Category Archives: Culture
Previews: The Atlantic Magazine — May 2023
Why Chatbot AI Is a Problem for China
If the technology is only as good as the information it learns from, then state censorship is not a recipe for success.
What Your Favorite Personality Test Says About You
Are you a Myers-Briggs person, an Enneagram person, or something else? The Atlantic made a quiz to help you find out.
Culture/Politics: Harper’s Magazine — May 2023 Issue
The Age of the Crisis of Work
What is the sound of quiet quitting?
Something has gone wrong with work. On this, everyone seems to agree. Less clear is the precise nature of the problem, let alone who or what is to blame. For some time we’ve been told that we’re in the midst of a Great Resignation. Workers are quitting their jobs en masse, repudiating not just their bosses but ambition itself—even the very idea of work.
The Anatomy of Panic
A personal history of anxiety
I had my first panic attack when I was fifteen, in the middle of January, while I was sitting in geometry class. Winter in Illinois, flesh comes off the bones—what did we need geometry for? We could look at the naked angles of the trees, the circles in the sky at night.
Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – April 24, 2023
JooHee Yoon’s “Drawing Hands with A.I. (After M. C. Escher)”
The artist discusses artistry, artificial intelligence, and the human experience.
Chatbots and image generators, newly on the rise, have sparked our imaginations—and our fears. As artificial-intelligence machines sharpen their ability to translate written prompts into images that accurately capture both style and substance, some visual artists worry that their specialized skills might be rendered irrelevant.
“Drawing Hands,” M. C. Escher, 1948.
The Future of Fertility
A new crop of biotech startups want to revolutionize human reproduction.
In 2016, two Japanese reproductive biologists, Katsuhiko Hayashi and Mitinori Saitou, made an announcement in the journal Nature that read like a science-fiction novel. The researchers had taken skin cells from the tip of a mouse’s tail, reprogrammed them into stem cells, and then turned those stem cells into egg cells.
Crooks’ Mistaken Bet on Encrypted Phones
Drug syndicates and other criminal groups bought into the idea that a new kind of phone network couldn’t be infiltrated by cops. They were wrong—big time.
Many criminals have been convicted as a result of encrypted-phone stings—more than four hundred in the U.K. alone.Illustration by Max Löffler
Arts & Culture: The New Criterion — May 2023
Silicon Valley’s moral bankruptcy by Victor Davis Hanson
The Russian way of literature by Daniel J. Mahoney
China apologetics by Gordon G. Chang
Gillray: national lampooner by Myron Magnet
Preview: New York Times Magazine – April 16, 2023
The New York Times Magazine – April 16, 2023:
The R.T.O. Whisperers Have a Plan
A niche group of consultants is trying to get you back to the office. It’s not going too well.
Being the boss doesn’t mean you get exactly what you wish for. That’s what Craig Knoblock discovered when he tried to get his employees to come back to the office in the fall of 2021.
You Call This ‘Flexible Work’?
Labor fought for a long time to draw a bright line between work and home. It took almost no time at all to erase it.
When Your Boss Is an App
Gig work has been silently taking over new industries, but not in the way many expected.
For most Americans, the concept of “gig work” has been synonymous with a handful of Silicon Valley giants — companies like Uber and DoorDash, Instacart and TaskRabbit. There was a moment in the 2010s when pundits told us to expect the “Uberization of everything”: a future in which the typical worker would move from job to job or task to task, finding either independence and flexibility in freelancing or, more realistically, the precarity of working for platforms that may be light on benefits and aggressively exploitative of labor.
May 2023 Cover: National Geographic Traveller UK
This issue also comes with a free Ecuador guide. Inside, we discover the country’s striking wildlife and landscapes, try the dishes leading its culinary renaissance and meet is creative, resilient communities.
Also inside this issue:
Madagascar: The communities and eco-lodges preserving the island’s rich, endangered habitats.
Scotland: Canoe down the River Spey, the water of life for Caledonia’s malt whisky.
Germany: Creativity, community and craftsmanship in the magical Black Forest.
Kyoto: Turn up the volume in Japan’s cultural heart, where live music fills cafes, bars and historic houses.
Cape Town: South Africa’s ‘Mother City’ is finding a new groove with edgy bars and excitinghotels.
Punkaharju:Spend a weekend in the Finnish Lakeland.
Napa Valley:Discover local produce and craft beers in the US’s most famous wine region.
Mexico City:The Mexican capital’s hotel scene is booming in buzzing neighbourhoods.
Preview: New York Times Magazine – April 9, 2023
The New York Times Magazine – April 9, 2023: In this issue, Jim Rutenberg on how giving its audience what it wanted pushed Fox into a $1.6 billion bind; Elisabeth Zerofsky on Poland’s new political realities due to the war in Ukraine; Lydia Kiesling on the TV show “Yellowjackets”; Meg Bernhard on an L.A. school where the pandemic never ended; and more.
How Fox Chased Its Audience Down the Rabbit Hole
Rupert Murdoch built an empire by giving viewers exactly what they wanted. But what they wanted — election lies and insurrection — put that empire (and the country) in peril.
Poland’s War on Two Fronts
Long at odds with the E.U. over its domestic policies, the right-wing government is winning allies with its staunch defense of Ukraine. Which battle matters most?
‘Yellowjackets’ Shows Us the Teenage Girlhood We Were Hungry For
On set with the hit mystery series, which, amid all the gore, presents one of the most sensitive portraits of women on TV.
Views: Discover Germany Switzerland & Germany Magazine – April 2023
Discover Germany, Switzerland and Austria – April 2023 Issue: The April issue of Discover Germany, Austria & Switzerland puts a special focus on the sustainable tourism approach of Berlin. While the German capital is leading in many areas, Berlin also knows how to reconcile sustainability and tourism in a clever way. We further travel to Bavaria to try out some adventure holiday option. Other topics covered are an interview with actor Langston Uibel, a special theme on art, culture and museum highlights, design and lifestyle trends, fashion items that combine modernity with tradition, great museums and destinations for a spring getaway, and much, much more.
SPECIAL THEME: ART, CULTURE & MUSEUM HIGHLIGHTS
Discovering the arts in Germany
Germany has much more to offer than just beer, pretzels and famous football teams. It is a paradise for artists as well as art lovers. Paintings, architecture, literature, music or design – the country’s art scene combines different backgrounds and cultural influences. The cities of Germany are home to numerous museums, galleries and theatres showcasing fine art and culture.
SPECIAL THEME: MICHELIN-STARRED RESTAURANTS IN GERMANY
Germany’s culinary scene is one of the world’s best – for many reasons. Not only does the country lay claim to many award-winning chefs and restaurants, the sheer diversity of restaurants in the country is also one of a kind.
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Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – April 17, 2023
America’s First Indicted Ex-President Is Very Sorry—for Himself
Notes on Donald Trump’s day in court.
By the time Donald Trump marched out from behind a phalanx of American flags and emerged into the gilded Mar-a-Lago ballroom to speak to cheering supporters on Tuesday night, America’s first indicted ex-President hardly seemed chastened by his historic day as a defendant in a Manhattan courtroom.
Alvin Bragg, Donald Trump, and the Pursuit of Low-Level Crimes
Following the Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation, the former President was arraigned on felony charges stemming from hush-money payments.
Boomers Daily 