Category Archives: Society

Culture, Magazines, Previews, Reviews, Society, Tourism, Travel

CULTURE: FRANCE-AMÉRIQUE MAGAZINE – MAY 2023 ISSUE

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France-Amérique Magazine – May 2023 – Our publication was launched in New York City on May 23, 1943, during World War II – a period of intense political debate between supporters of the Vichy regime and those fighting for de Gaulle that our historian-in-residence,

1943-2023 – We’ll Always Have Passion

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This month, France-Amérique is celebrating its 80th anniversary – a miraculous example of longevity in today’s print media sector. This success is due to America’s longstanding passion for France, and the omnipresence of America in French controversies.

WORK TO LIVE? A French Pension Row with Deeper Implications

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The scale and intensity of the current protests reflect a deeper discontent relating to the very nature of work and its place in people’s lives. While these concerns may seem specifically French, they echo a much broader and long-standing debate in our societies.

By Anthony Bulger

Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Previews, Reviews, Society

Preview: New York Times Magazine – April 30, 2023

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The New York Times Magazine – April 29, 2023:

Dr. Fauci Looks Back: ‘Something Clearly Went Wrong’

In his most extensive interview yet, Anthony Fauci wrestles with the hard lessons of the pandemic — and the decisions that will define his legacy.

‘The Most Dangerous Person in the World Is Randi Weingarten’

Randi Weingarten, wearing a bright blue shirt and staring directly into the camera.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.Credit…Michal Chelbin for The New York Times

School closures and culture wars turned classrooms into battlegrounds — and made the head of one of the country’s largest teachers’ unions a lightning rod for criticism.

Culture, Documentaries, History, Reviews, Society, Travel, Videos

Travel & History: The Sindh Region Of Pakistan (DW)

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DW Documentary (April 28, 2023) – Pakistan’s Sindh region is one of the cradles of human civilization. It’s seen as the homeland of the Indus Valley Civilization, an advanced Bronze Age civilization. But the events of 1947 brought drastic change to the cultural landscape of the Sindh.

The 1947 partition of the Indian subcontinent into India and Pakistan was devastating for those living in the Sindh region. Most were Hindus and fled to India, as the area was completely assigned to Pakistan. Many Muslims from India then resettled in Sindh and changed the face of this region, whose cultural heritage had been formed over centuries.

Suddenly, the Hindus who remained found themselves in the minority. Many members of the Sindhi community are now scattered across the globe. They’re making every effort to preserve the old stories and traditions and are proud of their legacy as descendants of one of the oldest human civilizations.

Culture, Design, Lifestyle, Magazines, Reviews, Society

Design/Culture: Monocle Magazine —May 2023

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Monocle Magazine (May 2023 issue) – As the canny, optimistic winners of this year’s Monocle Design Awards all demonstrate, staying on top of your game in any field requires the instincts of a true detective – and a curiosity to find out what makes the world tick, writes our editor in chief, Andrew Tuck.

Dutch master

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When the sun’s over the yardarm…

A former waterside inn in a quiet fishing village north of Amsterdam is now a cosy hotel and restaurant where good food, nice design and big views all entice you to linger. Monocle takes a first look.ByJosh FehnertPhotographyJulie Mayfeng

Design Awards: Part 1

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For the third annual Monocle Design Awards, we’ve scoured the globe for the best in architecture, furniture, graphic design and more, to celebrate projects improving our lives – while looking good.Edited byNic MonissePhotographyBenjamin Swanson

“I was a motorcycle hater,” says Stefan Ytterborn. That is, before the Swedish entrepreneur tried a few electric ones and got so hooked that he decided to design his own. Cake’s first model, Kalk, put competitors to shame with a design weighing 40 per cent less than the average motorbike. In 2021 Cake started shipping out Kalk &, an upgrade engineered for both commutes and off-road escapades. “During the week you ride the bike from home to work, and during the weekend you bring it out to the countryside,”…

Analysis, Business, Opinion, Podcasts, Politics, Reviews, Society

Opinion: Wise Worries On AI, Global Peace Crumbles, The English Identity Myth

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The Economist ‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (April 24, 2023) – This week, how to worry wisely about artificial intelligence, why in Sudan and beyond, the trend towards global peace has been reversed (13:00) and if English nationalism is on the rise, no one has told the English (19:30).

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5geQcDnCiyFMtrdKZUoPYG
Health, Infographics, Research, Reviews, Society, Studies

Type 2 Diabetes Studies: 65% Higher Death Rates With ‘Sweetened Drinks’

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The BMJ (Published April 19, 2023) – Conclusions: Individual beverages showed divergent associations with all cause mortality and CVD outcomes among adults with type 2 diabetes. Higher intake of SSBs was associated with higher all cause mortality and CVD incidence and mortality, whereas intakes of coffee, tea, plain water, and low fat milk were inversely associated with all cause mortality. These findings emphasize the potential role of healthy choices of beverages in managing the risk of CVD and premature death overall in adults with type 2 diabetes.

READ COMPLETE BMJ RESEARCH STUDY

Analysis, Artificial Intelligence, Reviews, Society, Technology, Videos

Review: How AI Is Now Disrupting Societies (DW)

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DW News (April 23, 2023) – AI systems such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT are dominating headlines. There are concerns that their rise may lead to the displacement of millions of workers, blur the distinction between truth and falsehood, and amplify existing inequalities. Are the worries justified?

Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Previews, Reviews, Society

Preview: New York Times Magazine – April 23, 2023

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The New York Times Magazine – April 23, 2023:

They Saw the Horrific Aftermath of a Mass Shooting. Should We?

A photograph of Detectives Art Walkley and Karoline Keith and Sgt. Jeff Covello, all staring directly into the camera.
Detectives Art Walkley, left, and Karoline Keith and Sgt. Jeff Covello, crime-scene investigators for the Connecticut State Police.Credit…Elinor Carucci for The New York Times

The crime-scene investigators are the ones who document, and remember, the unimaginable. This is what they saw at Sandy Hook.

How Much Power Should the Courts Have?

A color illustration of a courthouse in the clouds.
Credit…Illustration by Anson Chan

In Israel, the United States and other democracies, bitter battles are being waged over the same question.

What Was Twitter, Anyway?

A color photograph of a nest filled with trash, including cigarette butts, a soda tab, wire, chewed-up bubble gum and a blue feather in the middle.
Credit…Photograph by Jamie Chung. Concept by Pablo Delcan.

Whether the platform is dying or not, it’s time to reckon with how exactly it broke our brains.

Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Previews, Reviews, Society

Previews: The Atlantic Magazine — May 2023

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The Atlantic Magazine – May 2023 issue – In “American Madness,” appearing as the cover story of the May issue of The Atlantic, Jonathan Rosen writes about the extraordinary turned tragic trajectory of Michael’s life and illness, and makes a broader argument that how we treat people with severe mental illness in this country must change.

Why Chatbot AI Is a Problem for China

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If the technology is only as good as the information it learns from, then state censorship is not a recipe for success.

What Your Favorite Personality Test Says About You

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Are you a Myers-Briggs person, an Enneagram person, or something else? The Atlantic made a quiz to help you find out.

Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Previews, Reviews, Society

Preview: New York Times Magazine – April 16, 2023

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The New York Times Magazine – April 16, 2023:

The R.T.O. Whisperers Have a Plan

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Credit…Photo illustration by Derek Brahney

A niche group of consultants is trying to get you back to the office. It’s not going too well.

Being the boss doesn’t mean you get exactly what you wish for. That’s what Craig Knoblock discovered when he tried to get his employees to come back to the office in the fall of 2021.

You Call This ‘Flexible Work’?

Credit…Illustration by Brian Rea

Labor fought for a long time to draw a bright line between work and home. It took almost no time at all to erase it.

When Your Boss Is an App

A color illustration of a person working under an overhead lamp that is shaped like a large phone screen.
Credit…Illustration by Derek Abella

Gig work has been silently taking over new industries, but not in the way many expected.

For most Americans, the concept of “gig work” has been synonymous with a handful of Silicon Valley giants — companies like Uber and DoorDash, Instacart and TaskRabbit. There was a moment in the 2010s when pundits told us to expect the “Uberization of everything”: a future in which the typical worker would move from job to job or task to task, finding either independence and flexibility in freelancing or, more realistically, the precarity of working for platforms that may be light on benefits and aggressively exploitative of labor.