Category Archives: Reviews

The New York Times Book Review — June 18, 2023

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THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW – JUNE 18, 2023: Stephen King reviews of S. A. Cosby’s blistering new Southern gothic, “All the Sinners Bleed,” which graces our cover this week. Also featured are  John Vaillant’s chillingly prescient book about a 2016 Canadian wildfirea history that pieces together a botany expedition in the Grand Canyon some 85 years ago; and the spiky, percussive, heavy-metal-infused novel “Gone to the Wolves.

In This Thriller, the Psycho Killers Have a Southern Drawl

This illustration shows a sheriff on a dark rural street, one hand on the grip of his holstered pistol and the other hand shining a flashlight into the woods. Out of his line of sight, the silhouette of a man in a wolf mask lurks behind a tree, watching ominously.

Stephen King reviews S.A. Cosby’s latest novel, “All the Sinners Bleed.”

Titus Crown is an ex-F.B.I. agent who gets a sheriff’s job, almost by accident, in a rural Virginia community. He’s Black. Mr. Spearman teaches geography and wears a coat of many countries on Earth Day. He’s white. Given the name of the town and county where these two live — Charon — one can expect bad things to happen, and they certainly do. As in S.A. Cosby’s previous two novels, “Blacktop Wasteland” and “Razorblade Tears,” the body count is high and the action pretty much nonstop.

They Overcame Hazards — and Doubters — to Make Botanical History

In a black-and-white photograph from 1938, two women and four men sit in a boat looking at the camera. One woman wears a white dress and hat; the other wears slacks and a blouse. Three of the men are shirtless; two wear pith helmets.

In Melissa Sevigny’s “Brave the Wild River,” we meet the two scientists who explored unknown terrain — and broke barriers.

Let’s start this story on a sun-blistered evening in August 1938. A small band of adventurers had just concluded a 43-day journey from Utah to Nevada — although perhaps “journey” is too tame a description for a trip that had required weeks of small wooden boats tumbling down more than 600 miles of rock-strewn rivers. The goal was twofold. First, to simply survive. And then, to chart the plants building homes along the serrated walls of the Grand Canyon.

Preview: New York Times Magazine – June 18, 2023

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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 Moral Crisis of America’s Doctors

A black-and-white photograph of Keith Corl in scrubs.

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. 

How MrBeast Became the Willy Wonka of YouTube

An illustration of MrBeast, surrounded by amazed faces and stacks of cash.

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.

Reviews: ‘The Week In Art’

The Art Newspaper (June 16, 2023): As her new series for the BBC, Africa Rising, takes Afua Hirsch to Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa, we talk to her about the artists and art scenes she encountered and what she took away from her experiences.

The Liverpool Biennial’s latest edition opened last weekend and has a South African curator, Khanyisile Mbongwa, and an IsiZulu title, uMoya: The Sacred Return of Lost Things. The Art Newspaper’s contemporary art correspondent, Louisa Buck, visited the biennial and reviews it for us. And it is Art Basel this week, in its original Swiss location, so this episode’s Work of the Week is one of the most notable works for sale at the fair.

Valentine was painted by Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1984 and given to his then girlfriend, Paige Powell, on Valentine’s Day. Jeffrey Deitch, who is selling the work at Art Basel, tells us its story.

Africa Rising: Morocco is on the BBC iPlayer now. The Nigeria episode is on BBC Two on 20 June at 9pm for UK viewers and on BBC iPlayer, and South Africa is broadcast on BBC Two at 27 June at 9pm. For listeners outside the UK, check your local listings.

Research Preview: Science Magazine – June 16, 2023

Science Magazine – June 16, 2023 issue: A wild little penguin (Eudyptula minor) stands silhouetted against the city of Melbourne, Australia. Increasing levels of light pollution are having adverse effects on humans and the natural world.

Losing the darkness

For most of history, the only lights made by humans were naked flames. Daily life was governed by the times of sunrise and sunset, outdoor nighttime activities depended on the phase of the Moon, and viewing the stars was a common and culturally important activity. Today, the widespread deployment of outdoor electric lighting means that the night is no longer dark for most people—few can see the Milky Way from their homes. Outdoor lighting has many legitimate uses that have benefited society. However, it often leads to illumination at times and locations that are unnecessary, excessive, intrusive, or harmful: light pollution.

Potential for recovery of declining reef sharks

Data on shark populations in coral reefs raise concern and hope for recovery

Sharks and their relatives are some of the most threatened vertebrates on Earth, with approximately one-third estimated or assessed as threatened with extinction (1). This is a major problem because as predators that help keep the food web in balance, these animals play a variety of vitally important ecological roles (2) and in doing so help to keep healthy many ecosystems that humans depend on. Coral reefs provide homes for countless fish species that are vital for fisheries and are therefore an especially important ecosystem for humans—and one where the decline of shark populations seems to be especially acute

Documentary: “Waiting To Die” In North Korea (BBC)

BBC News (June 15, 2023) – Three North Koreans want to tell the world about the situation in the country. They expose, for the first time, the disaster unfolding there since the government sealed the borders more than three years ago starvation, brutal crackdowns and no chance to escape.

Under the tyrannical rule of Kim Jong Un, North Koreans are forbidden from making contact with the outside world. A spokesperson for the North Korean government has disputed the claims, which they said were “not entirely factual”.

Previews: The Economist Magazine – June 17, 2023

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The Economist Magazine– June 17, 2023 issue: America’s new best friend – Why India is indispensable.

Joe Biden and Narendra Modi are drawing their countries closer

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.

Lula’s ambitious plans to save the Amazon clash with reality

The Brazilian president faces resistance from Congress, the state oil company and agribusiness

Ukraine’s counter-offensive is making mixed progress

Its real test will come when it hits Russia’s prepared defences

Charlemagne: Why Europe’s asylum policy desperately needs rebooting

A deadly shipwreck in Greek waters highlights its dangers

ChatGPT: Is Society Really At Risk With Generative AI?

euronews (June 15, 2023) – What does it mean to be human? An age-old philosophical question, thrown into the spotlight by the rise of #AI, which has managed to pass the sentience test created by Alan Turing.

In this first episode of Euronews Tech Talks, an Italian programmer delegates code-writing, a French artist reinvents her practice, a Cypriot student brainstorms, and a German teacher ignites minds.

Released a mere six months ago in November, ChatGPT has already become the fastest-growing consumer application. With this rapid growth, how is AI affecting life across Europe?

The education system is scrambling to catch up with #AI, but it’s not all doom and gloom for teachers. Dr. @sabinehauert and Dr. Matthew Glanville tell us about the benefits of this technology in the classroom, and how it can help diverse learners achieve their goals

Read more

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – June 15, 2023

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nature Magazine – June 15, 2023 issue: In this week’s issue, Abhinav Kandala and his colleagues show that it is still possible for a quantum computer to outperform a classical computer, by mitigating, rather  than correcting, the errors. 

DeepMind AI creates algorithms that sort data faster than those built by people

A replica of a game between 'Go' player Lee Se-Dol and a Google-developed super-computer, in Seoul, Korea, 2016.

The technology developed by DeepMind that plays Go and chess can also help to write code.

An artificial intelligence (AI) system based on Google DeepMind’s AlphaZero AI created algorithms that, when translated into the standard programming language C++, can sort data up to three times as fast as human-generated versions.

“We were a bit shocked,” said Daniel Mankowitz, a computer scientist at DeepMind who led the work. “We didn’t believe it at first.”

Ukraine dam collapse: what scientists are watching

Maxar satellite imagery of the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power facility.
Large sections of the Kakhovka dam have collapsed, unleashing catastrophic floods. Credit: Satellite image (c) 2023 Maxar Technologies via Getty

Extensive flooding could have severe consequences for farming, health and the environment.

The 66-year-old Kakhovka dam on the Dnieper River in south Ukraine collapsed on the morning of 6 June after a suspected explosion, triggering a catastrophic humanitarian and environmental crisis.

Politics: The Guardian Weekly – June 16, 2023

The Guardian Weekly (June 16, 2023) Ukraine and the Kakhovka dam burst. Plus: biting down into doughnut economics

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 SabbaghArtem 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.

Green Energy: Potential & Economics Of Hydrogen

Financial Times (June 13, 2023) – In this film, the FT’s Simon Mundy explores how hydrogen – the lightest, most abundant element in the universe – could play a crucial role in the global push for net zero carbon emissions.

Video timeline: 00:00 What is Hydrogen 00:50 Green Hydrogen 02:50 Current uses of hydrogen 04:10 The concerns 05:00 The Hydrogen rainbow 05:51 Emerald Hydrogen 07.35 The investors 10:50 The policymakers 13:40 Green steel 17:35 Cleaning up aviation 22:15 The hydrogen economy of the future

From southern Spain to Swedish Lapland, we meet those at the forefront of this fast-growing space – all seeking a share of the billions to be made in the emerging hydrogen economy.

#hydrogen #greenhydrogen #EmeraldHydrogen #steel #hydrogeneconomy #zerocarbon #emission