Category Archives: Reviews

Scientific American Magazine – June 2024

Readers Respond to the February 2024 Issue | Scientific American

Scientific American (May 15, 2024)The June 2024 issue features:

Grizzly Bears Will Finally Return to Washington State. Humans Aren’t Sure How to Greet Them

BENJAMIN CASSIDY

Lifting the Veil on Near-Death Experiences

RACHEL NUWER

Arts/Books: Times Literary Supplement – May 17, 2024

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Times Literary Supplement (May 17, 2024): The latest issue features ‘The future of sex?’ – Dating apps, virtual encounters and polyamory; An American Life; Ripley’s new game; Gurus and primal screams ….

Previews: Country Life Magazine – May 15, 2024

Country Life Magazine (May 14, 2024): The latest issue features

The year of the tree

This year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show is poised to celebrate the unfolding freshness and energy of deciduous woods in May, as Kathryn Bradley-Hole discovers

Beneath the boughs

Garden designer Tom Stuart-Smith is returning to Chelsea’s Main Avenue for the first time in 14 years for the National Garden Scheme, reveals Joanna Fortnam

‘When the ass begins to bray, surely rain will come that day’

It’s raining ancient folklore and proverbs as John Lewis-Stempel relies on jumping trout, croaking frogs and chirping crickets to predict the great British weather

My art is in the garden

Carla Passino examines how the brushstrokes of Monet, Turner, Klimt and Canaletto are providing colour and inspiration at Chelsea

All I need is the air that I breathe

Cathryn Spence airs the story of how—250 years ago—Joseph Priestley ‘discovered’ oxygen at Bowood House in Wiltshire

Cindy Sughrue’s favourite painting

The director of London’s Charles Dickens Museum picks a classic snapshot of the capital’s skyline

The legacy

Bess of Hardwick was the first of many influential Chatsworth women, as Kate Green learns

A timeless view

George Plumptre admires the simple beauty of the gardens at Pusey House in Oxfordshire

Seating plans

What makes a comfortable garden seat, asks Tiffany Daneff

Sitting pretty

Amelia Thorpe seeks out crafted benches to suit every garden

The cutting-garden diaries

In the final part of her series, Anna Brown is focused on harvesting

A lily among weeds

Clive Aslet lauds the enduring influence of the prolific Victorian architect George Edmund Street

Slugging it out

Marianne Taylor is captivated by the curious beauty of molluscs

Mane stay

Deborah Nash visits the last British firm creating horsehair fabric

Out and About

The Royal Countryside Fund reception at Fortnum & Mason

Interiors

Amelia Thorpe takes a look at six of the best WOW!house creations

A brush with sparkles

Hetty Lintell is wowed by jewels celebrating the National Gallery

Kitchen garden cook

The arrival of new-season carrots is applauded by Melanie Johnson

Native herbs

John Wright is playing with fire as he investigates horseradish

Sweet chamomile, good times never seemed so good

Deborah Nicholls-Lee dreams of dainty white flowers and a fragrant lawn that never needs mowing

Falstaff reimagined

Sir Ian McKellen lends a ‘silvering dignity’ to Shakespeare’s famed roisterer, finds Michael Billington

World Economic Forum: Top Stories – May 13, 2024

World Economic Forum (May 13, 2024) – The top stories of the week include:

0:15 Banking uplifts women in Pakistan – Pakistan has a large gender gap in financial inclusion. 47% of men have at least one registered financial account but just 13% of women. Even for those with an account, banking can be prohibitively time-consuming, especially for women who are running a business alongside a household. Now a new kind of digital banking service is helping to close this gap.

2:23 World’s busiest airports revealed – The world’s busiest airports in 2023 were dominated by the United States, with five airports cracking the top 10. Overall, global airports saw a significant rebound in 2023, handling a total of 8.5 billion trips.

4:39 WMO: Asia hardest hit by climate – In 2023, Asia saw a wave of extreme weather events from floods to cyclones. World Economic Forum Head of Climate Adaptation Eric White explains why climate change is making extreme weather more likely.

7:07 Saving Earth with space science – Simonetta Di Pippo says that space is already helping tackle the greatest challenges on Earth. Satellite connectivity is improving our management of disasters and powering digital transformation. Which is revolutionizing sectors from healthcare to education, retail and communication.

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.

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

Finance Preview: Barron’s Magazine – May 13, 2024

Magazine - Latest Issue - Barron's

BARRON’S MAGAZINE – MAY 13, 2024 ISSUE:

Trump Hates Bidenomics. Why He Can’t Dump It.

Trump Hates Bidenomics. Why He Can’t Dump It.

Swing states and Republican areas are getting jobs and money from Biden’s economic plan. What’s at stake if Trump takes the presidency.

Here Are America’s Top 250 Private Wealth Teams. Why We Expanded Our List.

Here Are America’s Top 250 Private Wealth Teams. Why We Expanded Our List.

With more top advisors working in teams, we needed a bigger list to represent the industry’s best.

Financial Advisors Are Hiring Their Own Kids. Here’s Why.

Financial Advisors Are Hiring Their Own Kids. Here’s Why.

Financial advisors who bring qualified children on board can set up their practices for long-term success and stability. Here’s what it means for clients.

Reviews: ‘The Week In Art’

The Week In Art Podcast (May 10, 2024): We talk to The Art Newspaper’s reporter Sarvy Geranpayeh about her conversations with six Palestinian artists about their daily lives amid Israel’s ongoing military offensive in Gaza.

Frank Stella, one of the key artists in the history of American abstraction, has died, aged 87. We speak to Bonnie Clearwater, the director and chief curator of the NSU Art Museum in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, who worked with Stella on two landmark shows. And as Spring finally arrives in London, this episode’s Work of the Week is, fittingly, Vanessa Bell’s View into a Garden (1926). It features in an exhibition opening next week at the Garden Museum in London, called Gardening Bohemia: Bloomsbury Women Outdoors. Emma House, the curator at the museum, tells me more.

Glory of the World: Color Field Painting (1950s to 1983), NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, US, until 25 August. Frank Stella: Recent Sculpture, Deitch Projects, New York, until 24 May.

Gardening Bohemia: Bloomsbury Women Outdoors, Garden Museum, London, 15 May-29 September.

Research Preview: Science Magazine – May 10, 2024

Science Magazine – May 9, 2024: The new issue features ‘Volcanic Moon’ – Billions of years of activity on Jupiter’s moon Io…

Australia bets big on optical quantum computing

In AU$940 million deal, PsiQuantum will build “utility scale” facility

Report offers harsh verdict on global polio vaccine switch

Draft evaluation calls 2016 decision to change oral vaccines a “failure”

To probe outbreak, BSL-3 labs plan to infect cows with flu virus

Novel effort comes as study finds key receptor for avian flu virus in udders, where the virus flourishes

The Economist Magazine – May 11, 2024 Preview

The new economic order

The Economist Magazine (May 9, 2024): The latest issue features ‘The New Economic Order’….

The liberal international order is slowly coming apart

Kier Starmer holding a rose with his mouth

Its collapse could be sudden and irreversible

At first glance, the world economy looks reassuringly resilient. America has boomed even as its trade war with China has escalated. Germany has withstood the loss of Russian gas supplies without suffering an economic disaster. War in the Middle East has brought no oil shock. Missile-firing Houthi rebels have barely touched the global flow of goods. As a share of global gdp, trade has bounced back from the pandemic and is forecast to grow healthily this year.

“Judge-mandering” and how to cure it

The assignment of judges to cases should be random, not political

Singapore under new management

Under Lawrence Wong, the city-state has a new chance to change

China Shock II

Despite Xi Jinping’s protestations, China does have an overcapacity problem

Gangs on Latin America

How to pacify the world’s most violent region