional misunderstandings, faulty assumptions and predigested truths. In her forthcoming, at times provocative and disquieting book, “The New China Playbook,” Keyu Jin, a professor at the London School of Economics and a board member at Credit Suisse, is trying to rework the foundation of what she sees as the West’s deeply flawed understanding of China’s economy, its economic ambitions and its attitude toward global competition.

The Agony of Putting Your Life on Hold to Care for Your Parents

Randi Schofield is the sole provider for an ailing father and, at the same time, for her own children — a situation now common among Americans in their 30s and 40s.

CULTURE: FRANCE-AMÉRIQUE MAGAZINE – APRIL 2023 Issue

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Opens profile photo

France-Amérique Magazine – April 2023 – Ahead of Earth Day, April 22, we profiled five Gallic startups based in the United States and helping biodiversity, fighting against food waste, and curbing global warming. We also sat down with Tristan Grimbert, the French CEO of EDF Renewables North America, one of the leaders on the green energy market in the United States and Canada. Also in this issue, read about the 15-Minute City, a model born in Paris and advocating for livable, sustainable urban centers; discover our profile of Gérard Araud, the former ambassador of France to the U.S. and a sharp observer of international relations; and read our interview with William Christie, the American conductor who has done more than anyone else for the revival of French baroque music.

“French Classical Music Owes a Lot to American Universities”

American harpsichordist and conductor William Christie has arguably done more than anyone else for the global revival of French baroque music. He now lives in France, but on April 25-26, he will bring his ensemble Les Arts Florissants to Carnegie Hall.

Table of contents

FROM THE NEWSDESK

France Rethinks, Once Again, Its Relationship with Africa. By Anthony Bulger

COME ON OUT

French Cultural Events in North America. By Tracy Kendrick

EDITORIAL

Wokeness Dividing the (French) People. By Guy Sorman

INTERVIEW

Julie Taymor: “The Lion King Makes People Laugh from Paris to New York.” By Guy Sorman

THE OBSERVER

Why the 15-Minute City May Be Your Next Home. By Anthony Bulger

BUSINESS

Five French Entrepreneurs Caring for the Planet. By Benoît Georges

Politics: The Guardian Weekly – March 31, 2023

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The Guardian Weekly (March 31, 2023) – This week sees an important moment in the history of the Guardian with the launch of Cotton Capital, a series revealing the links between the 19th-century Manchester founders of the newspaper, the transatlantic cotton industry and the enslaved labour upon which the trade was built.

In France, national protests against the proposed increase to the pension age have become so inflamed that a state visit by Britain’s King Charles had to be postponed. Kim Willsher reports on a wave of anger and how women are at the forefront of the demonstrations.

As if life wasn’t pressurised enough already for top-level football referees, the advent of video assistant technology only seems to have made the job even harder than ever, leading to a slew of controversial decisions. From hotel breakfasts to being holed up in front of TV monitors, William Ralston goes behind the scenes with the men and women in black.

On the Culture pages, there’s also a great interview with the indie supergroup Boygenius, whose band members Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker talk to Laura Barton about songwriting, friendship and group therapy.

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – April 3, 2023

A woman drinks coffee and sits on an armchair that is stacked on another chair and a table in order to reach rays of...

The New Yorker – April 3, 2023 issue:

The Data Delusion

A threedimensional pattern of books turning into transistor boards.

We’ve uploaded everything anyone has ever known onto a worldwide network of machines. What if it doesn’t have all the answers?

How Christian Is Christian Nationalism?

An American flag concealing a cross underneath it.

Many Americans who advocate it have little interest in religion and an aversion to American culture as it currently exists. What really defines the movement?

The Wild World of Music

The illustrated head of musician and scientist David Sulzer sits at the center of a network of symbols for the brain...

What can elephants, birds, and flamenco players teach a neuroscientist-composer about music?

Travel & Culture: Journey Through Cities Of China

Stef Hoffer (March 24, 2023) – China is one of the world’s most fascinating and complicated countries, and its cities seem to get bigger every year. Considered a rural society just a few decades ago, China today is home to the world’s largest urban population.

In this travel documentary, I take you on a journey through some of the country’s most interesting cities. While many city centers are filled with modern skyscrapers, we also search for more traditional neighborhoods, historic sites, tranquil parks, special events, and cultural activities.

