The New York Times Book Review – Sept. 15, 2024

THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (September 15, 2024): The latest issue features ‘Making Art and Selling Out’ = In Danny Senna’s fleet, funny novel “Colored Television”, a struggling writer in a mixed-race family is seduced by the taste of luxury….

Debt Was Supposed to Cure Poverty and Help Pay for College. What Went Wrong?

Three new books examine debt’s fraught politics and history.

Ketanji Brown Jackson Looks Forward to Reading Fiction Again

The Supreme Court justice has been drawn to American history and books about the “challenges and triumphs” of raising a neurodiverse child. She shares that and more in a memoir, “Lovely One.”

The New York Times — Sunday, September 15, 2024

How Hamas Uses Brutality to Maintain Power

The group has abused hostages and Palestinians in its efforts to maintain control of Gaza and wage an insurgent war.

Today’s Parents: ‘Exhausted, Burned Out and Perpetually Behind’

The surgeon general is warning about parents’ stress, a sign that intensive parenting may have become too intense for parents.

For Him, a ‘Lion King’ Prequel Is the ‘Most Different Thing I Could Do’

Barry Jenkins broke out as a filmmaker with the Oscar-winning indie film “Moonlight.” He has surprised some of his fans by taking up a Disney franchise.

Margaret Qualley Is Getting the Hang of Being a Movie Star

The actress is seemingly everywhere this year, and in “The Substance,” she delves into an unusually disturbing new role.

Science: What Is It That Makes Humans Unique?

DW Documentary (September 14, 2024): What made our ancestors evolve in such an extraordinary way? This film presents the latest scientific theories on how the human species evolved and looks at the shadow side of our unique abilities.

Some animals see, hear or smell better than humans. Others can find their way in the dark much better than we can. Some can fly. All animals communicate, some have excellent memories and others build complex structures and have highly-developed social skills. So what sets humans apart? Why have humans evolved such highly developed cognitive abilities in comparison to animals?

The documentary sheds light on this major question of human evolution — one of the mysteries that has long puzzled the world of science. What is it that makes humans so fundamentally different from other animal species? And will our extraordinary abilities ultimately lead us to self-destruction?

#documentary #dwdocumentary

Saturday Morning: News And Stories From London

Monocle on Saturday (September 14, 2024): Author Kate Kruimink joins Georgina Godwin to talk about her award-winning novella ‘Astraea’ and China Moses discusses her music ahead of the London Jazz Festival launch party.

Plus: Charles Hecker on British diplomats accused of spying in Russia, soaring coffee prices in Italy and the 2024 Ig Nobel Prize.

Finance Preview: Barron’s Magazine – Sept. 16, 2024

Magazine - Latest Issue - Barron's

BARRON’S MAGAZINE (September 14, 2024): The latest issue features

America’s Housing Crisis Isn’t Going Away—Even With Rate Cuts and Help From D.C.

America’s Housing Crisis Isn’t Going Away—Even With Rate Cuts and Help From D.C.

Rate cuts and subsidies from Washington may help, but homeownership is likely to remain out of reach for millions of Americans. What’s ahead for buyers and builders.

A Guide to the Different Flavors of Financial Advisor

We rank independent advisors in this special report. Here are the other types of professionals that provide financial advice, and where to find them.

The Fed Is Ready to Cut Rates. What to Do Next. 

The stock market is about to get what it’s waiting for.

How Long Do You Expect to Live? It Pays to Make an Educated Guess.

Heading into retirement with a clear-eyed sense of your longevity is crucial to figuring out how much you can really spend.

The Washington Post – Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024

Russia expels British envoys; Putin warns against deep strikes with Western weapons

The Russian president issued his sternest warning to date about the use of Western weapons in Ukraine ahead of a meeting of British and U.S. leaders.

Delays ahead for U.S. Steel decision

A WWI salute delivered in bronze

Putin using media firm for covert operations

Harris’s meme masters taking TikTok by storm

Arts & Culture: The New Criterion -October 2024

The New Criterion – The October 2024 issue features

Democracy in America: a symposium

Tocqueville’s limitations by Glenn Ellmers

Democracy in America: an introduction by Roger Kimball

Our Athenian American democracy by Victor Davis Hanson

Tocqueville versus progressive democracy by Daniel J. Mahoney

The Washington octopus by James Piereson

Commentary Magazine – October 2024 Preview

Commentary Magazine – A Jewish magazine of politics, high culture, cultural  and literary criticism, American and Israeli campaigns and elections, and  world affairs.

Commentary Magazine (March 15, 2024) The latest issue features “Israel And Ukraine” – Why won’t we let them win?

Why Won’t We Let Ukraine Win?

by Abe Greenwald

…the U.S. has been too slow in arming its ally, too restrictive in setting conditions on the use of weapons, and generally too fearful of Vladimir Putin’s threats. The result is that Ukraine, for all its unfathomable courage and boundless ingenuity, has been permitted to fight, but not win, the war. If this keeps up, Ukraine could actually lose. 

Mark Zuckerberg Is Just So Very Sorry, You Guys

by James B. Meigs

When I step back a bit, I can see that Zuckerberg isn’t just haplessly begging our forgiveness. He’s trying to save his business. Meta Platforms, the company he controls, contains some of the world’s most widely used and profitable digital brands, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Meta appears to be thriving, with its stock price more than quadrupling since a rocky 2022. But Zuckerberg knows that his company’s brands are built on foundations of sand. Just as a sandbar will move with tides, the user base of any social platform can drift away in a surprisingly short time.

The Harris Shuffle

by Matthew Continetti

This is Harris’s challenge: She’s the incumbent vice president running for higher office in a change election. She’s an undefined candidate whose positions and job performance are vulnerable to attack. She wants to be seen as a disruptor while remaining loyal to President Biden. And she wants to move away from the far-left views she held as a senator while she continues to proclaim that her values have stayed the same.

The New York Times Magazine – Sept. 15, 2024

Current cover

THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (September 13, 2024): The latest issue features Sasha Weiss on the Prince we never knew; Ben Hubbard on a U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees; Giles Harvey on the writer Tony Tulathimutte; and more.

The Prince We Never Knew

A revealing new documentary could redefine our understanding of the pop icon. But you will probably never get to see it.

How a U.N. Agency Became a Flashpoint in the Gaza War

UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, has survived 75 years of Israeli-Palestinian strife. Can it survive the latest conflict?

An Acerbic Young Writer Takes Aim at the Identity Era

Tony Tulathimutte is a master comedian whose original and highly disturbing new book skewers liberal pieties. By Giles Harvey

News: Biden And Starmer Meet For Ukraine Support & Ceasefire For Gaza War

The Globalist Podcast (September 13, 2024): British prime minister Keir Starmer meets US president Joe Biden to talk about support for Ukraine and a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza.

Then: Thailand’s new prime minister makes her inaugural speech to parliament, and why Boeing’s production could be on the tipping point. Plus: we flick through the autumn edition of ‘Konfekt’ magazine.

News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious