The Economist ‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (May8 , 2023) – Three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, governments are living in a fiscal fantasyland, why Turkey is holding the most important election this year (11:02) and the coronation of King Charles III (17:30).
Category Archives: Opinion
Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – May 15, 2023
Notes from Prince Harry’s Ghostwriter
Collaborating on his memoir, “Spare,” meant spending hours together on Zoom, meeting his inner circle, and gaining a new perspective on the tabloids.
The Filmmakers Who Voyaged Inside the Body
For more than a decade, two “recovering” anthropologists have brought documentary closer to the human experience. Now they’ve made the camera part of our flesh and blood.
The Critics
- Books – Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Perilous Power of RespectabilityWe revere the man and revile the strategy, but King knew what he was doing.By Kelefa Sanneh
- Books – Briefly Noted“Nothing Stays Put,” “Still Life with Bones,” “Stealing,” and “Hit Parade of Tears.”
- Books – BuzzFeed, Gawker, and the Casualties of the Traffic WarsBen Smith’s new book shows how the race for clicks spawned—then strangled—the new media.By Nathan Heller
- Musical Events – Yo-Yo Ma Goes Underground with the Louisville OrchestraTeddy Abrams, the ensemble’s music director, has created a work about Mammoth Cave—and staged the piece inside its reverberating walls.By Alex Ross
Previews: The Economist Magazine – May 6, 2023
Governments are living in a fiscal fantasyland
The world over, they are failing to confront the dire state of their finances
If Turkey sacks its strongman, democrats everywhere should take heart
After 20 years of increasingly autocratic rule, Recep Tayyip Erdogan risks eviction by voters
Time to engage (very carefully) with the Taliban
Isolating the mullahs is not working. The West needs a more constructive approach
Opinion: Israel At 75, Is Keir Starmer Ready To Lead UK?, ChatGPT ‘Language’ Issues
The Economist ‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (May 1, 2023) – A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, Israel: the survivor nation at 75, is Sir Keir Starmer ready to govern Britain? (10:25) And why ChatGPT raises questions about how humans acquire language (19:05).
Preview: New York Times Magazine – May 7, 2023
The New York Times Magazine – May 7, 2023:
Kyrsten Sinema’s Party of One
What the Arizona senator’s breakup with the Democrats means for American politics.
Kyrsten Sinema was standing a few yards from the border wall with four Republican members of Congress. The men were staring balefully at a row of nearby portable toilets, wondering aloud if they could hold out for a proper bathroom on the way back to the airport.
Front Cover: The Atlantic Magazine – June 2023
The Atlantic’s June Cover Story: “The Counteroffensive,” by Anne Applebaum and Jeffrey Goldberg
Bono illustrates President Zelensky for June cover
The Atlantic’s June cover is illustrated by U2’s lead singer, Bono, who sketches Zelensky and includes a quote from the Ukrainian president:
“The choice is between freedom and fear.”
In an editor’s note, also published today, Goldberg writes that, after learning Bono has a hobby of redesigning and reimagining Atlantic covers, he invited the singer and writer to create an original.
“Zelensky, a man we both admire, was a natural subject for his first go. Like Anne, Bono is preoccupied with issues of freedom and dignity, and, working with Oliver Munday, our associate creative director, he made a stunning cover that captures the resolve of Ukraine’s wartime president.”
Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – May 8, 2023
Can Charles Keep Quiet as King?
As Prince of Wales, Charles was always ready with an opinion. Now, with his coronation at hand, his job is to have none.
“My great problem in life is that I do not really know what my role in life is,” Charles once said, adding, “I must find one.”Photo illustration by Alma Haser for The New Yorker; Source photographs from Getty
Barry Blitt’s “Room at the Top”
The artist discusses being young and adrift in London, and gives King Charles tips for painting with watercolors.
New Yorker covers don’t always reflect current events, but some staged proceedings, both anachronistic and immemorial, can be catnip for cartoonists and commentators alike. King Charles III automatically acceded to the throne when his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died on September 8, 2022. Charles, the longest-serving heir apparent in Britain’s history, spent seven decades preparing for the role of monarch. He became the next in line to reign over the United Kingdom at three years old, when Elizabeth became queen, in 1952.
Preview: New York Times Magazine – April 30, 2023
The New York Times Magazine – April 29, 2023:
Dr. Fauci Looks Back: ‘Something Clearly Went Wrong’
In his most extensive interview yet, Anthony Fauci wrestles with the hard lessons of the pandemic — and the decisions that will define his legacy.
‘The Most Dangerous Person in the World Is Randi Weingarten’
School closures and culture wars turned classrooms into battlegrounds — and made the head of one of the country’s largest teachers’ unions a lightning rod for criticism.
Previews: The Economist Magazine – April 29, 2023
As Israel turns 75, its biggest threats now come from within
The country needs a new political settlement that diminishes the power of extremists
As israel marks its 75th anniversary, take a moment to admire how it has triumphed against the odds. Before it declared independence in 1948 its own generals warned that it had only a fifty-fifty chance of survival. Today Israel is hugely rich, safer than it has been for most of its history, and democratic—if, that is, you are prepared to exclude the territories it occupies. It has overcome wars, droughts and poverty with few natural endowments other than human grit. It is an outlier in the Middle East, a hub of innovation and a winner from globalisation.
The West should supply Ukraine with F-16s
Or Russian fighter jets may win control of Ukrainian skies
As Ukraine prepares its forces for a crucial counter-offensive, the argument among its Western allies about what equipment to provide chunters on. Having finally received the tanks it had been pleading for since last year, Ukraine has increased the intensity of its demands for fighter jets. Yet its pleas are falling on largely deaf ears.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS: AMERICAS QUARTERLY – SPRING 2023
Under Lula, Brazil Can Take On Regional Leadership. Will It?
A diplomatic heavy hitter is back at the helm of Latin America’s largest country—but the path to an influential international role is full of obstacles.
Gustavo Petro Can’t Ignore Human Rights in Venezuela
At his summit on Venezuela, Colombia’s president must demand respect for democracy and the environment, writes a former Venezuelan mayor.
Thinking Abroad: Latin America’s Foreign Policies
AQ tracks priorities in external relations, including positions on Venezuela and China, in eight countries.
Amid growing tensions between the world’s largest superpowers, much of Latin America has taken an independent approach to foreign relations. Countries are increasingly following a path that Chilean scholars Carlos Fortin, Jorge Heine and Carlos Ominami titled the “active non-alignment option.” Regional integration is a top concern for some leaders, while others are seeking engagement far beyond the Western Hemisphere. Meanwhile, policy choices have to contend with domestic infrastructure challenges and a global concern with the impacts of climate change.
Boomers Daily 