The cover shows an artistic impression of marine life in Indonesia’s coral reefs. The question of whether there are limits to biodiversity in the seas is typically addressed by examining the fossil record. In this week’s issue, Pedro Cermeño and his colleagues present a model that combines the fossil record with plate tectonics and Earth’s environmental conditions to offer insight into regional diversification of marine invertebrates. The researchers used the model to examine how biodiversity recovered after mass extinctions during the Phanerozoic eon, covering
some 500 million years of Earth’s history. They found that throughout the Phanerozoic, less than 2% of area of the globe covered by water showed signs of diversity levels reaching saturation. The team also note that as Pangaea broke up into continents, the stability of Earth’s environmental conditions allowed the development of diversity hotspots that helped to drive an increase in biodiversity in the late Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras.
We humans may think of ourselves, or possibly beetles, as typical Earthlings, but to a first approximation, life on Earth exists in the sea. And what spectacular life! Our special package on the oceans is teeming with images of eerie, delicate, elaborate, glowing and occasionally kind of frightening creatures that have rarely been seen by terrestrial species. The in-depth report was guided by sustainability senior editor Mark Fischetti along three main themes: mystery, discovery and surprise.
Read by: Jennifer Kim and Julian Cihi Length: 13 hrs, 52 mins. Speed I listened: 1.7x–1.8x
I haven’t savored listening to a book in recent memory quite as much as I did this novel. It’s about two friends — Sadie Green and Sam Masur — who meet as kids in Los Angeles and then reconnect at MIT, where they begin developing experimental video games together. The lead characters (and let’s throw in the supporting ones too) are at times completely relatable, at times bittersweet, and almost always completely heartwarming. The book is mostly read by Kim except for a short fever dream by Cihi. Kim’s delivery might be monotone in places, but I found it steady, deliberate, and clear, so I didn’t have to miss a moment.
Read by: The author Length: 8 hrs, 12 mins. Speed I listened: 1.75x
Does there have to be a book about the making of 1988’s Bull Durham? Probably not. Did I get a kick out of this trip down memory lane with the movie’s writer-director? I did. It’s rare you get a glimpse into the making of a Hollywood movie in minute detail, and this one’s pretty soup to nuts, down to Shelton hiring the on-set script supervisor. These kind of books always start and end with the idea that everyone in Hollywood is crazy, and it’s good to be reminded of that. To that end, here, Kevin Costner’s agents tried to prevent him from starring as Minor League Baseball star Crash Davis, which turned out to be one of his most iconic roles. Shelton has a knowing but aw-shucks vibe that makes great company even if his performance of dialogue scenes from the original script could use more oomph.
Read by: Jonathan Coleman Length: 19 hrs, 41 mins Speed I listened: 2x
A darker addition to July’s “Hollywood Is Crazy Files” is this gripping account of Harvey Weinstein’s rise to and fall from power. You’re probably familiar with many of the sordid details in this book, and at 20 hours, it isn’t short. Still, I couldn’t turn off this compendium of the disgraced movie producer’s unbelievable behavior, from his rampant spending on hotel rooms to his truly despicable treatment of so many women. Auletta’s reporting is mostly firsthand, and hearing it cumulatively is jaw-dropping. As the narrator, Coleman is deadpan and direct enough to sometimes make you forget you aren’t listening to an actual thriller. Also kudos to the drippingly ironic title.
Stonehenge was a triumph—but it wasn’t the only one. In the August issue of our magazine, new discoveries reveal an era when awe-inspiring monuments were all the rage https://t.co/W80L69QobMpic.twitter.com/m2yyL9CONK
How the spirit of ancient Stonehenge was captured with a 21st-century drone
Photographer Reuben Wu took innovative risks to show one of the world’s most-photographed sites in a new light.
Reuben Wu, a British photographer and visual artist based in Chicago, was first introduced to National Geographic as most people are: When he was a child, he enjoyed looking at the magazines his father subscribed to for decades.
He dreamed of seeing his photographs in the same magazine—and even on the cover. So when National Geographic asked him to photograph an iconic monument he knows well, he was ready to work.
Harper’s Magazine, August 2022 – The Next Front in the Fight to Choose, Marilynne Robinson on the Roots of American Liberalism, Is Christopher Hitchens Still Worth Reading?
With their dazzling colors, glittering iridescent feathers, fantastic adornments, astonishing powers of flight, and many other unique characteristics, hummingbirds are among the world’s most extraordinary birds – true jewels of nature. This beautifully designed book offers a celebration of all aspects of hummingbirds and their world, presenting the latest scientific information in an accessible style and featuring hundreds of the most spectacular photographs of hummingbirds ever taken, all enhanced by wonderful artwork.
A familiar sight across much of the Americas, hummingbirds have long captured the imagination and played an important part in myths, legends, and other aspects of human culture. Today, hummingbirds are some of the most popular of all birds, sought after by serious and casual birders alike. They are birds that inspire questions in anyone lucky enough to see them. How can they fly like that? Why are they so colorful? How many are there? And where and how do they live? This book answers these and many other questions, offering an enlightening and enjoyable guide to hummingbirds that only deepens their wonder.
A definitive yet accessible account of all aspects of hummingbird life; More than 500 spectacular color photographs; Specially commissioned illustrations; Facts and figures on status, population, distribution, and conservation designations of all the world’s hummingbirds.
Barron's Midyear Roundtable panelists are split on where the economy and markets are headed, but they agree this year's selloff has left plenty of bargains. In this issue: pic.twitter.com/wvUvQuglE7
COVER: Voltage pulses from the tip of a scanning probe microscope induce single-molecule chemical reactions with selectivity and reversibility. Different constitutional isomers (distinguished here in shades of red, orange, and yellow) are selected by the polarity and magnitude of the voltage pulse. The findings advance the understanding of tip-induced chemistry and reduction-oxidation reactions in general. See pages 261 and 298.
Boomers Daily 