The New Yorker – June 19, 2023 issue: Edward Steed’s “A Loveliness of Ladybugs” – In his cover for the June 26, 2023, issue, Ed Steed heralds summer, depicting some colorful Coccinellidae—the scientific term for the family of small beetles colloquially known as the ladybug, a swarm of which is collectively called a loveliness. I talked to the artist about the joy of painting, an affection for the little things, and the luck of the ladybugs.
The Globalist Podcast, Monday, June 19, 2023: The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, visits Beijing in a bid to ease relations between the US and China.
Plus: the latest on the conflict in Ukraine, a roundup of the day’s papers and a profile of Miami’s mayor, Francis Suarez, who is now a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.
Harper’s Magazine – July 2023 issue: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Wokeness by Ian Buruma; Jackson Lears on Nuclear Insouciance and The World of Homemade Submarines…
Writing about “Woke” has at least two pitfalls. One is that any criticism of its excesses provokes accusations of racism, xenophobia, transphobia, misogyny, or white supremacy. The other problem is the word itself, which has been a term of abuse employed by the far right, a battle cry for the progressive left, and an embarrassment to many liberals.
Monocle on Saturday, June 17, 2023: The week’s news and culture with Georgina Godwin. Journalist Simon Brooke reviews the newspapers and we speak to South Korean human rights activist Pastor Kim Sungeun, who has helped more than 1,000 North Koreans to defect since 2000.
Plus: why does avocado and honey work? Emma Nelson dives into the world of flavour pairing.
THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (June 16, 2023) – Three young Iranian women share their diaries; plus, a profile of the YouTube superstar MrBeast; and inside the moral crisis of America’s doctors.
The corporatization of health care has changed the practice of medicine, causing many physicians to feel alienated from their work.
By Eyal Press
Some years ago, a psychiatrist named Wendy Dean read an article about a physician who died by suicide. Such deaths were distressingly common, she discovered. The suicide rate among doctors appeared to be even higher than the rate among active military members, a notion that startled Dean, who was then working as an administrator at a U.S. Army medical research center in Maryland. Dean started asking the physicians she knew how they felt about their jobs, and many of them confided that they were struggling. Some complained that they didn’t have enough time to talk to their patients because they were too busy filling out electronic medical records.
Jimmy Donaldson, a.k.a. MrBeast, has become a viral sensation for his absurd acts of altruism. Why do so many people think he’s evil?
Even within this context, Donaldson stands out for his dedication to understanding how YouTube works. For most of his teenage years, “I woke up, I studied YouTube, I studied videos, I studied filmmaking, I went to bed and that was my life,” Donaldson once told Bloomberg. “I hardly had any friends because I was so obsessed with YouTube,” he said on “The Joe Rogan Experience” last year.
India does not love the West, but it is indispensable to America
No country except China has propped up Russia’s war economy as much as oil-thirsty India. And few big democracies have slid further in the rankings of democratic freedom. But you would not guess it from the rapturous welcome Narendra Modi will receive in Washington next week. India’s prime minister has been afforded the honour of a state visit by President Joe Biden. The Americans hope to strike defence deals.
More than a week has passed since the collapse of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine. Only as the flood waters begin to recede is the long-term scale of the disaster becoming apparent.
With suspicion (though not yet, according to western capitals, conclusive proof) falling on Moscow, Dan Sabbagh, Artem Mazhulin and Julian Borger report on a human and environmental catastrophe, and what it might mean for Ukraine’s counteroffensive plans against Russia.
And amid reports of disunity among Moscow’s ruling elite, Shaun Walker went along to a gathering of exiled influential Russians who are once again daring to dream of an end to Vladimir Putin’s rule.
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious