Category Archives: Politics

News: General Election On July 4 For UK, Macron Visits New Caledonia

The Globalist (May 23, 2024): The latest from George Parker as the UK’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, sets the date for a general election.

Also in the programme: Nina dos Santos discusses Emmanuel Macron’s visit to New Caledonia following violence in the French territory. Plus: business news with Rachel Pupazzoni and we speak to Julie Finch of Hay Festival as the hallowed literary gathering begins.

News: Israel Shuts Down AP Gaza, Finland-Russia Border Migrant Crisis

The Globalist (May 22, 2024): We assess why Israel shut down the Associated Press Gaza live video feed. Then: why the Finnish government has proposed emergency legislation to prevent any further migrants from entering the country via the border with Russia.

Plus: we discuss the latest World Economic Forum Travel & Tourism Development Index, look at Dakar’s independent art scene and speak to this year’s Booker Prize winner.

News: Protests Ahead Of Mexico Elections, Unrest In French New Caledonia

The Globalist (May 21, 2024): Mass protests take place in Mexico as the nation prepares for its general elections.

Meanwhile, Emmanuel Macron calls a third meeting of his defence and security council to discuss the unrest in New Caledonia. Plus: Thailand’s plan to recriminalise cannabis, Japan’s changing attitudes to female emperors, Dakar’s independent art scene and the latest fashion news.

Culture/Politics: Harper’s Magazine – June 2024

Home | Harper's Magazine

HARPER’S MAGAZINE – May 20, 2024: The latest issue features 401K Doomsday – Will passive investing spell catastrophe?; Twilight of the Atlanticists; The cult that survived the end times…

Masters of War

In search of the new world order in Munich

Naturally, I too will be staying at the Bayerischer Hof.
—Franz Kafka

The Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich is an indestructible fortress of Mitteleuropean culture where tour guides like to pause. Richard Wagner repaired to the Hof for tea after his opera performances in Munich; Sigmund Freud fell out with Carl Jung in the Hof over the status of the libido; Kafka stayed at the Hof when he gave his second, and final, public reading to a hostile audience. A decade later, Hitler learned to crack crabs at the Hof under the supervision of a society hostess, and Joseph Goebbels counted on its rooms for a good night’s rest. The Hof weathered the revolutions of 1848; it withstood the revolution of 1918–19, in which the socialist leader Kurt Eisner was assassinated in front of the hotel and Bavaria briefly became a workers’-council republic; it rebuffed the Nazis’ attempts to buy it in the Thirties; and, after it was nearly destroyed by an Allied bombing raid in 1944, it was reconstructed with beaverlike industry. Today its wide façade of three hundred and thirty-seven rooms imposes itself over the small Promenadeplatz like a slice of meringue cake too large for its plate. Every February, hundreds of diplomats, politicians, academics, and arms dealers convene here for the Munich Security Conference.

What Goes Up  

Does the rise of index funds spell catastrophe?

Money—where it comes from, where it goes—was on my mind as I drove from Brooklyn to Philadelphia last fall, a Friday the thirteenth. I spent most of the trip on a Zoom call with my wife and our doula, discussing what combination of night nurses, babysitters, and nannies we’d need come the birth of our twins, our second and third sons. Nary a dollar figure was uttered, seemingly out of respect, just as those attending a funeral avoid naming the actual cause of death.

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – May 27, 2024

A woman carrying a bag eyes a similar counterfeit bag for sale on a city street.

The New Yorker (May 20, 2024): The new issue‘s cover features

R. Kikuo Johnson’s “Genuine Style” – The artist depicts all the luxuries the city has to offer.

Donald Trump’s Abortion Problem at the Polls

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, G.O.P. efforts to ban abortion have backfired with voters in many states—and they could do so again in November.

The Guy on Trial for the Same Thing as Trump

At 100 Centre Street, another man charged with falsifying business records had a good day in court.

News: Cohen Testifies In Trump Trial, South Africa Pushes Case Against Israel

The Globalist (May 17, 2024): Michael Cohen returns to the witness stand for cross-examination on his third day of testimony.

Then: South Africa asks the International Court of Justice to order Israel to immediately withdraw from Rafah and we hear from the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Stephen Adly Guirgis. Plus: your weekend drinks menu with Maxim Kassir, head sommelier at The Aubrey, Mandarin Oriental.

News: Israel Pushes Deeper Into Rafah, Internally Displaced People Report

The Globalist (May 14, 2024): We hear the latest as Israel invades Rafah from north and south.

Plus: the UK arrests three men for assisting Hong Kong’s intelligence services, the Norwegian Refugee Council reports on a record number of internally displaced people around the world, the latest in arts and culture, and a preview of Cannes Film Festival.

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – May 20, 2024

Students are escorted by police as they cross a graduation stage to accept their diplomas.

The New Yorker (May 13, 2024): The new issue‘s cover features Barry Blitt’s “Class of 2024” – The campus tensions take center stage.

An Israeli Newspaper Presents Truths Readers May Prefer to Avoid

Haaretz consistently attempts to wrestle with the realities of what is going on in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank.

By David Remnick

A British Nurse Was Found Guilty of Killing Seven Babies. Did She Do It?

Colleagues reportedly called Lucy Letby an “angel of death,” and the Prime Minister condemned her. But, in the rush to judgment, serious questions about the evidence were ignored.

Sunday Morning: Stories & News From Zürich, Malmö, Helsinki And London

Monocle on Sunday, May 12, 2024: Juliet Linley and Damita Pressl join Monocle’s editorial director, Tyler Brûlé, to discuss the weekend’s hottest topics.

We also speak to Monocle’s Helsinki correspondent, Petri Burtsoff, for the latest news from the Nordics and senior correspondent and music curator Fernando Augusto Pacheco joins us from Malmö to talk all things Eurovision. Plus: Monocle’s North Africa correspondent, Mary Fitzgerald, joins the programme to discuss speaking at the Beyond Words French literature festival event Taste of Marseille.

The New York Times Magazine – May 12, 2024

THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (May 11, 2024): The ‘Retirement Issue’ features…

These Couples Survived a Lot. Then Came Retirement.

Yvonne McCracken stands behind Richard McCracken while he stares at a computer. Pretzel crumbs are scattered across some papers on the table.

For many relationships, life after work brings an unexpected set of challenges.

By Susan Dominus

This spring, Barbara and Joe, a retired couple in their 60s, sat down with me at a bistro in suburban Connecticut to talk about their relationship. That they were sitting there together at all was something of a triumph. In the past few days, they had hurled at each other the kinds of accusations that couples make when they are on the brink of mutual destruction. They were bruised from the words that had been exchanged, and although they sat close to each other, their energy was quiet and heavy.

How to Make Retirement Less Scary

A Times financial columnist and an illustrator share an exercise that can prepare you for life after work.

By Ron Lieb