Julian Evans’s TLS cover review looks at writing inspired by another quarrel between people of whom we need to know much more – in Ukraine and its Donbas region
By Martin Ivens
European politics|Book Review
Dispatches from the Donbas
By Julian Evans
European literature|Book Review
The crossover appeal of a world-famous puppet
British literature|Book Review
Why we’re still obsessed with Shakespeare
Biography|Book Review
New perspectives on a troubled celebrity chef
Scientists scramble to understand the devastating Tongan volcano eruption, and modelling how societal changes might alter carbon emissions.
In this episode:
00:46 Understanding the Tongan eruption
On the 15th of January, a volcano in the South Pacific Ocean erupted, sending ash into the upper atmosphere, and unleashing a devastating tsunami that destroyed homes on Tonga’s nearby islands. Now scientists are trying to work out exactly what happened during the eruption — and what it means for future volcanic risks.
News Feature: Why the Tongan eruption will go down in the history of volcanology
08:49 Research Highlights
The genes associated with reindeers’ roaming behaviour, and how fossilised puke has thrown up new insights into pterosaurs’ stomachs.
Research Highlight: A reindeer’s yearning to travel can be read in its genes
Research Highlight: Petrified puke shows that ancient winged reptiles purged
11:29 Modelling societal changes to carbon emissions
A team of researchers have modelled what humans might do in the face of climate change, and looked at how societal, political and technological changes could alter future emissions.
Research article: Moore et al.
18:12 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, China alters its guidelines for gene-edited crops, and how Guinea worm infections have been driven down from millions of cases a year to just 14.
Nature News: China’s approval of gene-edited crops energizes researchers
Nature News: Just 14 cases: Guinea worm disease nears eradication
Tesla’s FSD Beta, which stands for ‘full-self driving’ beta, can best be summarized as a host of new driver assistant features that are not yet debugged. Chief among them is “autosteer on city streets,” which enables drivers to automatically navigate around complex urban environments without moving the steering wheel with their own hands.
Elon Musk has promised driverless cars since 2016, but FSD is not even close to a fully autonomous vehicle yet. The beta program is heavily scrutinized by regulators and has earned Tesla side-eye from competitors, who usually have professionally trained drivers, not customers, test driver assist features in their vehicles.
But for now, FSD Beta still available for thousands of Tesla owners to access, without the knowledge of drivers and pedestrians around them. CNBC went for a ride with three FSD Beta testers in different parts of the country to see how the system performs in the real world and explore what this program could mean for the future of vehicle automation.
A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, what would happen if financial markets crashed? We also profile China’s thinker-in-chief (11:25) and explore how new spinal implants allow the paralysed to walk, swim and cycle again (18:45).
ABC News spoke with acclaimed mountaineer Nirmal “Nims” Purja about his recent documentary, “14 Peaks,” and the dangers of high-altitude mountaineering.
14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible is a 2021 documentary film directed by Torquil Jones, and produced by Noah Media Group, Little Monster Films and Torquil Jones with Nirmal Purja, Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Vasarhelyi as executive producers. The film follows Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja and his team as they attempt to climb all 14 eight thousander peaks within a record time of under 7 months.
Is Francis Bacon really the greatest painter of the 20th century?
It was not an enormous surprise that an exhibition of works by Francis Bacon at the Royal Academy that is supported by Christie’s should swiftly be followed by an announcement of the auction house offering a large work for sale. Triptych 1986-7, whose central panel depicts the artist’s partner John Edwards, with Woodrow Wilson on one side and the assassinated Trotsky’s study on the other, is being offered in the sale that takes place on 1 March with an estimate of £35m–£55m. Nor is it a surprise that an auction house should drum up interest in one of their lots using superlatives. But Rakewell was a little taken aback by the claim on Instagram from a Christie’s specialist that ‘Francis Bacon is unmistakably on of the greatest painters of the 20th century.’
Pop-up campers, also known as fold-out campers or tent trailers, are camping trailers that collapse down into a much smaller, portable package, thanks to a partial canvas construction. Like a fifth wheel or travel trailer, pop-up campers often have a mess area, large mattresses and sometimes a functioning bathroom.
Rather than hauling around a massive, heavy trailer, however, a pop-up camper folds up into a nice, small package that’s easier to tow and maneuver than a full-sized trailer.
Boomers Daily 