We look at the rapid changes China is undergoing in its urbanization process, and mention some of the challenges the country is facing. From the modern megacities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou we travel to the ancient centers of Beijing and Xian. We visit the popular Summer holiday beaches of coastal Qingdao, and the exciting Winter festivals of Harbin.

From the streets of fusion cities like Hong Kong and Macau we continue our journey to Tibetan Lhasa, located on the Rooftop of the World. We also take a look at the disappearing alleys of old Kashgar, in the controversial Xinjiang region, and the empty streets of Ordos, China’s best known ghost town. And we explore the expanding urban centers along the Yangtze river, including Wuhan and Chongqing, all the way to the fast paced metropolis of Shanghai.

I traveled through China independently for more than a decade, on several occasions. The footage in this video was shot between 2010 and 2019, and is accompanied by background information. For more in-depth information on each place, I recommend to read, watch, and listen to as many different sources as you can.

Culture: New York Times Magazine – March 26, 2023

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The New York Times Magazine – March 26, 2023:

The Age-Old Food Fight That Beats an Italian Town to a Pulp

A color photograph of screaming men dressed in chess-themed uniforms. Orange pulp and blood is scattered on their faces and shirts.
The orange throwers are organized into nine teams, each with a different flag, logo, captain and uniform.

Every winter, Ivrea erupts into a ferocious three-day festival where its citizens pelt one another with 900 tons of oranges. (Yes, oranges.)

The orange throwers are organized into nine teams, each with a different flag, logo, captain and uniform.

I Went on a Package Trip for Lonely Millennials. It Was Exhausting.

Rosie Marks for The New York Times

On traveling to Morocco with a group-travel company that promised to build “meaningful friendships” among its youngish clientele.

Sections

I’m Lost All the Time. So I Went on a Labyrinth Vacation.

A color photograph of a hedge maze arch.
The Parc del Laberint d’Horta, in Barcelona.Credit…Joakim Eskildsen for The New York Times

The dizzying joys of maze tourism, in Barcelona, Paris and Chenonceaux.

The Parc del Laberint d’Horta, in Barcelona.Credit…Joakim Eskildsen for The New York Times

Seeking the Spirited, Mystical Jamaica Tourists Don’t See

A photographer’s journey through her native spiritual landscape of Jamaica, where Christian and Afro-centric traditions blend.

Culture/Society: Monocle Magazine – April 2023

Monocle Magazine (April 2023 issue) – What’s in store for retail? Monocle’s Retail Survey checks out the global benchmarks in shopping, while our spring Style Directory rounds up the labels, designers and products on the radar of the sharpest dressers.

Magazine | Monocle

EDITOR’S LETTER – Bricks-and-mortar retail, from tiny independent shops to giant malls, can shape and inspire the community around it. Andrew Tuck finds Monocle’s Retail Survey reflecting what we’ve always believed: that in-person experiences are the most valuable. There’s plenty more too.

Lifestyle: Country Life Magazine – March 22, 2023

Country Life Magazine (March 22, 2023) – Verdi’s land of opera and glory, Picasso in Spain’s cradle of the Arts, where leading writers find their inspiration, French breeds to provoke English envy and the best in luxury overseas property

A spectacularly converted 15th century watermill with original beams, glorious surroundings and a minstrels’ gallery

Once derelict, Gurney Manor Mill was rescued in the early 1990s and transformed into a lovely family home.

Any property that is surrounded by water is guaranteed to be impressive. It’s sort of an unwritten rule. Naturally, as a former watermill, Gurney Manor  Mill falls into this category:  the mill and its 1.2 acres of gardens are surrounded by the historicwater system, creating a bucolic setting.

Thirsty work

Amelia Thorpe selects watering cans for the home and garden

Food stuff: a simple guide to nutrients and fertilisers

Don’t know your potassium from your phosphorus? Fear not, as Steven Desmond explains what to feed your plants and when

Blossoming ideas

There’s more to ornamental apple trees than merely fruit, reveals Charles Quest-Ritson

Holey moley!

Meet the ‘gentleman in velvet’—Harry Pearson unearths the underground world of the mole