Research Preview: Science Magazine – Dec. 20, 2024

Science issue cover

Science Magazine (December 18, 2024): The latest issue features ‘Light Emission with a Twist’ – Hot, twisted carbon nanotube yarns emit bright circularly polarlized light…

Can psychedelics improve well-being in autism?

A brace of new studies probes benefits and risks for an understudied group

Thermal radiation with a twist

Carbon nanotube filaments with a twisted geometry emit spinning heat waves at high temperatures

The Economist Magazine – December 21, 2024 Preview

The Economist (December 18, 2024): The Holiday double issue features…

What to make of 2024

A turbulent year has shed fresh light on some important truths

Keep the Caucasus safe from Russia

The protesters and the president need help

Global warming is speeding up. Another reason to think about geoengineering

Reducing sulphur emissions saves lives. But it could also be hastening planetary warming

The Economist’s country of the year for 2024

The winner toppled a tyrant and seems headed for something better

THE NEW YORK TIMES —THURSDAY, DEC. 19, 2024

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Giant Companies Took Secret Payments to Allow Free Flow of Opioids

Drugmakers including Purdue Pharma paid pharmacy benefit managers not to restrict painkiller prescriptions, a New York Times investigation found.

A Weary Biden Heads for the Exit

Still stinging from the election, President Biden is pushing for his final priorities but has largely absented himself from the national conversation about Donald Trump after warning repeatedly that he was a threat to American democracy.

The Wrath of Trump: House Republicans Map a Case Against Liz Cheney

President-elect Donald J. Trump has never been shy about his desire to see his enemies punished. But he often shows a measure of caution about taking credit for potential prosecutions himself.

A Rift in Trump World Over How to Make America Healthier

Statements by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Elon Musk tap into a dispute over whether lifestyle changes or drugs are a better way to treat obesity.

Culture/Politics: Harper’s Magazine – January 2025

Harper’s Magazine (December 18, 2024): The latest issue features ‘Ghost Music’ – Inside Spotify’s Fake-Artist Scheme; Among the Ruins of Lebanon and Cynthia Ozick on the Pleasures of Letter Writing…

The Ghosts in the Machine

Spotify’s plot against musicians by Liz Pelly

The Forever Cure

Is civil commitment rehabilitating sex offenders—or punishing them? by Jordan Michael Smith

Voices from the Dead Letter Office

On the epistolary life by Cynthia Ozick

Politics: The Guardian Weekly – December 20, 2024

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The Guardian Weekly (December 18, 2024): The latest issue features Did democracy survive? Reflections on a year of elections. Plus The best film, music and TV of 2024

This was a year in which billions of people living in more than 80 countries had the right to cast their democratic votes in elections. But with democracy around the world under ever-greater threats – from attacks on freedom of speech, equality of participation and plurality of media to name a few – how did the election process bear up? Jonathan Yerushalmy and Oliver Holmes find reasons for hope amid the pressure.

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The big story | France and the shadow of the Pelicot trial
The mass rape case, in which verdicts and sentencing are expected this week, has horrified the world. But this is not French society’s first attempt to confront a sexually abusive culture, writes Kim Willsher, who has witnessed the harrowing proceedings in Avignon

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Spotlight | How Ukrainian power plant workers keep the country running
As winter closes in, Shaun Walker visits a Soviet-era coal-fired thermal installation to explore how it has held up to Russian attacks

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Opinion | After the fall of Assad, the least Syrians deserve is our optimism
With the tyrannical dynasty gone, it’s important not to impose a negative script on what comes next. Syrians deserve support and hope, argues Nesrine Malik

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The shamelessness of Fifa’s process in awarding the 2034 tournament to Riyadh was a display of contempt for governance, democracy and good sense, writes Barney Ronay


What else we’ve been reading

Former French prime minister Michel Barnier, left, and the newly appointed François Bayrou.

With France on its fourth prime minister in a year and Germany facing a snap election in February, Paris and Berlin correspondents Jon Henley and Deborah Cole explain why the driving forces of the European Union are in the doldrums. An excellent primer to understand what will be a shaky start to next year for European politics. Isobel Montgomery, deputy editor

Times Literary Supplement December 20, 2024 Preview

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Times Literary Supplement (December 18, 2024): The latest issue features ‘Faithful unto Death’…

News: Diplomacy To Help Rebuild Syria, Ukraine Kills Top General In Russia

Monocle Radio (December 18, 2024): The European Union is reopening its delegation in Syria while France is sending envoys to Damascus. How can diplomacy help rebuild the country?

Then: we look at what Moscow describes as “inevitable retribution” towards Ukraine following the killing of a top general. Plus: Ecowas approves three-nation exit from the bloc, Taiwan gets new US-made tanks to boost its defences and ‘Le Monde’ newspaper turns 80.

THE NEW YORK TIMES — Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024

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Ukraine Says It Killed General Who Led Russia’s Nuclear Defense Force

A Ukrainian official said Kyiv was responsible for the assassination in Moscow of Gen. Igor Kirillov, the chief of Russia’s radioactive, chemical and biological defense forces.

Behind Germany’s Political Turmoil, a Stagnating Economy

One of Europe’s powerhouses is losing its competitive edge, and the political class can’t agree on why — or what to do about it.

Elon Musk and SpaceX Face Federal Reviews After Violations of Security Reporting Rules

Federal agencies have opened at least three reviews into whether the company and its leader complied with disclosure protocols intended to protect state secrets, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Seeking Relief From Brain Injury, Some Veterans Turn to Psychedelics

Unable to find effective treatments at home, veterans with brain-injury symptoms are going abroad for psychedelics like ibogaine that are illegal in the U.S.

The Nation Magazine – January 2025 Preview

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The Nation Magazine (December 17, 2024): The latest issue features ‘Code Red’ – On election night, our screens were a sea of red, suggesting that the US was more conservative than ever. But sometimes maps can be deceiving…

The Dead Hand of the Democratic Consultant Class

Breaking the grip of grifters who refuse to learn or leave won’t be easy. But it is essential to effectively opposing the coming plutocracy.

The Difference That Matters Most Isn’t Between Left and Right

But between candidates who are defenders of the system and those who are anti-system. Democrats lost because they allowed Trump to be the only voice of antiestablishment rage.

Progressives Can’t Afford to Spend the Next 4 Years Just Playing Defense

Or reflexively denouncing every Trump policy. While we mustn’t underestimate the danger he poses to our democracy, when he says he wants to end war, the left should call his bluff.

News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious