Category Archives: Reviews

The New York Review Of Books – September 19, 2024

The New York Review of Books (August 30, 2024)The latest issue features:

The Secret Agent

Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner

Rachel Kushner’s fourth novel tells the story of a spy-for-hire who infiltrates the ranks of a radical French commune.

Venture-Backed Trumpism

Why have right-wing ideas found such an eager audience among tech elites during Biden’s presidency?

Succumbing to Spectacle

During the last half-century, artists, curators, and scholars have been increasingly preoccupied with the idea of spectacle and with how to embrace, critique, or co-opt the power of work that envelops and overwhelms the viewer.

Jenny Holzer: Light Line – An exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York City, May 17–September 29, 2024

Tricks of the Light: Essays on Art and Spectacle by Jonathan Crary

The Avant-Gardists: Artists in Revolt in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, 1917–1935 by Sjeng Scheijen

The Most Conservative Branch

Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism by Stephen Breyer

In his new book, Reading the Constitution, Stephen Breyer criticizes recent Supreme Court decisions on issues such as abortion and gun rights as the product of rigid and imperfect reasoning rather than of ideology, and he argues for a more pragmatic jurisprudence.

Politics: Harris Leads Trump In New WSJ Poll

The Wall Street Journal (August 29, 2024); A new Wall Street Journal poll shows Vice President Kamala Harris is one point ahead of former President Donald Trump.

Chapters: 0:00 WSJ poll 0:40 Harris’s visibility 1:42 Key issues 2:24 Favorability 3:15 What’s next?

While Trump still leads on key issues like the economy and immigration, Harris had 48% support to his 47% in a head-to-head test, claiming an advantage within the survey’s margin of error. WSJ breaks down the major takeaways from the poll.

#Harris#Trump#WSJ

Research Preview: Science Magazine – August 30, 2024

Current Issue Cover

Science Magazine – August 29, 2024: The new issue features ‘Micronuclear Collapse’ – Mitochondria-derived reactive oxygen species disrupt micronuclear envelopes…

Sinking seaweed

An ambitious strategy aims to cool the planet by dumping farmed seaweed on the sea floor. Will it work?

Hot days or heat waves: A split over how to count heat deaths

Focusing on temperature extremes can galvanize policy changes but risks undercounting

Ancient monument’s builders knew their science

Building a Spanish megalith required sophisticated physics, geometry, and geology

The Economist Magazine – August 31, 2024 Preview

Sudan: Why its catastrophic war is the world’s problem

The Economist Magazine (August 29, 2024): The latest issue features

Sudan: Why its catastrophic war is the world’s problem

It could kill millions—and spread chaos across Africa and the Middle East

How to fix social care

Before reform and money comes courage

In praise of digital twins

Welcome to the mirror world

Nvidia envy

Two contradictions could stymie the AI chipmaker-in-chief

Time to pay for blood plasma

Shortages are hampering the production of essential medicines

Politics: The Guardian Weekly – August 30, 2024

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The Guardian Weekly (August 29, 2024) – The new issue features ‘Game Changers’ – Will the Paralympics make a difference for disabled people?

1
Spotlight | Families on the frontline of the mpox outbreak
Carlos Mureithi and Ruth Alonga report from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where 96% of Africa’s 17,000 reported cases of the viral disease this year have occurred.

2
Health | The quest to end the menopause
Women’s ovaries affect everything from metabolism to mood – so some scientists are trying to slow the way they age. But is it a good idea? Amy Fleming investigates.

3
Feature | The evolution of Kamala Harris
After Kamala Harris’s triumphant speech at last week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Janell Ross’s profile tells the story of the vice-president’s rapid rise to become a US presidential contender.

4
Opinion | Escaping Russia’s legacy
Ukraine marked its independence day last weekend with the country still facing an uncertain future. Olga Rudenko’s eloquent piece explains why it was a bittersweet celebration of a defiant nation that refuses to bow to a tyrant and his armies.

5
Culture | The podcast that made true crime truly popular
On the 10th anniversary of the streaming hit Serial, the show’s founder Sarah Koenig talks to Fiona Sturges about how it tapped into the amateur sleuth in us all.

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – August 29, 2024

Volume 632 Issue 8027

Nature Magazine – August 28, 2024: The latest issue features ‘Space Omics’ – Biomedical atlas captures health effects of spaceflight…

Why record wildfires scorched Canada last year

Snows melted earlier than usual because of climate change, fuelling the unprecedented blazes.

These decoy ‘female’ fireflies lure males to their doom in a spider’s embrace

Certain spiders take advantage of the fact that a male firefly can flash even after being bitten and wrapped.

Gut microbes’ genomes are a trove of potential antibiotics

Newfound compound is as effective at treating infected skin wounds as is the antibiotic of last resort.

This unlucky star got mangled by a black hole — twice

Bursts of light hint that a star in a nearby galaxy was partially shredded in 2022 and 2024 and might be in for another round.

Current Affairs: Prospect Magazine – October 2024

Prospect Magazine (July 11, 2024) The latest issue features ‘The New Fascism’ – Local authorities and the police are facing a globally organised far right they barely understand

The new fascism

Local authorities and the police are facing a globally organised far right they barely understand By Paul Mason

“I think the protests are great,” the far-right influencer James Goddard told subscribers to his Telegram channel, in a video the day after the Sunderland riot. “But we need to clean up the optics… Number one, please stay away from religious buildings, places of worship, mosques, Islamic centres. Just stay away from them. You’re going to cause a conflict that we don’t need to have… yet.”

The president’s crimes

The oldest constitution in the world was not made for the political culture of modern America. The Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v United States is a symptom of its crisis

During the riots, we saw that solidarity is action

Standing in a huge crowd of counter-protesters, I’m more aware than ever that racist violence is part of a structural problem and an inevitable extension of mainstream Islamophobia

How “Kamikaze Drones” From Iran Are Wreaking Havoc In Ukraine & Israel

The Wall Street Journal (August 28, 2024): Iran’s Shahed drones have disrupted Red Sea shipping, threatened U.S. troops in the Middle East and caused chaos in Ukraine. These precise one-way attack suicide drones mark a major shift in drone warfare.

Chapters: 0:00 Shahed drones 0:31 What they are and how they work 2:45 How they stack up to other drones 4:01 Who’s using these drones? 6:02 Defenses against these drones

WSJ looks at how Iran’s kamikaze drones work, how they are being used across the globe by militant groups and Russia and the defense mechanisms used against them.

Previews: Country Life Magazine – August 28, 2024

Country Life Magazine (August 27, 2024): The latest issue features ‘Horsepower’ – Stubbs, Burghley, and ponies at tea parties….

Can I tempt you with another carrot?

There’s bound to be horseplay when you invite a four-hoofed friend to tea. Flora Watkins is handing out the sugar lumps

From Paris, with love

The dust has barely settled on Britain’s equestrian glory at the Olympics as the spotlight falls on Burghley, says Kate Green

Wheels of fortune

A Corsa for the capital, an Aston for the budding bond? James Fisher has just the car for you

The legacy

Amie Elizabeth White applauds Charles Rolls, the man behind the most famous marque in motoring

Hero of the turf

Three centuries after his birth, George Stubbs still stands out as a peerless painter of horses. Jack Watkins celebrates his life

The sweet taste of freedom

You’ll never forget your first car — even if, at times, you’ve really wanted to, finds James Fisher

Eastern promise

In the final part of our series on the new commute, Liz Rowlinson unearths East Anglia’s hidden gems, all within reach of London

The summits of excellence

Adam Hay-Nicholls takes on the Three Peaks, powered by baked beans and Aston Martin’s DBX707

Keep calm and play on

There are still many vital lessons to be learned from playing sport at school, finds Madeleine Silver

Arts/History: Smithsonian Magazine – Sept/Oct 2024

Archaeologists Uncover the Real Story of How England Became England |  Smithsonian

Smithsonian Magazine (August 27, 2024) – The latest issue features ‘Douglas MacArthur’s Australian Odyssey – Following the trail of the controversial general as he plotted his dramatic World War II comeback...

Archaeologists Uncover the Real Story of How England Became England | Smithsonian

New research is revealing how the Sceptered Isle transformed from a Roman backwater to a mighty country of its own by Francine Russo