Best Books: ‘The Long History of the Future’

Wall Street Journal Books (October 21, 2024):

The Long History of the Future’ Review: Pipe Dreams and Progress – WSJ

We don’t have flying cars or Jetsons-like robots to cook our meals. What we have is better: constant incremental progress.

The Long History of the Future: Why Tomorrow’s Technology Still Isn’t Here By Nicole Kobie

A video flickers to life as Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” begins to sound. A long-haired man appears on screen. You might expect a jazz concert, but the man fiddles with a cabinet-like, camera-laden machine on wheels. As he steps away, a buzzer sounds, the machine slowly rolls forward, and the narrator announces its name: Shakey the Robot.

Preview: The New Yorker Magazine-October 28, 2024

The undersole of a mans shoe obscures a sight of skyscrapers in Manhattans financial district.

The New Yorker (October 14, 2024): The latest issue features Eric Drooker’s “Crushing Wealth” – The market’s movers and shake

The Tight-Knit World of Kamala Harris’s Sorority

A.K.A., the oldest Black sorority, expects excellence and complete discretion. How are members responding to their most famous sister’s Presidential campaign? By Jazmine Hughes

The U.S. Spies Who Sound the Alarm About Election Interference

A group of intelligence officials confers about when to alert the public to foreign meddling. By David D. Kirkpatrick

How Republican Billionaires Learned to Love Trump Again

The former President has been fighting to win back his wealthiest donors, while actively courting new ones—what do they expect to get in return? By Susan B. Glasser

News: Hezbollah Finance Group Targeted By Israel, Moldova-EU Referendum

Monocle Radio Podcast (October 21, 2024): Moldova’s European Union referendum too close to call and the legacy of Indonesia’s Joko Widodo. Plus: architect Richard England and the Utopian Hours festival in Turin.

The New York Times — Monday, October 21, 2024

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Starring in Kamala Harris’s Closing Argument: Donald Trump

Vice President Kamala Harris has made a notable shift in strategy to paint Donald Trump as unfit and dangerous as Democrats grow anxious about the closeness of the race just two weeks out.

Door-Knocks, Texts, and Ads, Ads, Ads: Life on the Swing-State Battlefield

This year’s campaign offers a vivid reminder of how much the playing field in presidential elections has shrunk, giving voters in a handful of states a disproportionate influence in the decision.

As I Am: L.G.B.T.Q. in Japan

‘We don’t want to send the message to the younger generation that we’re people who have to hide ourselves.’

U.S. Agencies Fund, and Fight With, Elon Musk. A Trump Presidency Could Give Him Power Over Them.

Ocean Views: Manta Rays In Quintana Roo, Mexico

CBS Sunday Morning (October 20, 2024): We leave you this Sunday morning under the sea in Quintana Roo, Mexico, where the Manta rays are enjoying breakfast. Videographer: Mauricio Handler.

Quintana Roo is a Mexican state on the Yucatán Peninsula. On its Caribbean coast, the town of Tulum offers seaside Mayan ruins, sandy beaches and undersea caverns. To the northeast, the resort city of Cancún is known for its nightlife, Nichupté Lagoon nature reserve and long beaches with coral reefs. 

Arts/Culture: Humanities Magazine – Fall 2024 Issue

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Humanities Magazine (@humanitiesmag) / X

Humanities Magazine (October 20, 2024): The Fall 2024 Issue features…

The Indelible Charm of Mary Cassatt

Painting of a woman washing her face in a basin

A major exhibition takes us inside the private, busy lives of women by Angelica Aboulhosn

The Atlas of Drowned Towns

Black-and-white photo of dog overlooking the confluence of the Snake and Powder rivers.

A new digital project looks at the forgotten history of America’s submerged communities by Anna Webb

Sunday Morning: Stories And The Top News From Zürich, Helsinki And Paris

Monocle on Sunday (October 20, 2024): Our weekend programme comes live from Monocle’s radio studio in Zürich, where Tyler Brûlé and a panel of special-guest thought leaders discuss key topics in front of a studio audience.

The New York Times — Sunday, October 20, 2024

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Trump Thinks the Border Got Him Elected in 2016. He’s Convinced It Will Do So Again.

Voters rank the economy and high cost of living as their top issue. Donald J. Trump believes immigration “beats out the economy,” and he’s made it his closing message.

Inside the Secretive $700 Million Ad-Testing Factory for Kamala Harris

Future Forward has ascended to the top of the Democratic political universe, but it has also drawn suspicion and second-guessing.

The Powerful Companies Driving Local Drugstores Out of Business

The biggest pharmacy benefit managers are profiting by systematically underpaying independent drugstores, creating “pharmacy deserts” across the country.

Sinwar’s Final Moments: On the Run, Hurt, Alone, but Still Defiant

Israeli forces had been steadily closing in on Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader, for weeks before he was cornered and killed in a ruined house in the Gaza Strip.

Ideas: Wharton Magazine – Fall/Winter 2024 Issue

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Wharton Magazine (October 19, 2024): The latest issue features Fintech Titan…

SoFi CEO Anthony Noto WG99 Is Reshaping Finance for the Digital Age

Noto looks back at lessons learned across his career (including his time at the NFL and Twitter), examines the state of fintech today, and forecasts what’s needed for success amidst “profound change” that lies ahead in the financial-services sector.

Are Cities on the Verge of a Crisis or a Comeback?

Wharton faculty research suggests that how cities navigate the next few years could mean the difference between urban flight and a renaissance that outpaces the aughts.

READ DIGITAL ONLINE ISSUE HERE

The New York Times Magazine-October 20, 2024

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THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (October 19, 2024): The latest issue features Undocumented labor quietly props up much of the American economy — nowhere more than on dairy farms. What would a crackdown mean for milk?

Undocumented labor quietly props up much of the American economy — nowhere more than on dairy farms.

How Tech Billionaires Became the G.O.P.’s New Donor Class

Elon Musk and a group of Silicon Valley allies have built a shadow campaign to put Donald Trump back in office.

The University of Michigan Doubled Down on D.E.I. What Went Wrong?

A decade and a quarter of a billion dollars later, students and faculty are more frustrated than ever.

By Nicholas Confessore

News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious